Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy comes from a long line of plumbers. His father, Charles McAvoy Sr., is the fourth-generation owner of Charles A. McAvoy Plumbing & Heating in Long Beach, New York. McAvoy grew up joining his father on jobs, helping him work on water mains in the street and watching him work on plumbing at the houses of New York Rangers players. 

Charles Sr. was a promising hockey player himself, but with hockey being so expensive, he never had the chance to pursue it after high school. Instead, he worked hard to give his children the opportunities on the ice he never had.

"Every day I saw him work," McAvoy said. "He's putting everything he has into that. So, I knew I owed it to him to put everything I had into hockey the same way."

In Episode 3 of the My New Favorite Olympian and My New Favorite Paralympian podcast, titled "Charlie McAvoy: Bringing plumber's mentality to USA Hockey," the Boston Bruin talks about how his upbringing inspired him to give back to the people of Boston with hosts Chase Cain and Adam Rippon. In 2025, the Bruins submitted McAvoy as the team's nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the NHL player who made noteworthy humanitarian contributions to his community. The nomination rightfully was deserved given how McAvoy had engaged with the Boston community since joining the Bruins in 2017. He took over the team's tradition of delivering Thanksgiving pies to local shelters, raised awareness about the waived adoption fees offered by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and raised money for first responders to get access to cancer screenings.

"I feel like a Bostonian," McAvoy said. "I love people from Boston. I love our fans. I love the people here. I want to try and do as best I can for them on the ice, off the ice."

Hear all of that and more in this week's episode of My New Favorite Olympian.

Episodes of My New Favorite Olympian and My New Favorite Paralympian release weekly in the lead-up to Milan-Cortina.

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