It was Nathan MacKinnon who made the most noise at the Mastercard Memorial Cup.
But Bo Horvat quietly put together an impressive tournament in his own right.
Though his London Knights bowed out in the tournament’s semifinal, Horvat earned rave reviews from Future Considerations scout Cody Nickolet for his contribution to the reigning Ontario Hockey League champions.
“Watching Bo Horvat was definitely one of the highlights of the event for me,” Nickolet said. “He was up and down throughout the event, but it’s easy to appreciate lots of the little things that he does well when watching him live. He’s such a well rounded player and his strength on his stick was something that was extremely impressive all tournament.
Horvat had two goals and three assists in five games at the Memorial Cup after putting up 61 points in 67 regular season games with the Knights. In 21 playoff games, Horvat had 16 goals, including one with less than a second remaining to break a tie Game 7 of the OHL final.
He stepped up again in Saskatoon, according to Zenon Herasymiuk.
“I think Portland’s Oliver Bjorkstrand and Nic Petan had the most to prove heading into the tournament, but it was Bo Horvat that stepped up the most,” Herasymiuk said. “He was consistently one of London’s best forwards and contributed to his teams success both on the scoresheet and in his own zone. The word that came to mind when describing his game was ‘pure’. He just knows where to be on the ice at all times and is good at pretty much everything.
“I honestly did not see a single flaw in his game all tournament long. He showed that he can score, play in all situations, and be physical.”
It was the kind of performance that could have Horvat’s name called in advance of the 23rd spot that the 6-foot, 203-pound forward is at in Future Considerations’ Final Ranking for the 2013 NHL Draft.
Well in advance, Nickolet declared.
“I think he’s played himself into the top-10 for the NHL Draft,” he said.
If that’s the case, his quietly strong performance at the Memorial Cup will speak volumes.