Canucks begin post-Horvat era with fresh leadership group

Feb 6 2023, 4:09 pm

The post-Bo Horvat era has officially begun for the Vancouver Canucks.

Hitting the ice for the first time since the trade in a rare full practice session in New Jersey on Sunday, Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet shook up the lines with new addition Anthony Beauvillier while adjusting the leadership group to what he sees fit.

Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson are joining the leadership group and will wear “A’s” with the hockey club, rotating with Oliver Ekman-Larsson and J.T. Miller, who have both undertaken the role at points this season.

Meanwhile, Luke Schenn, a consistent leader and the team’s oldest player, was left without an official appointment, as was Tyler Myers.

At this point, it looks like there won’t be a captain of the Canucks, with two of the youngest, albeit best, players taking letters in rotation, something Tocchet alluded to in an interview with Mike Halford and Jason Brough on Sportsnet 650.

“It might be a little bit of a push out of their comfort zone,” Tocchet told Sportsnet’s Iain Macintyre in Newark, New Jersey. “All I know is they both were excited. I told them I need them to push the pace around here for me. I need them to set the bar high.”

With the hole left by Horvat’s departure, Beauvillier skated on the top line in familiar Metropolitan Division surroundings, taking his spot along the wing with Pettersson down the middle.

Yet, Horvat, now just kilometres away from the Canucks’ Sunday practice, had his input on the leadership while at the NHL All-Star Game alongside Pettersson.

“He’d be my vote if it came to it, and I’m sure one of these days it’s going to go on his chest,” Horvat said at the NHL All-Star Media Day. “So, if it does, I couldn’t be more happy for him, and he’s obviously going to be a great captain.”

While those wearing letters against the New Jersey Devils on Monday night highlight the start of the post-Horvat era, Tocchet has also adjusted the lines, with Miller sliding into the second-line centre after failing to settle in the position earlier in the season.

Pettersson, Beauvillier and Andrei Kuzmenko make up the top line, with the former Islander likely taking Horvat’s former bumper spot on the top powerplay. Vasily Podkolzin, Nils Aman, and Phil Di Giuseppe all returned from stints in AHL Abbotsford and look set to find their way into the NHL lineup.

“It’s very exciting, very talented players [that] can shoot the puck, it’s exciting, and I’m super excited to be here,” Beauvillier told reporters after his first practice. “Playing with those guys, it’s going to be a great opportunity for me.”

The Canucks face the Devils at 4:30 pm PT/7:30 pm ET on Monday night.

Ben SteinerBen Steiner

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