NY Islanders center Bo Horvat has hometown rink named after him on Saturday

Bo Horvat had a successful first full season on Long Island, but regardless of what he accomplishes with the New York Islanders for the rest of his career, chances are he'll never receive the type of honor he did on Saturday afternoon in Ontario.

NY Islanders center Bo Horvat has hometown rink named after him

On Saturday, the 29-year-old's hometown rink, the West Lorne Arena, was renamed the Bo Horvat Community Centre. He was joined by his wife, Holly, two children, and extended family. “Honestly, I couldn’t believe it. You like to think that you can play in the NHL and stuff like that; that’s your main goal,” Horvat said. “Never in a million years did I think I was going to get an arena named after me. When I heard that, there was a bunch of emotions.”

Before Horvat was a 2013 first-round pick (ninth overall) of the Vancouver Canucks, he grew up in Rodney, Ontario, starring on several youth hockey teams, including the West Lorne Comets. If the town of West Lorne sounds somewhat familiar, it's because it was the winner of Kraft Hockeyville in 2023, leading to a pre-season game between the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs being played there before last season. It's an area that loves hockey, and Horvat has contributed to that.

"You don't realize how big of an impact you have, not only on the community, but on little kids growing up and playing hockey around that area," Horvat added. "Trying to be humble, keep working hard and still do good things in the community and try to inspire other people and other kids to play hockey."

Horvat scored 33 goals and had 35 assists for 68 points in 81 games with the Islanders last season after signing an eight-year extension days after being acquired from the Canucks. The center will be counted on again to carry the load offensively this season, playing alongside Mathew Barzal on the team's top line which may also feature free-agent signing Anthony Duclair.