Islanders' Bo Horvat makes Team Canada's Olympic roster, Matthew Schaefer left off
The Islanders' Bo Horvat playing for Canada during the 2025 Ice Hockey World Championship match against Slovenia on May 10, 2025 in Stockholm, Sweden. Credit: Getty Images/Michael Campanella
Bo Horvat had a day on Wednesday that every Canadian kid who grows up playing hockey dreams of having.
Don Sweeney, Team Canada’s assistant general manager, called him early in the morning to let the Islanders’ leading scorer know he was on the 25-man roster for February’s Winter Olympics in Italy. At his Long Island home, Horvat, 30, was greeted by his three young children with homemade cards congratulating him on his first Olympic selection.
No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer, not selected for Team Canada but on their list of potential injury replacements, contacted Horvat with his congratulations.
“Just so many emotions going through my mind,” Horvat said on a Zoom teleconference. “Pride and joy and, yeah, just honestly disbelief, too, at some points. It still hasn’t really sunk in yet. I’m just so honored and privileged to be able to be able to be in this situation.
“I wanted it bad. I wanted to represent our country. I wanted to wear the maple leaf. I was just trying to do whatever I could to help the Islanders win but to make the decision tough.”
The first Olympics to include NHL players since 2014 — and sixth overall since 1998 — opens on Feb. 11 in Milano and all countries had to submit their rosters by Wednesday’s deadline. Besides Horvat, forwards Emil Heineman and, possibly, Simon Holmstrom, may be considerations for Team Sweden.
Team Canada selected 14 forwards, eight defensemen and three goalies.
Horvat, a center with 21 goals and 12 assists in 35 games, will likely will play in Team Canada’s bottom six, provided he’s among the 12 forwards dressing.
“Bo has a lot of the attributes we’re looking for,” Team Canada GM Doug Armstrong said via Zoom from a roster reveal press conference in Minneapolis. “We want to be able to play inside and get to the net. He’s a player that played left wing with [Nathan] MacKinnon at the World Championships last year. He can play multiple positions for us. Of the players we selected, he’s our highest faceoff guy.
“He can touch both ends of the special teams if needed and has a multi-positional aspect to him that made him a very appealing player for us.”
Not that Horvat will be picky.
“No matter what they tell me to do, I’ll do it,” Horvat said. “If it’s cleaning water bottles, I’ll do anything to be there.”
This was likely Horvat’s last chance at playing in the Olympics after the NHL opted to keep its players from going to PyeongChang, South Korea in 2018 and ultimately pulled out of the 2022 Games in Beijing because of the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Team Canada’s other forwards are: Macklin Celebrini (Sharks), Anthony Cirelli (Lightning), Sidney Crosby (Penguins), Brandon Hagel (Lightning), MacKinnon (Avalanche), Brad Marchand (Panthers), Mitch Marner (Golden Knights), Connor McDavid (Oilers), Brayden Point (Lightning), Sam Reinhart (Panthers), Mark Stone (Golden Knights), Nick Suzuki (Canadiens) and Tom Wilson (Capitals).
“I really like the roster,” Horvat said. “I think it’s got a great mixture of everything: size, speed, skill. Guys that can play anywhere up and down the lineup.”
The eight defensemen — Drew Doughty (Kings), Thomas Harley (Stars), Cale Makar (Avalanche), Josh Morrissey (Jets), Colton Parayko (Blues), Travis Sanheim (Flyers), Shea Theodore (Golden Knights) and ex-Islander Devon Toews (Avalanche) are all holdovers from Team Canada’s winning squad in the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament last February.
But Schaefer’s sensational start to his NHL career – nine goals and 16 assists in 40 games as he became the youngest defenseman in NHL history to reach 25 points with an assist in Tuesday’s 3-2 shootout win in Chicago — made the decision not to include him hard on Armstrong.
Schaefer was bidding to become the first 18-year-old to play for Team Canada since Eric Lindros in 1992.
“I’ll be honest, he wasn’t on my radar at the start of the season,” Armstrong said. “But his play is exemplary. I don’t want to spend a lot of time talking about players that didn’t make the team but, to me, this is a special occasion because he’s an 18-year-old man that we’re talking about playing in the Olympics. He’s a fantastic talent. He brings you out of your seat every night. He’s got a maturity beyond his years on and off the ice.
“I was shocked at how quickly he worked his way into our conversations.”
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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