New dad Horvat ready for hockey
Canucks captain would like to reward expanding family with some silverware
If Bo Horvat needs advice on how to be both a hockey player and a father, he’ll have plenty of experience to lean on.
The Vancouver Canucks’ captain is a new dad. His wife, Holly, gave birth to a son last week.
With NHL training camps set to open Monday, Horvat was facing a predicament: Holly was originally scheduled to give birth by caesarean section on Tuesday. Alas, baby Gunnar had different plans and was born June 28.
On video chat with reporters Thursday afternoon, Horvat admitted he struggled with the decision of leaving his young family in Ontario to get ready for training camp in Vancouver.
Two Sundays ago Holly started feeling “off,” the new dad recalled. Eventually it was clear she was having contractions, but still went to the hospital thinking she might, at worst, be in the early stages of labour. Braxton-Hicks contractions, perhaps.
An hour later he received a call telling him he needed to get back to the hospital. Two hours after Holly was first dropped off, she gave birth to Gunnar. The name, he said, was one he and Holly really liked. They have a big extended family, so finding one that was “unique” was a bit of challenge.
“We wanted him to have a strong name,” the Canucks’ captain said. “The best week of my life, hands down.”
And while the timing was a surprise, three weeks early in fact, Horvat was delighted to be there for the birth.
With the NHL telling players who travelled across Canada via commercial flights to self-isolate in their home-team city for eight days, Horvat flew to Vancouver last Sunday, leaving Holly and Gunnar — and the family’s French bulldog Gus — behind with family.
While it was a tough decision, he never had any doubts about playing in the post-season. So instead of changing diapers and helping his wife manage their new reality, he’s living at the JW Marriott Parq
Vancouver for now and skating with a group of other quarantined Canada-based skaters.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s not going to be easy,” he said. “But I wanted to be there for my teammates.”
Just about every moment he’s not on the ice or working out at Rogers Arena — most of the Canucks roster is living in cohort quarantine conditions at the team hotel, divided into tight training bubbles — he’s on the phone with his family, using FaceTime to get as much video time as possible with wife and son.
“They’re probably getting sick of me,” he said with a laugh. “I miss them, you want to be there in those early stages ... to help out the best you can. But in the circumstances, what can you do?”
He is in a weird spot right now. He’s hopeful his team can go on a long run this summer. If that happens, it could be months before he sees his family in person again. (The NHL has said Oct. 2 is the latest the Stanley Cup final could be played.)
“At the beginning of the year, we set out a goal to make the playoffs and have a chance at the Stanley Cup,” he said.
“If I’m going to be away from my family and put my time and effort into coming back and playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, I want to go all the way.
“I want to try to win this thing, so it’s not just a waste of time and be away from my family for no reason.”
Of course, now that he’s away from his family, he’s getting proper sleep.
“My wife curses me out pretty much every day,” he said with a laugh.
Horvat is now a father on a team that has more than a handful of parents, so he’ll have plenty of faces to turn to for advice about how to handle life as a hockey player/ parent.
“That’s a good question, I should probably ask,” he said of whether he’s discussed parenting with any of his teammates. He’s excited about the reality there won’t be any days off anymore. He has taken note how his teammates with kids tell him that off days are actually days on when it comes to your family.
And as for how Gus is coping with new roommate, Horvat said it’s proven to be an adjustment for the dog, too.
“Gus was pretty upset when Gunnar came home for the first time.”