Bruins Host Siblings for Trip to Dallas, Nashville

BOSTON - For Kayla McAvoy, hockey trips with her brother are nothing new.
When her and Charlie were growing up, weekend voyages to hockey tournaments were the norm. This time around, however - with her brother now the Bruins' ace blue liner - things are a tad more interesting.
"It's crazy exciting. It's kind of a throwback," Kayla McAvoy said ahead of the B's first-ever siblings trip. "It reminds me of coming along for the ride for all of those weekend tournament trips, but it's a lot bigger stakes now and a lot more fun and there's a lot more to do, so it's really exciting."

While the Bruins have hosted moms and dads trips in recent years - the most recent coming when the B's mothers visited Nashville in Jan. 2020 - this is the first time the siblings have gotten the call, as they'll accompany their Black & Gold brothers to Dallas and Nashville this week.
"It's unique," said Charlie McAvoy. "This is the first variation of this that I've seen, getting the siblings involved, which makes it even more special. It's a grind during the season, as everyone knows, so this is a nice chance to freshen up and to have her with me and it's an opportunity that I never thought we'd have."
Kayla McAvoy is no stranger to life in the NHL, however, having spent the last two seasons as an intern with the New York Rangers strength and conditioning staff.
"I think I'll get more chirps when I get home and they see all of the pictures and me wearing Bruins gear…that'll be fun," she said. "Having a brother in the league is helpful because you understand what they have to go through and it's really awesome that we get to work together sometimes."

Across the dressing room on Monday morning, Brad Marchand introduced the assembled media to his younger brother Jeff - as only he could.
"This is my, obviously, smoke show of a brother," said Marchand. "It's a very special time. A lot of teams do parents trips, but this is a little unique and a great opportunity to see the behind the scenes and see what we go through on the day to day, so it's a been a lot of fun already and really looking forward to the week."
Jeff Marchand has made his way to Boston on numerous occasions throughout his brother's decade-plus with the Bruins, but has never gotten to completely experience what life is like in the NHL on a daily basis.
"Oh, this is amazing," he said. "It's pretty special and really looking forward to it. It's great to see what these guys go through on a day to day and to see their everyday life behind the scenes. They have a special group here this year so looking forward to being a part of it this week."
The Marchands also revealed a bit of what it was like when the brothers were growing up together in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
"True story - back in the day when we were kids growing up, Brad had a rule, nobody was allowed to touch me except for him," said Jeff Marchand. "So, when we were playing hockey we always played on the same team and if I got hit by anybody he was the first person out there and he would run them through the boards and he would always protect me, but then we'd get home and he would beat me up himself."