Charlie McAvoy Is Exactly as Advertised
Boston Bruins number one defenseman Charlie McAvoy is enjoying an entertaining start to his fourth full NHL season. After colliding with teammate Trent Frederic in practice on Monday, McAvoy hit the ice hard and remained prone for several tense seconds. Ultimately the collision required him to leave practice.
Fortunately for the Long Beach native, it was only due to a chipped tooth, a first for him at the pro level. Unfortunately for McAvoy, he spent the bulk of his day in the dentist's chair for repairs. But that's hockey.
“I think he chipped a tooth,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy told the media. “Otherwise, he was fine. We’ll have an update later. Hopefully, he's good to go tomorrow (Tuesday).”
McAvoy, the ever-evolving 23-year-old, already has 10 points in just 11 games, all of which have come on his current seven-game point streak of one goal and nine assists. His average ice time has also increased to a hair above 24 minutes per night which is over a minute more than last season. This type of rapid maturation was expected yet all the more impressive when you realize his longtime mentor Zdeno Chara is no longer a Bruin.
Additionally, power play quarterback Matt Grzelcyk has missed six games due to injuries sustained in the month of January. In his absence, Cassidy has turned to McAvoy to pick up the slack and he's made his coach look brilliant in the process. In case there was ever any doubt, Boston has a leader on the backend in McAvoy who isn’t even close to hitting the prime years of his career.
Boston is currently tied with the Philadelphia Flyers for the division lead and a ton of credit should go to the play of their defensemen. In the absence of Chara and Torey Krug, there were legitimate concerns about the defensive unit which would have to rely on a much younger core. Well, through 11 games Boston has the second-best penalty kill in the league at 87.8%, they’re tied for second in goals against per game with 2.18, and are first in shots against per game with 23.5.
I think it’s safe to say they’re holding their own.
If there were concerns heading into this season about whether or not McAvoy possessed the ability to wear the label of a number one defenseman, he has gone out of his way to silence them.
With expectations higher than ever, McAvoy looks every bit the player the Bruins had hoped he would become when they selected him with the 14th overall pick in 2016. If he keeps evolving as expected, he’s the obvious choice to be the team's next captain.