Bo Horvat
Canadian centre and alternate captain for the New York Islanders.
Last updated
Harold Cecchetti · CC BY-SA 2.0
Bo Horvat is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who plays for the New York Islanders in the National Hockey League (NHL) and serves as an alternate captain. The Vancouver Canucks selected him ninth overall in the 2013 NHL entry draft, and he was the team’s captain from 2019 until they traded him to the Islanders in 2023.
Early life
Born on April 5, 1995, in London, Ontario, to Tim and Cindy Horvat, he grew up in Rodney, Ontario, about a 90-minute drive from Detroit, Michigan. As a child, he often attended Detroit Red Wings games. He and his younger brother Cal practiced hockey in the family basement until Horvat moved away at age 12 to live with a billet family and play for the Toronto Red Wings minor team. In 2008, he scored 10 goals and led the Red Wings with 16 points in the round-robin portion of the All-Toronto Peewee AAA tournament, helping them beat the London Jr. Knights.
During the 2010–11 minor hockey season, Horvat played for the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs of the Alliance Hockey organization. He recorded 47 goals and 71 assists for 118 points in 68 games and was named league player of the year. His coach, Rob Simpson, noted that Horvat “put up a ton of points and maybe cheated [defensively] a little bit at times.” After that season ended, he played five games with the St. Thomas Stars of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, coached by his father, and helped them win their league championship. He used that short stint to prepare for the jump from minor to junior hockey.
Junior
The London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) selected Horvat ninth overall in the 2011 OHL Priority Selection draft. In his rookie season (2011–12), he scored his first OHL goal in his debut, an 8–0 win over the Saginaw Spirit on September 23, 2011. He finished with 11 goals and 19 assists, plus a +27 plus-minus, in 64 games. The Knights won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champions that year, defeating the Niagara IceDogs, and advanced to the 2012 Memorial Cup final, where they lost in overtime to the Shawinigan Cataractes.
In 2012–13, Horvat improved to 33 goals and 61 points in 67 regular-season games, including a 17-game point streak that ended on January 13, 2013, when the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds beat the Knights 4–2. He also received coaches’ awards as the best face-off skater and shot blocker on the team.
Lore & Background
Horvat grew up in Rodney, Ontario, and attended Detroit Red Wings games as a child. He played minor hockey for the Toronto Red Wings and later the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs, where he was named league player of the year after recording 47 goals and 71 assists in 68 games. He also played five games with the St. Thomas Stars, coached by his father, helping them win a league championship. In the OHL, Horvat played for the London Knights, winning two J. Ross Robertson Cup titles and the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as playoff MVP in 2013.
He was drafted ninth overall by the Vancouver Canucks in 2013 after the Canucks traded goaltender Cory Schneider to the New Jersey Devils for the pick. Horvat made his NHL debut on November 4, 2014, and scored his first NHL goal on November 20 against Frederik Andersen of the Anaheim Ducks. He was named an All-Star in 2017 and served as Canucks captain from 2019 until his trade to the Islanders in 2023.
From Basement Puck to OHL Royalty
Bo Horvat's path to professional hockey began in the basement of his family home in Rodney, Ontario, where he and his younger brother Cal spent countless hours honing their skills. Born in London, Ontario, in 1995, the young Horvat grew up just ninety minutes from Detroit, attending Red Wings games as a child.
At twelve, he left home to join the Toronto Red Wings minor program, where his scoring instincts were already evident — in 2008 he led his team with sixteen points in the round-robin of the All-Toronto Peewee AAA tournament. By the 2010–11 season, playing for the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs, he erupted for 118 points in 68 games and was named league player of the year, a performance his coach Rob Simpson acknowledged came with a slight defensive trade-off. After a brief championship run with his father's St. Thomas Stars, Horvat entered the OHL and quickly became a force: two J. Ross Robertson Cup titles with the London Knights, a 17-game point streak, and a game-winning goal with a tenth of a second remaining in Game 7 of the 2013 finals earned him the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as playoff MVP.
The Ninth Pick and a Bumpy Professional Debut
Ranked the fifteenth-most valuable prospect in North America by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau, Horvat entered the 2013 draft as a highly regarded centre. The Vancouver Canucks, having acquired the ninth overall selection by trading goaltender Cory Schneider to New Jersey, used that pick on June 30, 2013, to claim the young London native. He signed a three-year entry-level deal the following month. Yet his immediate NHL arrival was not to be.
Coach John Tortorella, believing an eighteen-year-old would receive only eight or nine minutes of ice per game, opted to send Horvat back to the OHL for another developmental year — a decision made easier when Vancouver bolstered their roster with acquisitions from Carolina. His first true NHL season, 2014–15, began with a shoulder injury sustained from a pre-season collision with Edmonton's Tyler Pitlick, followed by a five-game AHL stint with the Utica Comets in which he managed no points. When he finally returned, his November 4 debut against Colorado marked the start of a professional career that would see him score his first NHL goal against Anaheim's Frederik Andersen and register his first three-assist game against Chicago within a fortnight.
A Career in the Canadian Colours
From the under-17 rink to the Olympic stage, Horvat has represented Canada across more than a decade of international competition. His first major tournament appearance came at the 2012 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, followed shortly by the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament at the under-18 level — both in the same calendar year, a testament to his early emergence on the global stage. He then suited up for Canada at the 2014 World Junior Championships, a tournament that coincided with his peak OHL season and the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award he had just won.
Moving to senior international hockey, Horvat was part of Canada's roster at the 2018 World Championship, a step up in both competition and responsibility. Most recently, he has been named to Canada's squad for the 2026 Winter Olympics, capping a trajectory that spans from youth development tournaments to the highest level of multi-sport competition. This sustained international presence, from the Hlinka to the Olympics, underscores a player who has remained a reliable and trusted option for the Canadian program across multiple generations of teammates and coaching staff.
The Captain's Arc: From Alternate to NHL Leader
Leadership has been a thread running through Horvat's career long before he donned the "C" in the NHL. During his final OHL season with the London Knights in 2013–14, speculation swirled that he might become the team's captain after two veteran leaders turned professional, but the Knights ultimately chose Chris Tierney, naming Horvat one of four alternates. Even in that supporting role, he posted a career-best 74 points and 44 assists. The next step came with Vancouver, where Horvat was elevated to captain in 2019, a role he held for four seasons until his trade to the New York Islanders in 2023.
He carried that leadership mantle across the Atlantic, becoming the Islanders' captain as well. Playing centre — a position that demands constant engagement in face-offs, transitions, and special teams — Horvat's captaincy reflects a player whose value extends well beyond raw production. From the basement in Rodney to leading two NHL franchises, his leadership journey mirrors the steady, multi-season development that defined his path from a minor-league prodigy to a cornerstone NHL centre.
Reader's Guide
Horvat's career is marked by consistent offensive production and leadership roles. He set career highs in goals, assists, and points during the 2016–17 season with the Canucks, playing all 82 games. His junior career with the London Knights included a game-winning goal with 0.1 seconds left in Game 7 of the OHL finals, earning him the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award.
Internationally, Horvat has represented Canada at multiple tournaments, including the 2014 World Junior Championships, the 2018 World Championship, and the 2026 Winter Olympics. His trade to the New York Islanders in 2023 brought him to a new team where he serves as alternate captain. Horvat's playing style developed from a high-scoring minor hockey player to a reliable two-way centre, as noted by his junior coach who said he 'put up a ton of points and maybe cheated defensively a little bit at times.'
Career statistics and honours
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2011–12 | London Knights | OHL | 64 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 8 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 2012–13 | London Knights | OHL | 67 | 33 | 28 | 61 | 29 | 21 | 16 | 7 | 23 | 10 |
| 2013–14 | London Knights | OHL | 54 | 30 | 44 | 74 | 36 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 4 |
| 2014–15 | Utica Comets | AHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2014–15 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 68 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 2015–16 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 82 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2016–17 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 81 | 20 | 32 | 52 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2017–18 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 64 | 22 | 22 | 44 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2018–19 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 82 | 27 | 34 | 61 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2019–20 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 69 | 22 | 31 | 53 | 21 | 17 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 4 |
| 2020–21 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 56 | 19 | 20 | 39 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2021–22 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 70 | 31 | 21 | 52 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2022–23 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 49 | 31 | 23 | 54 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2022–23 | New York Islanders | NHL | 30 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2023–24 | New York Islanders | NHL | 81 | 33 | 35 | 68 | 39 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 2024–25 | New York Islanders | NHL | 81 | 28 | 29 | 57 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2025–26 | New York Islanders | NHL | 68 | 31 | 26 | 57 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NHL totals | 881 | 300 | 318 | 618 | 301 | 34 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 6 | ||
International play
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Ontario | CWG | 6 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 6 |
| 2012 | Ontario | U17 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 |
| 2012 | Canada | IH18 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 2014 | Canada | WJC | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 2018 | Canada | WC | 10 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| 2025 | Canada | WC | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| 2026 | Canada | OG | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Junior totals | 18 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 18 | ||
| Senior totals | 22 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 4 | ||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| OHL | ||
| J. Ross Robertson Cup champion | 2012, 2013 | |
| Wayne Gretzky 99 Award | 2013 | |
| CHL | ||
| George Parsons Trophy | 2013 | |
| NHL | ||
| NHL All-Star Game | 2017, 2023 | |
| Vancouver Canucks | ||
| Pavel Bure Most Exciting Player Award | 2016, 2017 | |
| Cyrus H. McLean Trophy | 2017 | |
| Cyclone Taylor Trophy | 2017, 2021 | |
Tables copied from the source article, totals included as the source gives them: Wikipedia: Bo Horvat (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wide tables scroll sideways.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Bo Horvat (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Statistics, medals and awards: the tables of the source article.
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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