

Photo Credit: Winslow Townson / USA TODAY Sports

For months, as the world around them recognized that this

year’s edition of the Vancouver Canucks was not going to qualify for the

playoffs, Canucks players refused to accept that fate. Regardless of the

results or the mounting deficit they faced in the push to the Stanley Cup playoffs, Vancouver’s players refused to take the bait when the line of questioning started down that path.

Home ice losses to San Jose and the New York Islanders have changed that. Now there is nowhere

to hide. Even the players can’t ignore the writing on the wall – the big block

letters – that spell things out very clearly: when the Stanley Cup playoffs

begin this spring, the Canucks will not be a part of them. All that’s left now

is the uncomfortable task of playing out the string with 20 games still

remaining on the schedule.

This is all new to Bo Horvat and not just at this level.

This is a guy who competed in

three straight Memorial Cups before making the jump straight to the NHL. In his rookie season in ‘the show’, he was part of a 101-point team and a playoff qualifier as a

rookie. In Horvat’s world, hockey seasons continue well into April and often

into May. They don’t end on April 9th like this one will. The idea that there is really nothing to play for now is a tough

concept to grasp.

“I’ve always been on winning

teams, I’ve always been in the playoffs, I’ve been to Memorial Cups so it’s

obviously a big change for me,” he said, a hint of disbelief in his voice, as he met the media moments

after the Canucks latest loss on Tuesday night. “It’s tough especially in my

second year and getting the role that I’ve had and at the same time, I’m going to

try to embrace it, try to keep getting better.”

Horvat remains a central figure

in the Canucks transition to a younger core and in that regard these final 20

games are not utterly meaningless on an individual basis. He has plenty still

to learn and work on as he pushes to the finish line in his sophomore season. The

plan appears to be to use Horvat and other key pieces of the youth movement –

Sven Baertschi, Markus Granlund, Emerson Etem along with rookies Jake Virtanen,

Jared McCann, Ben Hutton and even Brendan Gaunce – in increased roles and

in every situation. That’s exactly as it should it be.

The truth of the matter is it’s

no longer about results for the Canucks. It’s now about figuring out exactly

what they’ve got to work with moving forward and there are certainly some

intriguing pieces already in place to help the rebuild.

While the younger players

may get opportunities in prime situations, that does little to ease the sting

of a season that has slipped away from Horvat and the Canucks. With the predicament

they’ve put themselves in, Horvat knows there will be long days and nights

ahead, but being ready to play and perform is all part of learning to be a

professional.

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“I think you just have to put it

in the back of your mind,” he says of being out of the race so early. “If you

dwell on it, that’s when it hurts the most. It’s tough when you think you’re

out of it and you just want to go and play and get the year over with. You can’t

think like that. You have to think like you have a chance of making the playoffs

– that’s our end goal – and you have to keep that mindset no matter what.”

So the focus will be to play like

the Canucks remain in the race, but Horvat and his teammates are no longer

fooling themselves. Their poor home ice record, their struggle to score goals

all season and their inability to protect leads are but three of the reasons

they find themselves heading for a long summer.

Horvat’s season has had its share

of challenges, too. In part because of two serious injuries to Brandon Sutter,

Horvat has been overmatched on too many nights. There were early season

chemistry issues, a ridiculously long scoring slump and simply too much time

spent in his own zone for a guy who wants to be known as an effective two-way

centre.

After a red-hot January, Horvat has cooled again offensively of late (nine

without a goal and just one point in his past seven games). His challenge now

is to find whatever motivation is necessary to have a strong finish which can

hopefully set him up for next season and beyond. For that, he’ll be taking his

cues from the leaders on the hockey club because one day in the not too distant

future, there’s a good chance Horvat will be the one being looked to for

guidance.

“You look up to the older guys,”

he says. “The Sedins are obviously huge role models for all of us, and Sutsy (Sutter)

has been helping me out shooting me texts when he’s not on the road with us and

his support has been huge all season.”

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It’s

been a season of taking lumps and learning hard lessons for the Canucks and the

toughest part likely still lies ahead with 20 insignificant games still to go. The hope for

Horvat and his young teammates – and it may be difficult to see right now — is

that they make the most of the opportunities they’re about to get and come out

of it better for the experience.





