Horvat speaks on Schaefer's Olympic snub, revealing candid thoughts on the young phenom's national team exclusion and its impact.
On Wednesday afternoon, New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat was named to Team Canada's Olympic roster. Fellow Islanders' teammate, 18-year-old rookie phenom Matthew Schaefer, was not.
Here's our chat with Horvat:
Schaefer is believed to be part of the injury fill-in list, as long as he stays up to date with mandatory testing.
The No. 1 overall pick has had a phenomenal first 40 games in the NHL, becoming the youngest defenseman in NHL history at 18 years and 116 days to reach the 25-point mark (nine goals, 16 assists). He moved up the depth charts quite quickly and has been a staple on the club's top defense pairing alongside Ryan Pulock and the top power-play unit.
Team Canada chose to bring back their entire defense from the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. Canada's GM, Doug Armstrong, had this to say about Schaefer:
"I don’t want to spend a lot of time talking about players who didn’t make the team, but this is a special occasion," Armstrong said about Schaefer. "He’s got maturity on and off the ice. I was shocked at how quickly he worked his way into our conversation."
Horvat was one of Schaefer's biggest supporters, telling The Elmonters, "I definitely think he should. I think he’s proven himself a lot this year. Obviously, he is very young, but at the same time, if he’s going to be one of the best defensemen in the league already — I mean, why not take him? He’s just gonna continue to keep getting better. And it’d be nice to see him get there, for sure.”
That just wasn't in the cards for Schaefer this go-around.
“Yeah, he’s reached out already and was super excited for me," Horvat said. "What he’s done this year at such a young age is impressive. To be right there to the bitter end says a lot about him. If something were to happen, I’m sure he’d be the next guy in. We’re lucky to have him, and he’ll be at a lot more Olympics to come.”
Schaefer, after only playing 17 games last season, will benefit from a three-week break, mentally and physically. The Islanders will need him on his A-game for the final push of the regular season.
Given Schaefer's age, he should get the opportunity to represent Canada at, at least, the next four Olympics -- maybe five.