Canucks: First year captain Bo Horvat deserves more credit

Putting up 53 points with Loui Eriksson anchored to his wing is just one reason Bo Horvat deserves more credit in his first year as captain of the Vancouver Canucks.

The 50th season of Vancouver Canucks’ history began with a celebration of appointing the 14th captain in team history. Bo Horvat took center stage during the pre-game ceremony of their Roger’s Arena home opener to be officially handed the “C” from the former captain, Henrik Sedin.

No question, the secret was out almost all summer long, but nonetheless, once the final decision was made public, a conversation sparked across B.C. and a lot of the west coast hockey world with everyone wondering the same thing. “Is the 24-year-old capable of carrying this team into the next era?”

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In a season filled with ups and downs for Vancouver, the first-year captain managed to move with the punches and find ways to adapt his game, bettering himself and his teammates. He struggled brutally to find his first goal on home ice, it appeared to get under his skin a bit, but late into December, he got it done two days before Christmas. That goal at home lifted the weight from his shoulders and ultimately fuelled his fire that ignited his game towards putting up his best points per game average of his career.

The shutdown two-way forward was once again a machine on the faceoff dot. The bulldog from London, Ontario sporting a 57.3% faceoff win rate, ranking him seventh across the National Hockey League. His 200-foot game was vital to Vancouver’s success. He centred the team’s top line and every night, head coach Travis Green made damn sure his captain was matched up against opponent’s most elite talent.

General manager Jim Benning had a goal this year to end the revolving door of Horvat’s unsuccessful wingers and finally find him a locked-in player that could truly round out the team’s top-six and hopefully boost the captain’s point production. Three big names including J.T. Miller, Micheal Ferland and Tyler Toffoli all made the shortlist, but despite all the work gone into it, each player did or did not work out in their own way and Horvat spent most of his time playing with Tanner Pearson and Loui Eriksson.

The chemistry between Horvat and Pearson remained consistent. Eriksson actually made them a fairly half-decent shutdown trio, but he also held them back a ton offensively. He didn’t make many mistakes, but he often couldn’t bury the puck. Despite Eriksson finishing the year with only 13 points, Horvat, on the other hand, had his best season in terms of points per game. At a 0.768 point production rate, if the season was played in its entirety, Horvat would have completed his first campaign as captain with a career-best 63 points.

How is that even possible? Horvat centred the league’s fourth-best power play and led his club with the most man-advantage goals. His 12 PPG’s were three more than Miller and four more than Pettersson. He wasn’t the go-to-guy while up a man, but he was parked in front causing mayhem, tapping in garbage goals and snapping pucks bar down on the bang-bang plays down low.

All-in-all, Horvat did an exceptional job in his first season as the Vancouver Canucks’ captain. He did everything in his power to make the next step for the team. He managed to be productive regardless of who he had to play with around him. Every Canucks fan and their dog wanted Eriksson in the press box, but the captain made the most of it.

You can expect Horvat to be back with the captaincy not only whenever hockey does return, but for a long time after that. The sky is the limit for the Canucks. Horvat exceeded expectations and deserves more credit provided the skill placed on his wings. The captain believes in his team and the team believes in their captain.