Thursday, October 1, 2026
Charlie McAvoy has made it from the Long Beach Ice Arena to the 2026 Winter Olympics. The Long Beach native and NHL pro is playing hockey for Team USA at the Milan Cortina Games — the sole Long Islander representing the United States at this year’s Olympics.
While McAvoy could have followed in the footsteps of his father, Charlie Sr., working in the family’s plumbing and heating business, which has been in operation since 1926, it was clear from the start that McAvoy belonged on the ice. Lisa Libowitz, his seventh-grade health teacher at Long Beach Middle School, recalled his determination to play hockey at a high level.
“My son was 5 and I had to bring him to work two days in a row,” Libowitz said. “Charlie immediately took to my son, who plays hockey, and they did a project together for Veterans Day while talking hockey. The second day, Charlie comes in with a hockey stick and signs it ‘Charlie McAvoy’ with his jersey number. He gave it to my son and said, ‘This stick’s going to mean something one day.’ We still have it today.”
McAvoy attended East Elementary, LBMS, and Long Beach High School for a year before he moved to Michigan to join the U.S. National Hockey Team Development program. His athletic aspirations were always more than just dreams; they were achievable goals, evident to those who knew or watched him.
“He had asked me to write a recommendation letter,” his English teacher at the middle school, Lauren Behan, recounted. “When I mentioned it to a colleague, they immediately said, ‘Well, that’s because he’s NHL-bound.’ Even at the age of 12, people could see that was the path that he was going to follow.”
A lifelong athlete, McAvoy progressed through youth hockey, playing for the Long Beach Apple Core, the Long Island Gulls and the New Jersey Rockets, before being drafted as a defenseman by the Boston Bruins in 2016, at age 19.
Jim Bosenberg was one of McAvoy’s coaches when the then 4-year-old played for the Apple Core. Charlie McAvoy Sr. was the team’s other coach. “The team practiced in a tiny rink upstairs at Long Beach arena,” Bosenberg said of those formative years. “Charlie was always a nice, hardworking kid who enjoyed playing hockey."
McAvoy has admitted to being torn between wanting a “traditional” childhood and the life of an aspiring athlete. “My dad was certainly the one who held me to a high standard and wanted the best for me,” he said in a 2024 episode of the “Nothing Left Unsaid” podcast. “I’m appreciative of all those things, and I think I can say that, during it, I definitely wasn’t. I wanted to play with my friends. I wanted to have my weekends to go do all these things. In hockey, that’s not realistic. Especially if you’re playing travel hockey.”
In hindsight, McAvoy said, he appreciated the opportunities he was given. “Looking back, I wouldn’t have changed a thing,” he said. “I would’ve had a little more appreciation for all the hard work he put in that ultimately allowed me to achieve my dream,” he added of his father.
In 2018, McAvoy was named to the NHL’s All-Rookie Team after a standout debut season, and has racked up team-leading time on the ice for the Bruins in recent seasons. But his career hasn’t been without obstacles. He was treated for a previously undiagnosed heart-rhythm issue in 2018, which forced him to miss several weeks of playing time. He separated his shoulder during a game last February, and last November he suffered a fractured jaw when he took a slapshot to the face, and wasn’t cleared to play for nearly a month.
In a game against the Florida Panthers on Feb. 4, McAvoy was on the receiving end of an illegal check to the head by Panther Sandis Vilmanis. He sat out part of the first period, returned to complete the game, and the following day underwent a medical exam to gauge his overall health, and was cleared to compete in the Games.
Team USA was scheduled for three preliminary Group C matches in the Olympic bracket. On Feb. 12, Team USA faced off against Latvia — a squad that included Vilmanis — with our National team earning a dominant victory, 5 to 1. On Feb. 14, Team USA celebrated Valentine's Day with a win against Denmark, 6 to 3. Their preliminary match-ups ended on Feb. 15 with a 5 to 1 win over Germany.
The victory over Germany earned the team a bye — skipping the qualification round scheduled for Feb. 17. Team USA, along with Teams Canada, Slovakia and Finland, will advance straight to the quarterfinals on Feb. 18. Winning teams will then advance to the semifinals on Feb. 20, the bronze medal game on Feb. 21 and the matchup for the gold medal on Feb. 22.
