Bo Horvat is a talented hockey player, no doubt.
However, what he’s accomplished dating back to last season is bordering on elite.
In a season where there hasn’t been much to cheer about, the longest-tenured member of the Vancouver Canucks has stepped up in a massive way.
Flick of the wrist from the Captain 👌 pic.twitter.com/J6vOJOHIkS
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) October 29, 2022
Horvat has scored 10 goals through 11 games this season, tying him for second overall in the NHL in scoring with San Jose Sharks defenceman Erik Karlsson. Only Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, with 12, has more goals than Horvat so far this season.
Perhaps some of McDavid’s magic rubbed off on Horvat when they filmed this bizarre car commercial together?
We’ve seen streaks before from Horvat
Horvat’s torrid goal-scoring pace to begin the season has been phenomenal, but what’s even more impressive is that his streak dates back to last season. Before his 2021-22 season ended prematurely due to a right leg injury, Horvat was on a roll with nine goals in 12 games.
But his goal-scoring success really dates back to when Bruce Boudreau took over. Horvat didn’t score until Boudreau’s fifth game behind the Canucks bench, when he potted two against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Since that point, including this season, Horvat has scored 34 goals in his last 52 games.
That’s a pretty big sample size of Horvat being one of the No. 1 goal-scorers in hockey.
me when horvat scored 2 goals yesterday pic.twitter.com/K2jMbghg5E
— clarissa! (@quinnsedgework) October 29, 2022
If we pro-rate that over a full 82 games, that means Horvat has been scoring at a 53-goal pace for more than half a season.
Power play dominance
Horvat is also tied for second in the league with five power play goals scored so far in 2022-23, trailing only the six from McDavid. Horvat has carved out a niche as the go-to bumper guy on the Canucks power play, scoring a barrage of his goals from that spot over the past few seasons.
When you're hot, you're hot. Bo Horvat has his second and the #Canucks are within two. pic.twitter.com/cDrWh8gSP2
— Lachlan Irvine (@LachInTheCrease) November 2, 2022
However, as we saw against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night, the Canucks’ captain can score man-advantage goals in other ways aside from being just a bumper guy smashing home one-timers.
Another game, another Bo Horvat goal 🥳 pic.twitter.com/BmJJpkACvQ
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) November 4, 2022
Horvat’s success on the power play dates back to the 2019-20 season when the Canucks power play — featuring the captain, J.T. Miller, Quinn Hughes, and Elias Pettersson — began lighting the world on fire.
Since the beginning of the 2019-20 season, Horvat’s 37 power play goals rank eighth overall in the NHL.
Here are the other players who make up the top 10:
What’s his ceiling?
By averaging 10 goals over his first 11 games, Horvat is on pace to score 74 goals this season.
He’s not hitting that mark, but one has to wonder if 50 goals are in the realm of possibility.
The 27-year-old has been scoring at a 50-goal pace for more than half a season now. He’s a fixture on the Canucks’ top power play unit. He’s almost always on the ice when the opposition has their net empty, and he handles a bevy of minutes at even-strength.
Horvat has never been an elite five-on-five producer. His 1.58 points-per-60 at even-strength this season is right in line with his career average of being a low-end, second-line offensive producer.
Although his point-per-60 at evens remains similar, Horvat is firing a career-high 7.5 shots per-60 on net at five-on-five. Unsurprisingly, that’s led to him scoring a career-high 1.19 five-on-five goals per-60.
Horvat has never been a great playmaker, but so far this season, it looks like he’s shooting a bit more and passing less. However, that trend could change, as we saw him set up Miller with a beautiful cross-ice pass against the Ducks.
BACK OF THE NET 🚨 pic.twitter.com/OUAZboCoGj
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) November 4, 2022
The bottom line for Horvat is that, based on a 50+ game sample size, he does have a shot at hitting 50 goals. Of course, Horvat would trade in some of his goals for a few more wins.
“Obviously, the puck is going in right now,” Horvat told reporters after Tuesday’s loss to the New Jersey Devils. “I’d rather be getting wins than scoring goals right now. I’d rather have no goals and be 9-0, but that’s obviously not the way it’s going right now.
“We’ve gotta dig ourselves out of a hole here. We put ourselves in this situation. We can’t be satisfied.”