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Horvat probably already knew that.

“Oh yeah, for sure,” said the 21-year-old Rodney, Ont., native, laughing. “You’re always looking at other guys, but I don’t look too far into it. Obviously, you see what they’re getting and what they deserve, but we’ll leave that up to the agents and see what happens.

“I just keep it in the back of my mind and keep playing. That’s my main concern and it has helped me out. You can only control what you can control. By maturing as a two-way centre, who can play in key situations or kill penalties, you want to be a guy they can count on. And I always want to push myself to be better.”

That push has made Horvat a more complete player, and toward future first-line consideration and captain material. His plus-minus has improved from a ghastly minus-30 in 2015-16 — second worst in the league — to a minus-1 and his faceoff percentage is up to 53.9 per cent compared to 50.9 last season.

What has never been questioned is Horvat’s professionalism and ability to handle adversity.

He went 27 games without a goal early last season, then exploded for 30 points in his final 43 games to finish with 16 goals and 24 assists to bump the sophomore slump.

“To go through what I went through at the beginning, and the plus-minus thing, it just made me stronger mentally,” said Horvat. “Just being able to handle it has made me a better player. It’s crazy. This league is so full of emotions that way, all the ups and downs.

“Lose nine in a row, win four in a row and now one point back of a playoff spot (before Tuesday’s L.A. Kings-San Jose Sharks game) and you’re on top of the world again. It’s insane.”