Horvat Calls Islanders Captaincy "Honor" and "Privilege"

There was something new on Bo Horvat’s jersey when he arrived at the Islanders Children’s Foundation Golf Outing on Monday morning.

A crisp white “C” was stitched onto Horvat’s blue Islanders jersey, which he was handed after the news of his captaincy became official. For good measure, someone jokingly handed Horvat a paper “C” on his way into the golf outing just in case he wanted to pin it to his polo.

Horvat accepted the physical patches before touching on the symbolic importance of being named the 16^th Captain in New York Islanders history.

“Such an honor, such a privilege,” Horvat said. “Something, obviously, I don't take lightly, and I'm very proud to be part of this organization. Very proud to be wearing this letter and representing not only the team, but Long Island itself.”

Horvat assumed the captaincy in the wake of Anders Lee’s offseason departure. Lee previously served as the Islanders Captain for eight seasons, tied with Denis Potvin for the longest in team history, and called Horvat to congratulate him upon hearing the news, a gesture that Horvat appreciated.

“Talk about a first-class human being,” Horvat said. “It's going to be big shoes to fill. He did so many great things for this organization, not only on the ice, but off the ice, in the community, within the organization, and obviously we're going to miss him.”

Horvat has plenty of leadership experience. He was an Alternate Captain for the Islanders in each of the past two seasons and was the Vancouver Canucks Captain from 2019-23. That previous experience was important to Head Coach Pete DeBoer when picking a new captain.

“It was a fairly easy decision,” DeBoer said.

DeBoer also relied on his first-hand experience with Horvat during the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milana Cortino, when both were part of Team Canada’s silver medal squad.

“I had a real comfort level with what he was going to bring in that spot,” DeBoer said. “And he's going to have fantastic support around him with the other people we have there.”

DeBoer confirmed that Kyle Palmieri and Ryan Pulock will remain Alternate Captains this season, but that the leadership group will extend beyond the Isles with letters on their jerseys.

Palmieri agreed with the coach that he’d be a good fit as captain.

“Every night you're going into battle, and he's going to be the first guy there,” Palmieri said. “He’s someone who leads by example, which I think, as a player who's been around for a while, that's the type of leader you want. He's a guy who has a lot of respect in our locker room.”

Leading by example goes a long way with veterans like Tony DeAngelo, who said Horvat’s ability to play in all situations gives him a well-rounded perspective as a leader. Horvat led the Islanders with 31 goals last season, averaged 3:34 PP TOI/GP and 1:58 SH TOI/GP and took the most face-offs (1,226) on the team, winning 56.3%.

“It all starts with what you do on the ice,” DeAngelo said. “When you look at Jordan Staal in Carolina, when it’s a big time in the game, who is on the ice? Jordan Staal. Bo’s a lot like that too. We have a penalty kill. We have a faceoff late. We have a power play, penalty kill six-on-five, and he just does things right from practice all the way on through that.”

Horvat said he’s grown a lot as a player and a person since his captaincy in Vancouver, part of which he credits to becoming a parent of three children. The 31-year-old said getting to lead a second organization meant a little more now that his kids can enjoy it with him.

“It's kind of been awesome having kids young, they're going to remember me playing and remember a lot of it especially as they get older,” Horvat said. “Obviously having a letter on your jersey and being a captain of an NHL team is very special, but to share with my family and my kids is going to be even that much more special.”

Horvat said he doesn’t plan on changing his leadership or playing style as a result of receiving the captaincy. He’s not the most vocal voice in the locker room, but tries to lead by example. He’ll put that into practice when Training Camp opens this week.

“Trying to lead by example on and off the ice is my biggest thing, and just continuing to keep pushing forward and getting better,” Horvat said. “Any way I can help the team is what I'm trying to do.”