Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy is expected to take on a bigger leadership role this season. Charles Krupa/Associated Press
A new era of Bruins hockey begins Wednesday, and no one’s more aware of that than Charlie McAvoy.
There is still one link left to the 2011 Stanley Cup team. And from a stature point, it’s a big one – captain Brad Marchand. But it’s the group of young veterans who’ll be in charge of this club’s destiny over the next decade.
At the top of that list is McAvoy, the Bruins’ do-it-all defenseman who’ll munch the most minutes of anyone and should challenge for a Norris Trophy for years to come.
“This next chapter in Bruins history is going to be written by us, obviously, with Marchy being the lone guy left (from the Cup team),” said McAvoy. “We all have something to prove. That’s me. That’s (David Pastrnak). That’s (Brandon Carlo). That’s (Hampus Lindholm). None of us have won. We’ve been right there and gone as far as you can go and we have some experience. But what is our legacy going to be? I think that’s something I’m trying to internalize. I’ve got a lot of time left here, which I’m extremely grateful for. And we’ve got to be building something good and I think that’s what we’re doing.”
Big things are expected of the 25-year-old McAvoy. After missing the first month of the season following shoulder surgery last year, he’s heading into the season healthy this year and should be ready to dive head-first into his prime seasons. It has been noticeable in camp.
“He just seems to a have a lot more confidence in what he’s doing because there’s no doubts like, is my shoulder ready for this? Or can I handle this?” said Coach Jim Montgomery. “All those questions are gone. And he’s just playing.”
McAvoy is a physical presence, moves the puck and skates extremely well. But if there is one area where both he and the club would like to see him take another step it is his offensive production. Not that he’s been some stay-at-home plugger. McAvoy had seven goals and 45 assists in 67 games, and was plus-29, despite some of those early physical doubts he might have been battling.
Boston would like defenseman Charlie McAvoy to be a bigger part of their offense this season. Charles Krupa/Associated Press
But shooting the puck more, whether it’s to score goals himself or create offense for others, has always been one little nagging part of his game that everyone wants to see more of, especially with him running the first power-play unit and the Bruins in possession of one of the top net-front forwards in James van Riemsdyk.
“You just (have to) reiterate how important it is that he has a shot-first mindset. And you continue to show him opportunities where you think he could have and when he passed them up. And then over time it gets less and less,” said Montgomery.
McAvoy has heard it before, and it’s something he intends to focus on.
“Yeah, some of it’s been ongoing. One of the bigger things we’ve talked about is having someone like (van Riemsdyk) in front of the net,” said McAvoy. “He’s an extremely good tipper of the puck. When I think of him, I think of David Backes. Backs was someone you knew around the league that he was someone gifted at tipping the puck. Joe Pavelski is one that comes to mind when you think of that. And JVR’s really good at that. That’s how he’s made a living. So we’ve got to give him the chance. And that falls on me to get pucks through when I see him alone in front of the net.”
McAvoy’s membership in the leadership group has been cemented with his ascension to alternate captain along with Pastrnak. While he appreciates what it means, he’s not intimidated by the role, nor does he believe it all falls on Marchand, Pastrnak (the other alternate) and him.
“Honestly not much has changed in terms of that,” said McAvoy, who many have surmised will be the next captain whenever Marchand’s time is up. “I’ve been on a lot of teams, not NHL teams, where I’ve sort of been relied on in that way, whether it was college or junior teams. It’s just something I think I’ve grown a lot in. So to be recognized as that is nice, but I’ll always refer back to that it’s by committee. And there are a lot of guys in here, letter or not, who bring a lot to the leadership of this team.”
He knows enough the role he’s asked to fill can’t change who he is. He’s seen a wide variety of leadership from Zdeno Chara to Patrice Bergeron to David Krejci to Backes to Nick Foligno.
“All these people do it in different ways. And you have to do it organically. You have to come as who you are every day,” said McAvoy. “So I’m getting older, getting to know who I am, who I want to be, really. That’s the biggest thing that I’ve taken from those guys, the stuff I loved the most about them – they’re all gentlemen, they’re all good guys, they treat everyone the same way. Those are probably the biggest things I want to take from them that I want to take forward.”
Now there are kids to lead, too. Rookie centers Matt Poitras and John Beecher have made the opening night team. There’s a feeling defenseman Mason Lohrei will be back up here soon.
McAvoy has been in their shoes. He was part of a young group in 2017 that included Jake DeBrusk, Sean Kuraly, Danton Heinen, Anders Bjork and Matt Grzelcyk.
“It was really special. We had a little bit of life coming in and then within a year we were playing for the Finals. You need to see those guys come in and not only that, (help) develop and be a part of them taking steps to grow and hit their ceiling,” said McAvoy.
“And I just remember the little things. Your first point, your first goal, it’s just something you get excited about. And I think the bench gets even more excited than they do. It’s little stuff, but it’s something you play this game for and it’s cool.”
Let the new era begin.
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