News of a serious injury is almost never a good thing. But in the case of Penguins forward prospect and 2025 24th overall pick Will Horcoff, it's reassuring to know that a bad shoulder injury was a factor for him last season.
Horcoff returned to the University of Michigan this past season for what was considered his sophomore season, but was actually his first full season of college hockey -- his draft-year season started with the U.S. National Team Development Program, and he didn't join Michigan until midway through the year that season.
For the first half of the season, Horcoff looked like he might be one of the best players in college hockey, and surely bound for the pros next year. He had 19 goals and nine assists in 20 games until Christmas break, and then just six goals and five assists in the remaining 20 games of the season. That's a significant drop-off.
Horcoff isn't participating in on-ice activities in the Penguins' development camp as he deals with an injury. He revealed on Tuesday that he had surgery on his right shoulder nine weeks ago for an injury that he sustained "right before Christmas break," which began after Dec. 6.
"I was able to play through it in the second half," he said. "It bothered me a little bit, and I knew that once the season was over, I'd probably have to get (surgery) done."
I asked Horcoff how exactly the injury impacted his play, and he shrugged it off, saying "it's part of the game, guys play through that stuff all the time in the playoffs."
It'd be uncommon to hear a player actually blame any on-ice struggles on an injury. They generally don't want to come off as making excuses. But Horcoff's injury lines up with when the goal-scoring fell off. And if it was bothering him so much that he knew that surgery was coming, it might have been making a real impact on his play.
Horcoff's shooting did take a dip in the second half of the year, but not enough to entirely explain the dip in goals. He averaged 3.45 shots per game in the first half of the season, and 2.1 shots per game in the second half. A left-handed shot, an injury to the right shoulder is going to affect the accuracy of his shot more than the power.
Regardless of what was behind Horcoff's second half of the season, the Penguins came away pleased with his year as a whole.
"He got off to a tremendous start," Penguins director of player development Tom Kostopoulos said. "I think he can find the net. He's a big guy who likes to score, had a lot of chemistry with his linemates and took off there. I think at times he lost his rhythm a little bit, but that's something that he knows, he understands, and he's working on just to build that consistency, and just be able to play, and if the puck's not going in the net, to have a 'B game.' So it's all things he's building in his game and working on. He's a very intelligent kid and player, so we're excited about him."
The injury benefitted Horcoff in some ways. He feels as if his defensive play improved during the second half. He's only just now starting to get back on the ice, and has used some of the time off in the weight room. He estimates that he's 205 pounds now, up about 13 pounds from freshman year, filling out his 6-foot-5 frame more.
Horcoff will be going back to school for another year, a decision he made in part for development reasons, but also out of a feeling of having unfinished business.
"I just think for my development it's the best decision," he said. "A lot of the guys on that Michigan team are going back as well, and I just think we have something to prove. Obviously, coming up short last year, we're super hungry for a national championship."
THE ASYLUM
Horcoff played through shoulder injury
News of a serious injury is almost never a good thing. But in the case of Penguins forward prospect and 2025 24th overall pick Will Horcoff, it's reassuring to know that a bad shoulder injury was a factor for him last season.
Horcoff returned to the University of Michigan this past season for what was considered his sophomore season, but was actually his first full season of college hockey -- his draft-year season started with the U.S. National Team Development Program, and he didn't join Michigan until midway through the year that season.
For the first half of the season, Horcoff looked like he might be one of the best players in college hockey, and surely bound for the pros next year. He had 19 goals and nine assists in 20 games until Christmas break, and then just six goals and five assists in the remaining 20 games of the season. That's a significant drop-off.
Horcoff isn't participating in on-ice activities in the Penguins' development camp as he deals with an injury. He revealed on Tuesday that he had surgery on his right shoulder nine weeks ago for an injury that he sustained "right before Christmas break," which began after Dec. 6.
"I was able to play through it in the second half," he said. "It bothered me a little bit, and I knew that once the season was over, I'd probably have to get (surgery) done."
I asked Horcoff how exactly the injury impacted his play, and he shrugged it off, saying "it's part of the game, guys play through that stuff all the time in the playoffs."
It'd be uncommon to hear a player actually blame any on-ice struggles on an injury. They generally don't want to come off as making excuses. But Horcoff's injury lines up with when the goal-scoring fell off. And if it was bothering him so much that he knew that surgery was coming, it might have been making a real impact on his play.
Horcoff's shooting did take a dip in the second half of the year, but not enough to entirely explain the dip in goals. He averaged 3.45 shots per game in the first half of the season, and 2.1 shots per game in the second half. A left-handed shot, an injury to the right shoulder is going to affect the accuracy of his shot more than the power.
Regardless of what was behind Horcoff's second half of the season, the Penguins came away pleased with his year as a whole.
"He got off to a tremendous start," Penguins director of player development Tom Kostopoulos said. "I think he can find the net. He's a big guy who likes to score, had a lot of chemistry with his linemates and took off there. I think at times he lost his rhythm a little bit, but that's something that he knows, he understands, and he's working on just to build that consistency, and just be able to play, and if the puck's not going in the net, to have a 'B game.' So it's all things he's building in his game and working on. He's a very intelligent kid and player, so we're excited about him."
The injury benefitted Horcoff in some ways. He feels as if his defensive play improved during the second half. He's only just now starting to get back on the ice, and has used some of the time off in the weight room. He estimates that he's 205 pounds now, up about 13 pounds from freshman year, filling out his 6-foot-5 frame more.
Horcoff will be going back to school for another year, a decision he made in part for development reasons, but also out of a feeling of having unfinished business.
"I just think for my development it's the best decision," he said. "A lot of the guys on that Michigan team are going back as well, and I just think we have something to prove. Obviously, coming up short last year, we're super hungry for a national championship."
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