It’s time for the Vancouver Canucks to name Bo Horvat captain
In my opinion, it’s pretty obvious that Bo Horvat is the clear choice to be the next player to wear the “C” on his chest for the Vancouver Canucks. Now is the perfect time to do so.
We’ve known it for a while now. Bo Horvat is the young leader for the next wave of Vancouver Canucks. Even when Henrik Sedin was still the team’s captain, fans and media alike were talking about how Horvat was a surefire bet to be the team’s captain at some point. Now is the time in which the Canucks should make that move.
With the twins retiring at the end of the 2017-18 season, many were wondering if the Canucks would award Horvat with the captaincy right away, ahead of this past season. They elected not to, and I have to say I agree with that decision. The Canucks were expected to be at the bottom of the league’s standings for the majority of the year, so why should Horvat be the one who has to answer all the questions of why his team isn’t doing well?
The Canucks elected to go with a leadership group ahead of this season consisting of, Chris Tanev, Alex Edler, Brandon Sutter and Horvat. Since Horvat was the only one of those players who didn’t miss extended time due to injury, many other Canucks including Michael Del Zotto and Antoine Roussel wore an “A” on their jerseys.
Canucks’ owner Francesco Aquilini conducted a poll on his Twitter account asking the following question:
Should @Canucks name a captain this season, or wait another year? Please answer and RT.
— Francesco Aquilini (@fr_aquilini) June 27, 2019
The poll had overwhelming results in favour of not only naming a captain, but almost all of the replies to the tweet are fans who are in favour of naming Horvat the captain of the Canucks. To me, it’s an obvious decision, and now may be the right time.
The team has been through some dark times in recent years, and now that the worst of those dark days are behind them and the team appears ready to turn the corner and contend for the playoffs, Horvat is the perfect player to lead the Canucks back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In fact, he is the only member of the young core who has gotten a taste of playoff experience.
He has proven he can be one of the team’s most reliable players, and leads by example for his teammates. Tanner Pearson said the following on Sportsnet 650 Tuesday morning when asked if Horvat has captain-like qualities:
"“For sure he does, I had Brown, Kopitar and Crosby as captains and Bo shows those qualities. He is great in the dressing room and handles things like a pro.”"
That’s some pretty high praise and some fairly elite class that Horvat’s leadership qualities are being compared to. Each of those players has won a cup before, and Horvat and the Canucks are looking to just that, win a cup. If a player who hasn’t even played with Horvat for a full season knows that he possesses these qualities, isn’t that telling enough that he’s not only the right man for the job, but ready for it, too?
Now is the perfect time to name him captain and make sure that all the new faces that will be joining the Canucks next season have a leader that they can look to for guidance. A leader they respect, and one who demands his team bring their best every single night. Ladies and gentlemen, now is the perfect time to give Horvat the captaincy. Waiting another year when it’s very clear that the team will be pushing for a playoff spot next season is a disservice to everyone in Vancouver, all the way from the fans to the players.
It’s time to let this vision finally become a reality and make it official. What do you think Canucks fans? Is it as clear of a choice as I think it is? Let me know in the comments section below why you agree or disagree with Horvat being given the captaincy next season!