Horvat named to Team Canada Olympic roster

VANCOUVER, BC – OCTOBER 09: Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat #53 prepares for a face-off while playing the Los Angeles Kings at Rogers Arena on October 9, 2019 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Ben Nelms/Getty Images)

New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat, whose father, Tim, is from Bothwell, was named to the Team Canada 25-man roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

Horvat’s family is well-known in Chatham-Kent hockey circles. He grew up in Rodney and played his minor hockey in West Lorne, which renamed their arena the Bo Horvat Community Centre in the summer of 2024.

This is the first group of NHL players to represent Canada at the Olympics since 2014, when NHL players most recently participated.

The tournament will feature all 12 teams playing three preliminary games in their respective groups.

Team Canada, which is in Group A, will open against Team Czechia on Feb. 12, then play Team Switzerland on Feb. 13 and Team France on Feb. 15.

Horvat was one of the six players on the Olympic roster who did not play for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off this past February. Clachan’s Travis Konecny was on Canada’s roster at that tournament. Horvat and Konecny are cousins.