The Islanders have a new leader, and they’re putting the C on Bo Horvat.
New York announced Thursday that Horvat is now the 16th captain in franchise history, a move that fits the way he’s already operated since arriving in 2023. He’s been one of the club’s most reliable producers, and last season he led the team with 31 goals while finishing with 57 points in 68 games.
That scoring touch has been there for a while. Horvat has put together five straight seasons with at least 28 goals, and since joining the Islanders he tops the roster in both goals with 99 and points with 198.
The 31-year-old was drafted by Vancouver in the first round, ninth overall, in the 2013 NHL Draft, and his NHL resume is already packed with production. In 881 career games with the Canucks and Islanders, he has 618 points - 300 goals and 318 assists - plus 21 points in 34 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Horvat also brings captaincy experience from his time in Vancouver, where he wore the C from 2019 to 2023 before being traded to the Islanders on January 30, 2023. With New York, he’s spent the last two seasons as an alternate captain and has twice been named an NHL All-Star, in 2017 and 2023.
His track record stretches well beyond the NHL, too. Horvat represented Canada at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina and scored two goals in six games as Canada earned the silver medal. He also played for Canada at the 2025 IIHF World Championship, where he had eight points in six games, and he previously appeared at the 2018 World Championship, the 2014 World Junior Championship and the 2012 Under-17 World Hockey Challenge.
Before turning pro, Horvat spent three seasons with the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League and won the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as the OHL’s most valuable player of the 2013 playoffs.
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Islanders Have One Leadership Decision Left After Bo Horvats Promotion
Bo Horvats promotion to captain has given the Islanders a more defined hierarchy, but it has also left one opening to sort through as the season approaches. With Horvat becoming the 16th captain in franchise history, the club now has a chance to choose an alternate who can help carry some of the day-to-day leadership load around a roster that is still shaping its identity.
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