How Bo Horvat will handle 20 ‘meaningless’ games to go

Photo Credit: Winslow Townson / USA TODAY Sports

For months, as the world around them recognized that this
year’s edition of the Vancouver Canucks was not going to qualify for the
playoffs, Canucks players refused to accept that fate. Regardless of the
results or the mounting deficit they faced in the push to the Stanley Cup playoffs, Vancouver’s players refused to take the bait when the line of questioning started down that path.

Home ice losses to San Jose and the New York Islanders have changed that. Now there is nowhere
to hide. Even the players can’t ignore the writing on the wall – the big block
letters – that spell things out very clearly: when the Stanley Cup playoffs
begin this spring, the Canucks will not be a part of them. All that’s left now
is the uncomfortable task of playing out the string with 20 games still
remaining on the schedule.

This is all new to Bo Horvat and not just at this level.

This is a guy who competed in
three straight Memorial Cups before making the jump straight to the NHL. In his rookie season in ‘the show’, he was part of a 101-point team and a playoff qualifier as a
rookie. In Horvat’s world, hockey seasons continue well into April and often
into May. They don’t end on April 9th like this one will. The idea that there is really nothing to play for now is a tough
concept to grasp.

“I’ve always been on winning
teams, I’ve always been in the playoffs, I’ve been to Memorial Cups so it’s
obviously a big change for me,” he said, a hint of disbelief  in his voice, as he met the media moments
after the Canucks latest loss on Tuesday night. “It’s tough especially in my
second year and getting the role that I’ve had and at the same time, I’m going to
try to embrace it, try to keep getting better.”

Horvat remains a central figure
in the Canucks transition to a younger core and in that regard these final 20
games are not utterly meaningless on an individual basis. He has plenty still
to learn and work on as he pushes to the finish line in his sophomore season. The
plan appears to be to use Horvat and other key pieces of the youth movement –
Sven Baertschi, Markus Granlund, Emerson Etem along with rookies Jake Virtanen,
Jared McCann, Ben Hutton and even Brendan Gaunce – in increased roles and
in every situation. That’s exactly as it should it be.

The truth of the matter is it’s
no longer about results for the Canucks. It’s now about figuring out exactly
what they’ve got to work with moving forward and there are certainly some
intriguing pieces already in place to help the rebuild. 

While the younger players
may get opportunities in prime situations, that does little to ease the sting
of a season that has slipped away from Horvat and the Canucks. With the predicament
they’ve put themselves in, Horvat knows there will be long days and nights
ahead, but being ready to play and perform is all part of learning to be a
professional.

“I think you just have to put it
in the back of your mind,” he says of being out of the race so early. “If you
dwell on it, that’s when it hurts the most. It’s tough when you think you’re
out of it and you just want to go and play and get the year over with. You can’t
think like that. You have to think like you have a chance of making the playoffs
– that’s our end goal – and you have to keep that mindset no matter what.”

So the focus will be to play like
the Canucks remain in the race, but Horvat and his teammates are no longer
fooling themselves. Their poor home ice record, their struggle to score goals
all season and their inability to protect leads are but three of the reasons
they find themselves heading for a long summer.

Horvat’s season has had its share
of challenges, too. In part because of two serious injuries to Brandon Sutter,
Horvat has been overmatched on too many nights. There were early season
chemistry issues, a ridiculously long scoring slump and simply too much time
spent in his own zone for a guy who wants to be known as an effective two-way
centre. 

After a red-hot January, Horvat has cooled again offensively of late (nine
without a goal and just one point in his past seven games). His challenge now
is to find whatever motivation is necessary to have a strong finish which can
hopefully set him up for next season and beyond. For that, he’ll be taking his
cues from the leaders on the hockey club because one day in the not too distant
future, there’s a good chance Horvat will be the one being looked to for
guidance.

“You look up to the older guys,”
he says. “The Sedins are obviously huge role models for all of us, and Sutsy (Sutter)
has been helping me out shooting me texts when he’s not on the road with us and
his support has been huge all season.”

It’s
been a season of taking lumps and learning hard lessons for the Canucks and the
toughest part likely still lies ahead with 20 insignificant games still to go. The hope for
Horvat and his young teammates – and it may be difficult to see right now — is
that they make the most of the opportunities they’re about to get and come out
of it better for the experience.