Why does Bo Horvat wear 53?

Bo Horvat is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who plays as the centre for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Bo Horvat chose jersey number 53 in tribute to fellow London Knights draftee, goalie Ian Jenkins, who wore number 35 and died in an automobile accident in May 2011.

Bo Horvat and Ian Jenkins, a goaltender, were both picked by the London Knights in the 2011 OHL Priority Selection ninth and 29th overall respectively.

Just weeks after being drafted, Jenkins was tragically killed after he fell out from the back of a pickup truck. He was 15 years old.

Horvat wears number 53, which is an inverse of Jenkins’s number 35 that he wore as a goaltender, in memory.

“I’m sure we would have been great friends if he was here,” Horvat told Friedman. “To switch my number around the kind of in memory of him was something special to me and to his family.

“For me to kind of represent him so to speak really shows my appreciation for him as a goaltender.”

Bo Horvat says the Jenkins family were not aware initially why he picked 53. “I don’t they think they knew,” he said. “When I told them why I picked 53 and why I did it, I think it meant a lot to them and I think they really appreciate it.”