Horvat, who said he was congratulated by Lee, said he doesn’t plan to change the way he operates.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously there’s things that I have to do on a daily basis, like lead by example. I’m not going to be the loudest guy in the room. It’s just not who I am,” Horvat said. “Trying to lead by example on and off the ice is my biggest thing and just continue to keep pushing forward and getting better. Any way I can help the team is what I’m going to try to do.”<\/p>\n
Schaefer, selected by the Islanders with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and last season’s winner of the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year, said he was ecstatic to see Horvat get the honor.<\/p>\n
“It’s awesome. So many guys can learn so much from him,” Schaefer said. “Coming from a former team, he was the captain there, and everybody respects him and listens to what he has to say. So it’s awesome. Even if he wasn’t wearing a letter, everyone looks up to him still. It’s going to be awesome if we have any young guys, but all the guys because they respect him so much, and he is such a great leader.”<\/p>\n
Schaefer is ready to learn from Horvat and the rest of the leadership group to hopefully one day get the honor for the organization.<\/p>\n
“There\u2019s so many vets. I’m still 19. I want to learn from them and hopefully in the future, I can better my abilities, and we\u2019ll see how they handle things because it’s a lot of pressure sometimes when you have to make sure you’re at your best all the time,” Schaefer said. “But honestly, I think if you just be yourself, if you have leadership qualities and stuff like that, I think everything falls into place, and especially when guys respect you for who you are.”<\/p>\n
Horvat knows the illustrious list of players who have been the captain of the Islanders and is ready to leave his mark.<\/p>\n