Son of Wings’ Horcoff takes no-nonsense approach to hockey career

William Horcoff’s first hockey equipment didn’t exactly fit.

Now 16 years old and already 6-foot-4 and 168 pounds following an 80-goal season in 80 games with the No. 1-ranked Little Caesars U15 team, Horcoff was learning how to play the game in 2012.

“We were in Edmonton and it was my first year buying him his first equipment,” said his father Shawn Horcoff, a former captain of the Edmonton Oilers during a 15-year NHL career and current assistant general manager of the Detroit Red Wings.

“He was 5 years old and dressing him up, I realized every piece of equipment was too big because he couldn’t even move.”

Since then, it’s been nothing short of an upward hockey trajectory for Horcoff, who was one of 24 players selected last week to join USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program in Plymouth.

Born in Edmonton and living in Bloomfield Hills with his dad, mom Cindy and two sisters Jade and Lauder, he was one of the most highly sought-after forwards, along with 6-3 center William Moore of the Toronto Marlboros, to join the two-year residency program, which has produced nearly 400 NHL-drafted players since its inception in 1996.

“The NHL obviously wants draft picks and we want draft picks and wins internationally and gold medals,” USA Hockey NTDP director of player personnel Kevin Reiter said.

“They (Horcoff and Moore) are two players we feel have similar stature, similar body types at this time. It’s up to them how hard they work on and off the ice, but they both have a lot of ability and pro upside. I think they’ll not only be two good players for USA Hockey but also for whoever winds up taking them in the NHL draft in a couple of years.”

In 2017, Horcoff and Moore almost crossed paths in Edmonton at the Brick Hockey Invitational Tournament, a prestigious showcase for 10-year-olds in North America with NHL graduates including Connor McDavid, Steven Stamkos and Auston Matthews as well as Red Wings players Robby Fabbri, Adam Erne and Alex Nedeljkovic.

Horcoff had seven points in six games for his Detroit team with games played inside Edmonton’s West Mall. Moore was expected to play in the tournament but wound up performing at a piano competition at age 10 at Carnegie Hall, the world-renowned concert venue in New York. Six years later, Horcoff’s Little Caesars team split two games against Moore’s Marlboros.

“I don’t feel much pressure about being two of the best players,” Horcoff said. “I played a couple of games against him (Moore) and his goal-scoring ability and his ability to make plays is awesome. I try not to get caught up in all that nonsense. I just go and play my best game, encourage my teammates, get better as a player and better as a person.”

Horcoff’s development as a center/winger improved steadily at Little Caesars the past two years.

After scoring 70 goals with 45 assists in 62 games in 2021-22, he added 80 goals and 93 assists in 80 games this year. Little Caesars finished 71-7-2, ranked first overall among 115 teams in the country, won the state title and lost in the national semifinals against Shattuck-St. Mary’s, 4-3, in overtime.

“He (Horcoff) is one of the most intelligent players I’ve coached,” said Little Caesars U15 head coach Brian Jardine, now in his 26th year of coaching hockey in Michigan. “He’s always been an elite offensive performer, but he really rounded out his game this year. He was a defensive, physical presence in the middle, being more of a playmaker, running the power play.

“People also don’t realize what a good skater he is. When you’re a big kid and he keeps growing and growing, they have a tendency to say, ‘He’s not this or he’s not that.’ He separates himself in the neutral zone with his skating ability and he’s only going to get better with his leg strength. He’s 50 pounds from his eventual NHL playing weight.”

Horcoff, who led the team in scoring at this year’s USA Hockey’s U15 championship with 13 points in five games in Wayne, New Jersey, said it was a “learning experience” to fall short of a national title and to “bring your A-game no matter if you play the worst team in the country.”

He said he’s trying to take advantage of his height by “protecting the puck, getting into dirty areas,” doesn’t care what forward position he plays (“whatever the coach wants,” he said) and is looking forward to joining Little Caesars goalie Joey Slavick and defenseman Charlie Trethewey when the U17 national team opens training camp in the fall.

“What we accomplished all season was incredible,” Horcoff said. “We didn’t play our best in the semifinal game, but you’re not always going to win every single game. I know I wouldn’t be where I am right now without them. They’ve helped pave my path these past few years. We all bonded together. There were no cliques. That’s what made us successful.

“Joey had an incredible year, averaging one or two goals against per game. He’s really developed from when I got to know him five years ago. Charlie joined us this year and was one of the best defensemen in the country. He’s a good leader, always picking up guys when they’re down.”

Jardine said Horcoff was also one of the team leaders, displaying “zero arrogance” as Little Caesars won its 28th state championship to go along with 11 national titles since the program was established in 1968 by former Red Wings owner and Hockey Hall of Famer Mike Ilitch.

“We had total buy-in from every player,” Jardine said. “We got better every day and I think that’s why we were so successful. It’s the byproduct of teaching good people who are humble and work hard even when no one is looking. That usually creates a lot of wins in the win column.”

Growing up in Castlegar, British Columbia, Shawn Horcoff said they heard about Ilitch’s grassroots program and knew about the team colors (orange and black then, orange and light blue now). Now that he’s been part of the program, he feels it’s important to have “different voices and different ideas” behind the bench while providing structure.

“When I first got here, (former Red Wing) Kris Draper was coaching his son (Kienan) and he was the driving force behind the Little Caesars program,” Horcoff said. “(Ex-NHLer) Brian Rolston took over and he’s done a great job of recruiting. It’s important for kids to be around people who have done it before and they know what they’re doing.

“We also encourage the boys to play other sports and become good athletes. I think a lot of times with a lot of parents, they become too individualized too early. We took the opposite approach here. Will’s put a lot of work in to get to this point, but it’s just a start. He’s still a kid though and we want him to have fun in the summertime.”

William Horcoff said he’ll be in the gym and on the ice during the next few months and is “really excited to go on to the next chapter” under NTDP’s Dan Muse and his coaching staff to find out “what they have to say about my game and how I can improve the next few years.”

New teammate and Mississauga native Moore was in Plymouth this week skating with this year’s U17 team and William Belle, a 6-2, 205-pound forward who grew up in China at an early before his family moved to Minnesota, was the first 2007-born player on the team to land a college commitment at Notre Dame after attending Shattuck-St. Mary’s.

“I’m going to take my time and I won’t decide by Aug. 1 (earliest NCAA commitment date),” Horcoff said. “It’s an incredibly hard decision. All these schools, the academics are great, the hockey programs are elite. I’ll see where everyone else goes, give it some more thought, go over the evaluations and make my decision based on my visits.”

The 44-year-old Horcoff went to Michigan State from 1996-2000 and recorded 152 career points in four seasons. A captain in his senior season, he was named CCHA player of the year and a Hobey Baker finalist as top player in collegiate hockey in 2000.

He said he’s tried to stay in the background with his son’s hockey career and decisions along the way but knows the spotlight will be shining on William leading up to his NHL draft year in 2025.

“It is a little bit weird for me, watching these guys get older and become draft eligible,” Horcoff said. “Obviously with my job, we start paying attention as a staff and management but that’s not really my area. That’s Drap’s (Detroit’s director of amatuer scouting) area.

“I still look at them as kids. Time goes fast. There’s going to be a lot of practice and workouts and it can be a grind, especially the first year with the U17s. I’m just looking forward to being a parent and not just watching Will but all the kids and what can happen to them down the road.”

mfalkner@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @falkner