Charlie McAvoy stepping it up
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When a team brings a young guy in amid a playoff hunt, two things immediately come to mind: they must be something special (otherwise they wouldn’t be there) and they’re not going to have a very big role/wicked high expectations. See: Xander Bogaerts and his role as backup infielder in the 2013 Red Sox movie. This ain’t one of those stories.
The Boston Bruins obviously made it to the playoffs this season because they have a couple special scorers, who you probably know of by now. But at this point, the fans can’t help but be a little excited by what they saw from one of the newer guys, Charlie McAvoy.
It’s actually really impressive (what he did) even if you’re unbiased media like myself. The defenseman actually made his NHL debut in game one of the Bruins-Senators playoff series and finished second on the team in time on ice. He was out there for 24:11 and Zdeno Chara was out there for 25:32. Think about that: he came in and took on a huge role.
Oh yeah, and he’s only 19 years old. I’m 20 and can barely skate the length of a rink without falling. Just puts all our lives into perspective, I guess…
And, of course, the “kid” (yeah, he’s younger than me, so I can call him a kid) received some praise on Twitter.
Charlie McAvoy plays like P.K. Subban. Smooth, energetic, explosive. Ceiling is extremely high.
— Fluto Shinzawa (@GlobeFluto) April 12, 2017
PK Subban–in addition to being a former Bruins rival–is also now the highest-paid defenseman in the NHL. So yeah, he does more than have bad blood with the Bruins…
And it’s not like it’s baseball where big money contracts are handed out like Halloween candy. Or rocks if you’re Charlie Brown.
It’s absolutely huge for the Bruins to have this guy back there on defense. Let’s be honest, their defense is the weak point on their roster. The depth back there isn’t great. But McAvoy definitely helps–and he will for years to come.