McAvoy says wife, son, whole family played big part in him winning gold medal with U.S.

BOSTON -- Tucked in amongst all of Charlie McAvoy’s belongings, the necessities for two weeks overseas at the Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026, were a group of letters. They were written by his family, his parents and sisters, and his wife Kiley. 

He read them almost as soon as he arrived, before he walked with Team USA in the Opening Ceremonies. 

He read them again before the gold medal game on Sunday, the one in which everything he had hoped would come true, came true, when the United States bested Canada on Jack Hughes’ golden goal in overtime. 

“None of this, I feel like, would mean really anything where what it’s meant if I didn’t have my family to share it with, to have the chance to do that with them,” the Boston Bruins defenseman said Thursday ahead of their game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at TD Garden (7 p.m. ET; FDSNOH, NESN, SNO). “You don’t get there without it. It does take a village. Just to have that feeling of just pure pride, but I kept telling them, ‘we did it, we did it,’ because you can’t do it by yourself. It’s just unbelievable. All this stuff has just been a whirlwind, honestly, just a dream come true.”

As McAvoy spoke, about family, about his dad, about everything that he and Kiley have been through this past year, all the injuries and the turmoil, the highs and lows, there was a photograph behind him in his locker stall. 

It was a picture of their son, Rhys, headphones on, smiling, his eyes bright as they looked toward the ice. Charlie held the side of his head, kissing his cheek, his USA jersey and No. 25 prominent on his shoulder, taken in the moments after Team USA -- coached by Rhys’s grandfather -- had won the gold. 

It was a picture of all those dreams, manifested. 

“Don’t ever stop dreaming,” McAvoy said, of his advice to anyone wanting to follow him. “Just work as hard as you can and you never know what could happen. I can’t believe some of the things that have happened in my life and where I’m at and how I’ve got here. I had an embrace with my dad -- they got some good pictures of -- but I jumped up and pulled myself up to grab him and he’s crying. That’s the guy that had me on the ice when I was 2 at the little rink in Long Beach, New York.”

It has been a trying past 12 months for McAvoy, starting with the injury to his right shoulder acromioclavicular joint during the 4 Nations Face-Off last February that resulted in a rare infection that cost him the rest of the regular season. He was injured again on Nov. 15, against the Montreal Canadiens, when a Noah Dobson slapshot caused a linear fracture to the left side of his face. He lost multiple teeth and 20 pounds in the first week. 

“I think the biggest thing was just with Kiley, we talked the day before, so we knew, win the semis, we’re playing for a gold medal, we had kind of talked about it leading up to this tournament, just honestly how much has gone on in our lives this year,” McAvoy said. “A lot of it public but a lot of it not, kind of what we had gone through as a family this year. And we just kept being like, ‘I think we deserve this. We deserve something good to happen to us.’ … The McAvoys needed a win this year.”

The week, though, has not only been about the accomplishments on the ice. 

Team USA received a phone call from President Donald Trump after the win, in which he invited the team to the White House and State of the Union speech, followed by the President saying, “we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that? I do believe I probably would be impeached.” 

Some of the players in the room appeared to react with a laugh, while others said, “2 for 2!” in reference to the women’s Gold Medal triumph. McAvoy’s Bruins and Team USA teammate Jeremy Swayman apologized on Wednesday for the team’s reaction, with McAvoy echoing the sentiment. 

“Just certainly sorry for how we responded to it in that moment,” McAvoy said. “Things just happened really quick there. And if you know the men's team and if you know the relationships that we have, the amount of time that we've spent with the women's team and how we've supported them, it's certainly not reflective of how we feel and look at them and their accomplishments. What they did was unbelievable.

“We supported them the same way that they supported us. So we share this together. I know that. And I'm pretty confident they know how I feel about them and what they've been able to accomplish. The way that they did it too, with how dominant they played, I think America should be so proud of them for their accomplishment."

As McAvoy spoke with the assembled media on Thursday, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney made his way into the center of the scrum. Sweeney served as assistant general manager of Team Canada at the Olympics after being the team’s GM for the 4 Nations Face-Off. 

“Just want to interrupt for a second because I haven’t gotten to see Charlie and congratulate him on the gold medal, in the spirit of good sportsmanship,” Sweeney said. 

The two shook hands and embraced. 

For McAvoy, who donned a Mike Eruzione jersey during the Team USA’s celebrations at a club in Miami after winning goal, the hope is that the gold medal win -- the first since the “Miracle on Ice” Eurizone and his teammates authored in 1980 -- pushes the USA Hockey program ever higher, especially with the U.S. winning both hockey golds in Milan, on both the men’s and women’s sides. 

“That team was the last [men’s] team to win gold, that team, that movie, all that stuff, that’s everything to a kid that plays for USA hockey,” he said. “You dream because of them and what they accomplished. And then to fast forward and we’re on FaceTime with Mike [Eruzione] or Jack O’Callahan and you can see the genuine pride in how happy they were for us on the other side.

“There are just so many connections for people in USA hockey to kind of bring this whole thing full circle. And I just feel like we did it for all of them, we did it for America, but we did it for all the players that kind of paved the way for us and made us dream.”

It has been a long, long week for Team USA, a week with much celebrating and little sleep. There are still many unread texts in McAvoy’s phone -- he estimated 300 or so -- and many souvenirs to be unpacked, with the defenseman admitting he found a way to bring home anything and everything he was given. 

“Just a whirlwind, just unbelievable,” McAvoy said. “Still doesn’t feel real what we were able to accomplish. When you put it in the context of the third team to ever do that, to win a gold medal in USA hockey on the men’s side, it’s so special.

“Just really feeling bless and super grateful for the experience.”

As McAvoy spoke with the assembled media on Thursday, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney made his way into the center of the scrum. Sweeney served as assistant general manager of Team Canada at the Olympics after being the team’s GM for the 4 Nations Face-Off. 

“Just want to interrupt for a second because I haven’t gotten to see Charlie and congratulate him on the gold medal, in the spirit of good sportsmanship,” Sweeney said. 

The two shook hands and embraced. 

For McAvoy, who donned a Mike Eruzione jersey during the Team USA’s celebrations at a club in Miami after winning goal, the hope is that the gold medal win -- the first since the “Miracle on Ice” Eurizone and his teammates authored in 1980 -- pushes the USA Hockey program ever higher, especially with the U.S. winning both hockey golds in Milan, on both the men’s and women’s sides. 

“That team was the last [men’s] team to win gold, that team, that movie, all that stuff, that’s everything to a kid that plays for USA hockey,” he said. “You dream because of them and what they accomplished. And then to fast forward and we’re on FaceTime with Mike [Eruzione] or Jack O’Callahan and you can see the genuine pride in how happy they were for us on the other side.

“There are just so many connections for people in USA hockey to kind of bring this whole thing full circle. And I just feel like we did it for all of them, we did it for America, but we did it for all the players that kind of paved the way for us and made us dream.”

It has been a long, long week for Team USA, a week with much celebrating and little sleep. There are still many unread texts in McAvoy’s phone -- he estimated 300 or so -- and many souvenirs to be unpacked, with the defenseman admitting he found a way to bring home anything and everything he was given. 

“Just a whirlwind, just unbelievable,” McAvoy said. “Still doesn’t feel real what we were able to accomplish. When you put it in the context of the third team to ever do that, to win a gold medal in USA hockey on the men’s side, it’s so special.

“Just really feeling bless and super grateful for the experience.”