Charles Patrick McAvoy Jr. (born December 21, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey player who is a defenseman and alternate captain for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 14th overall in the 2016 NHL entry draft.
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Early life
McAvoy was born on December 21, 1997, in Long Beach, New York. His father, Charles McAvoy Sr., was the fourth-generation owner of Charles A. McAvoy Plumbing & Heating in Long Beach, while his mother Jennifer worked as an elementary school teacher in Bethpage, New York.
Although he grew up surrounded by New York Islanders fans, McAvoy and his family were supporters of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL), as several members of the Rangers were customers at the family plumbing company. McAvoy grew up a big fan of defenseman Brian Leetch. He has also named former Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh as a favorite.
McAvoy grew up in Long Beach, New York, with three sisters. He attended Long Beach High School for one year before moving to Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, when he joined the USA Hockey developmental team.
Playing career
Junior and collegiate career
McAvoy played in the 2010 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the New York Rangers minor ice hockey team. In August 2013, McAvoy committed to play college hockey at Boston University.
McAvoy played for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in the United States Hockey League for two seasons. During the 2015–16 NCAA men's ice hockey season, BU coach David Quinn paired McAvoy with star BU defenseman and future fellow NHL player Matt Grzelcyk, already selected as a third round 2012 NHL entry draft pick by the Boston Bruins. McAvoy was part of the gold medal-winning team at the 2015 IIHF World U18 Championships. He was also a member of the bronze medal-winning U-20 team at the 2016 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
Leading up to the 2016 NHL entry draft, McAvoy was highly regarded by scouts and was considered one of the top four defensemen available.
Boston Bruins
On March 29, 2017, McAvoy ended his college hockey career by signing for an amateur try-out with the Providence Bruins, the Bruins' AHL affiliate. On April 10, McAvoy signed an entry-level NHL contract.
McAvoy's first game was on April 12, 2017, a 2–1 playoff victory over the Ottawa Senators. Despite having no prior NHL experience, he logged the second most ice time on the team. At a time when four of their top six defenders were injured, McAvoy notched three assists in six games. Following the Bruins' loss to the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the playoffs, by mid-June 2017 Bruins legend and Hall of Fame defenseman Bobby Orr spoke highly of McAvoy's level of talent and work ethic towards succeeding in NHL-level play.
McAvoy made his NHL regular season debut on October 5, 2017, the Bruins season opener against the Nashville Predators. McAvoy got his first regular season points in the game, a goal and an assist in a 4–3 win.
On December 18, 2017, McAvoy scored a Gordie Howe hat trick, which is an unofficial stat where a player gets a goal, an assist, and a fight in one game, against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Bruins went on to win the game, 7–2.
Shortly after New Years' 2018, McAvoy was operated on for symptoms of what was diagnosed as supraventricular tachycardia, evidenced by an episode of heart arrhythmia following the Bruins' November 26, 2017 home game against the Edmonton Oilers. He was expected to take two weeks to fully recover from the ablative procedure used to treat the condition. By January 29, McAvoy had resumed practicing at the Warrior Ice Arena, only one week (January 22) after completing the atrial ablation procedure. By February 1, McAvoy had resumed full participation with his teammates in Bruins team practice sessions at the Warrior facility. McAvoy returned to NHL play on February 3, 2018, skating some 18:51 of ice time during a 4-1 Bruins home ice win against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
During the first game of a six-game homestand at the TD Garden, on February 27, 2018 McAvoy scored the winning overtime goal against the Carolina Hurricanes in a 4–3 home ice win, as the youngest Bruins defenseman to ever achieve the feat.
International play
McAvoy has won a gold medal at every junior level. He won at the 2014 World U-17 Hockey Challenge (January tournament), 2015 IIHF World U18 Championship and 2017 World Junior Championship. At the 2017 event, he was named player of the game in the gold-medal match.
McAvoy led all defenseman in scoring at the 2018 IIHF World Championship with nine points, despite only playing in six games due to the Bruins playing in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. He won the bronze medal at the tournament.
On June 16, 2025, he was one of six players named to Team USA's preliminary roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics. McAvoy was named as one of the alternate captains for the team alongside Matthew Tkachuk with Auston Matthews named as captain. While McAvoy didn't score a point during the Olympics he was normally paired with Quinn Hughes and was credited with keeping the puck out of the US goal during the final US vs Canada game.
Personal life
McAvoy says he tries to emulate Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty and Nashville Predators defenseman Tyson Barrie.
McAvoy married his longtime girlfriend, Kiley, in August 2023, who is the daughter of the New York Rangers' head coach Mike Sullivan. The two met at Boston University, and got engaged in July 2022 in Italy. They welcomed their first child Rhys on January 26, 2025. In May 2026, the McAvoys shared through Kiley's Instagram account that Rhys had been diagnosed with Williams Syndrome, a rare genetic condition that affects development and multiple organ systems.
Prior to the 2026 Winter Olympics, McAvoy was questioned on LGBT players and fans, alongside the popular queer hockey romance show Heated Rivalry. McAvoy expressed his support stating that as a team the Bruins had tried to make their space allow everyone to feel safe and comfortable, and that showing support was the least they can do.
Amid online backlash faced by the men's Olympic hockey team regarding the inclusion of FBI director Kash Patel during their gold medal celebrations and members of the team laughing at President Trump's comments of being impeached if he did not invite the women's team to the White House, the team was invited to meet with the president and attend the State of the Union. McAvoy was among the majority who visited with the president and attended the State of the Union. He later told reporters that he was sorry for how the team responded to the comments and continued by praising the women's team calling the win "unbelievable" and that the men's team supported the women's.