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Recalled/Assigned: Bo Horvat sent to Utica on conditioning stint

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TheWanderer

TheWanderer

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In reality, he was still practicing with us anyways, so he only lost out on 4 games on the season, but gains 6 in the AHL.

I think him getting 15 pro games this season is pretty solid for us to get an idea of whether or not he should stick in the lineup
 
Lindgren

Lindgren

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Willie Dejarstache said:
Is there a game in utica on saturday, will he just skip it and be ready in van
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Utica plays Adirondack on Saturday. I hope Horvat plays as many games on his conditioning stint as he's allowed. The more time he gets, the more likely he'll be prepared to succeed when he gets his shot with the Canucks
 
DL44

DL44

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Nuckles said:
https://twitter.com/TSN1040/status/527850394517798912


Horvat staying for the full two weeks. It sounds like he'll be back on Sunday for the home game vs Nashville.
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Let's look at the variables here...
- Horvat's reviews in Utica are mixed... and if he was on even ground contract wise with his AHL peers, he would not warrant a call up with his play thus far.
- Utica/Horvat play on Saturday on the East coast... Will Willie make him fly cross country to play a back-to-back as his NHL debut? Unlikely.
- 4 game road trip starts Tuesday... Avs-Cali X3...
- First game back - vs Sens Nov 11th.

When do we realistically see Horvat in a Canucks uniform?

Do you put him immediately in the Avs gm on the road? Hold on till we lose on the trip? Save him for a home game?
 
kanucks25

kanucks25

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Nov 29, 2013
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DL44 said:
Let's look at the variables here...
- Horvat's reviews in Utica are mixed... and if he was on even ground contract wise with his AHL peers, he would not warrant a call up with his play thus far.
- Utica/Horvat play on Saturday on the East coast... Will Willie make him fly cross country to play a back-to-back as his NHL debut? Unlikely.
- 4 game road trip starts Tuesday... Avs-Cali X3...
- First game back - vs Sens Nov 11th.

When do we realistically see Horvat in a Canucks uniform?

Do you put him immediately in the Avs gm on the road? Hold on till we lose on the trip? Save him for a home game?
Click to expand...

Doubt he plays Sunday. I assume he gets in sometime during the road trip but I wouldn't be opposed to keeping him out until they have a full team practice.
 

arsmaster*

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He's 19, I wouldn't worry about a back to back with travel, he'll be amped up to play his first ever NHL game.
 
DL44

DL44

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arsmaster said:
He's 19, I wouldn't worry about a back to back with travel, he'll be amped up to play his first ever NHL game.
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I'm not worried about it... but do you think Willie will be? That's the question.

Also his whole team will be on the 2nd half of a back to back, not just Horvat.
 
Huggy

Huggy

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Yea no way he plays saturday, Gets his feet wet against Nashville, then a bad team in Colorado we'll be ready to get vengeance on.

Then the perfect 3 games to see if Horvat is ready for the NHL or not, Horvat will be on fire this friday and absolutely possessed for Sunday.

He's tired of playing in preseason or the AHL which he won't stick with, he knows he needs to show up for sunday,

53, Sunday Judgement day starts
 

arsmaster*

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DL44 said:
I'm not worried about it... but do you think Willie will be? That's the question.

Also his whole team will be on the 2nd half of a back to back, not just Horvat.
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Perfect chance to give a young kid full of piss and vinegar a spot in the lineup and somebody else a night of rest.

I don't know really, but if they're keeping him up, play him, if not, get him down.
 
Lindgren

Lindgren

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I'm for the patient approach. Have him play Saturday in Utica, definitely not the Sunday against Nashville on the back-to-back and cross-continent journey (young or not), and then have him go along on the road trip and insert him into the line-up when it makes sense (when another forward needs to come out, or when he's had a full practice or two and it's time to give it a shot).
 
UticaHockey

UticaHockey

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Comets schedule this weekend is a home game on Friday then an away game in Adirondack on Saturday. Adirondack is a little over 2 hours by bus from Utica and about an hour north of Albany which would be the closest airport to catch a flight to Nashville. Doubt there are any direct flights from Albany to Nashville.
 
Huggy

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UticaHockey said:
Comets schedule this weekend is a home game on Friday then an away game in Adirondack on Saturday. Adirondack is a little over 2 hours by bus from Utica and about an hour north of Albany which would be the closest airport to catch a flight to Nashville. Doubt there are any direct flights from Albany to Nashville.
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It's a home game he either plays saturday or not, I hope not
 
biturbo19

biturbo19

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lindgren said:
I'm for the patient approach. Have him play Saturday in Utica, definitely not the Sunday against Nashville on the back-to-back and cross-continent journey (young or not), and then have him go along on the road trip and insert him into the line-up when it makes sense (when another forward needs to come out, or when he's had a full practice or two and it's time to give it a shot).
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Yeah. There's no huge rush. Let him finish out his "conditioning stint" in Utica, fly out to join the Canucks...give him some solid practices to get situated and acclimated to the Canucks nuances and teammates again. Bouncing around like that is tough for most Vets, much less a rookie without a single NHL game to his name. Give him a few days and a couple practices to get settled.

If that means he slots in through the California roadtrip...so be it. What better litmus test for readiness than the big heavy Cali teams we want him to help us out with anyway? If he's not ready to play the Cali teams...he's not really ready for the NHL. You can't be scared and try to hide him...you want to know if he's going to be a guy who can help you out this year or not...don't feed him cupcake games just to flatter his play (to continue the Horfat theme :p:).
 

DefMars

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Willie Dejarstache said:
It's a home game he either plays saturday or not, I hope not
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He won't play Saturday, nor Sunday. He will play in Utica both Friday and Saturday, then fly back(definitely will not play Sunday) and practice with the team before getting in game action which will likely be Tuesday vs the Avs.
 

denkiteki

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Rob said:
What are the chances he plays in the WJC?
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Ask again in a week... he hasn't made his NHL debut yet so who knows. We badly need an improvement in the circle so my guess right now is 30-40% he plays in the WJC.

I wonder if management is considering burning a year of his ELC but NOT burning a year in his UFA status. Namely play less than 40 games so it burns the first year off his ELC but does not count towards the 7 years before he's a UFA. Considering the start we have, it might be worthwhile to consider this option since Horvat should be a huge upgrade in the circle and help our PK too.
 
Bourne Endeavor

Bourne Endeavor

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Rob said:
What are the chances he plays in the WJC?
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- If he plays well for the Nucks: 0%
- If he struggles a bit: 50%

Management is going to avoid sending him to juniors as much as they can, so even if he struggles, I would not be surprised if they keep him on the roster to work through it.
 

denkiteki

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Bourne Endeavor said:
- If he plays well for the Nucks: 0%
- If he struggles a bit: 50%

Management is going to avoid sending him to juniors as much as they can, so even if he struggles, I would not be surprised if they keep him on the roster to work through it.
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Problem is of course keeping him on the roster and not playing. You still want him to play. We have enough depth that our top 12 forwards are all reliable and good enough for a regular shift. If Horvat struggles, its hard to make any argument to bench one of them. If one of them gets hurt, its another story (and odds are it will happen sooner or later) but if no one gets hurt, it'll be tough to keep Horvat around. That's one of the main reason he got sent for conditioning... so he gets to play and helps us stall some time to see if someone gets hurt (or suspended). After Burrows comes back, management will have a tough decision with Horvat + who plays and who doesn't.

Matthias was the clear choice if we needed to bench someone but recently even he has been playing very well. Its really hard to find fault in our "bottom 6" or "bottom 9" forwards.
 
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