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For whatever reasons, there’s really no consensus on whether Horvat can be a top-line centre. Thing is, he’s 21 years old and his production is already on the fringe.

The 30 centres who are playing the most this season are averaging 37 points. Horvat has 32, leads his team, and is doing it from what has been a definitive third-line role.

When he’s compared with Joe Pavelski, like he was during Sunday’s broadcast, no one should be surprised. They both hit 40 points in their first full NHL seasons. But Pavelski was 23 years old when he did it, and Horvat 20.

All of this is important because if Horvat really is going to be a first-line centre in a couple of years, it should probably change how this organization’s current direction is viewed. Rather than spending time worrying about squeezing more out of the Sedins’ final chapter and “competing for a playoff spot,” the real urgency should be centred around trying to get the most of Horvat’s peak years.

Commonly, NHL players peak from age 23 to 27 and if those years are going to be great for Horvat, the Canucks need to get him elite weapons to play with.

Photo by Bruce Bennett / Getty Images

Canucks coach Willie Desjardins has always seen Horvat’s future as a defensive centre. That’s not how he looked in the all-star game. Maybe it was the jersey, or the fact no one was trying, or his linemate Johnny Gaudreau, but Horvat looked as skilled and as comfortable as nearly anyone.

It wasn’t so much the four points he put up in his two 3-on-3 “games.” It was more the way he did it, including a dazzling breakaway goal and a killer pass to Gaudreau, which sent the Flames’ star in on a breakaway of his own.