20 Under 25 Rankings: #16 – Charlie McAvoy

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TURNS 25: DECEMBER 21, 2022
FINAL RATING: 5.9 OUT OF 10

Charlie McAvoy is only a sophomore at Boston University, but Bruins fans are already clamoring for the day when he’ll patrol the back end at TD Garden. The 2 goals and 13 points in 17 games so far this season are modest by his standards, but numbers only tell part of the story of a 19-year-old who projects to be a Drew Doughty-type defenseman capable of playing heavy minutes of productive hockey.

It could be undue pressure on a player like McAvoy to label him the future No. 1 defenseman of the Bruins, but that’s exactly where he projects once he starts his NHL apprenticeship. McAvoy showed a blistering point shot and penchant for hardnosed physical play with Team USA at the World Junior level, and set social media on fire last summer when he smoked Lawson Crouse with a big, heavy -- and clean -- open-ice hit during international competition.

The endurance to play big ice-time minutes, the top-shelf offensive skills, and the willingness to mix it up physically are the ingredients that make McAvoy a perfect fit for the Bruins organization once he turns pro. The real question with McAvoy is when that’s going to be.

Perhaps Bruins fans will get their first look at McAvoy in a Bruins uniform at the end of this year, if he decides to turn pro after the Terriers' season ends. If so, the youth movement on the Boston back end will continue as talented youngsters like McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, Jeremy Lauzon, Jakob Zboril and Ryan Lindgren begin to take over.

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