Sophomore Surge?

BOSTON - Charlie McAvoy is quite familiar with life as a college student.
The 20-year-old spent two years roaming the campus of Boston University as he starred for the Terriers, and would be entering his senior season had he elected to remain in school.
With that in mind, it's easy to understand McAvoy's desire to liken his rookie season with the Bruins to his freshman campaign on Commonwealth Ave.

"I guess a comparison would be being a freshman in college when you come in and you have that freshman class of yours," McAvoy said of Boston's large rookie contingent last season. "That was kind of like what we were. We had about six guys all trying to find our way in the NHL. We leaned on each other for sure, and it was so exciting when guys would have big games and step up and it was kind of just like, 'Hey, we can do this.'
"It kind of boosted all of our confidences knowing that we were all kind of on that same level, but we were able to contribute."
The trick now will be to make sure those contributions endure into this season - and beyond.
McAvoy headlines a group - which also includes Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen, Matt Grzelcyk, and Sean Kuraly - that is keen on avoiding the dreaded sophomore slump.
"I mean, none of us are forecasting a setback. I can tell you that," said McAvoy, who was paired with Zdeno Chara last season to form Boston's top defense duo. "That friendship is still there. I know we leaned on each other last year, and we'll continue to do that. We're all still very young, still trying to find our way and continue to grow and impact positively on the team."
Boston's throng of young talent burst onto the scene in 2017-18, with the rookies combining for 58 goals (21.9% of the B's 265 goals scored) to lead the NHL, while eight Bruins potted their first career regular-season goals.

The performance of the Bruins' youth blended seamlessly with Boston's championship-winning veteran core, providing a dependable complement that helped lift the team to second place in the Eastern Conference - just one point shy of Tampa Bay - and a spot in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"If you make that step that you open the door to younger players and they make the team and they earn a spot, then the next step is to make sure they stay consistent and make their names for themselves," said Chara. "I think that last year was an exception that that many young players made the team - and they actually played really well, so I think it's great for the organization."
The continued growth and progression of McAvoy, DeBrusk, Heinen, and others will be crucial to the Bruins as they look to build on their highly successful 2017-18 campaign.
"A lot of times kids take a step back in their second year," said Bruins general manager Don Sweeney. "The league sort of catches up to them. There's no surprises anymore. They have to put the work in and realize that things, at times, might have come easily - they're going to be more difficult.
"But we're going to continue to work with them, and our coaching staff did a phenomenal job every day trying to make them better players. Our veteran group and our core group, integrating them into our locker room to teach them every day, as well, what it's going to take and the expectations that they all have to have a successful team.
"And we had a really close locker room last year and it's indicative of our younger kids not getting ahead of themselves, not having a big head about it and coming in to go to work to learn."
In order to avoid a dip in Year 2, that work continued into the offseason. And with a year under their belt, the youngsters were able to mold their summer routines to help them better adapt to the rigors of the National Hockey League.
"I probably played 100 NHL games between exhibition and rookie games and stuff last year, and that's more than I've ever played," said Kuraly, who notched six goals and eight assists in 75 games last season, while becoming a staple on Boston's fourth line.
"Making sure I'm ready to go again for this long marathon of a season and making sure I've got what I need in the tank to make it all the way to the end…something I tried to do this summer - realize that it's a lot of hard work, but it's also a little bit of rest, a little bit of rejuvenation and realizing what's ahead."

DeBrusk played most of last season as David Krejci's left wing, bringing a mix of grit and skill to Boston's second line. He finished with 43 points (16 goals, 27 assists) in 70 regular-season contests - second to Heinen's 47 points - before a stellar postseason outburst, during which he led the Bruins with six goals in 12 games.
The Edmonton native said that a repeat - or improved - second act will require a similar mentality.
"There's lots of talk about the sophomore [slump]," said DeBrusk. "I think that it's obviously a focus [to avoid that], but at the same time, if you still act like you're a rookie and still go into it with the same mindset you had the year before I think that usually similar things happen.
"That's kind of how I'm going into it. I'm going into it hungry as ever, trying to fight and earn my spot and also keep it."