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A late 1997 birthday, Charlie McAvoy was a star on the US NTDP club last year, putting up seven goals and 33 assists for 40 points in 63 games during the season, and four points in seven games in helping the team to win gold at the IIHF U18 World Championships.Now at Boston University, he put up three goals and 22 assists for 25 points in 37 games as a freshman for the Terriers. He was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie team. McAvoy appeared at the All-American Prospects Game in the spring, where he set up the winning goal late in the third period. He also played for the bronze medal winning American team at the World Juniors but was held pointless at the event. A veteran of international play, two years ago, McAvoy was part of the US NTDP U17 team that won gold at the U17 World Hockey Challenge.
Charlie McAvoy Scouting Report: 2016 NHL Draft #15
Defence — shoots Left
Born Dec 21 1997 — Long Beach, New York
Height 6’00” — Weight 206 lbs [183 cm/93 kg]
Charlie McAvoy is an excellent skater, with good speed and acceleration in both directions. He has very good agility, and edgework, which allows him to avoid forecheckers or to skate through traffic in the neutral zone to create offence. He also has good pivots allowing him to transition quickly from defence-to-offence and vice-versa. McAvoy’s strong skating allows him to cover a lot of ice. McAvoy has very good balance and is tough to knock off the puck. It also allows him to establish position in board battles and in clearing the front of the net.
Charlie McAvoy moves the puck with a strong first pass. He is also a very good stick handler and can skate the puck out of the zone as well. McAvoy can lead the offense from the back end, either at the front of the rush or as a trailer. McAvoy’s speed allows him to take the puck deep on the rush, or to pinch in at the blue line and still get back defensively. In the offensive zone, he shows poise at the blue line with the puck on his stick, and has the vision and play making skill necessary to be a power play quarterback. His slap shot though could use some work, as it lacks power compared to the other top defenders in this class. He does have an effective wrist and snap shot though, and a good release.
McAvoy’s strong skating allows him to defend against the rush and to take away the middle and force forwards to the outside. McAvoy has shown the willingness to play physical. He needs to time his hits better though, as he has a tendency to get caught looking for a big physical hit instead of staying back and making the play. He could use some work reading the play and with his positioning but that will come with time. The strong skating and stick handling allow him to retrieve pucks quickly and avoid forecheckers quickly moving the puck up the ice and minimizing zone time. He really starts the transition game very quickly. Overall he’s been impressive for a freshman defender in a top college conference.
McAvoy has the potential to be a top pairing defender, and be used in all situations at the NHL level. He will need some time to continue to develop, and will likely head back to Boston University next year in order to continue to work on his defensive game. In terms of style, McAvoy is reminiscent of Drew Doughty. This is not a talent comparison though, just a stylistic one.
Below are some highlights of Charlie McAvoy in action, compiled from youtube.
Check back tomorrow for the #16 Prospect on our list.
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