Discovering the winning formula: Charlie McAvoy on Bruins’ culture | The Drop

Discovering the winning formula: Charlie McAvoy on Bruins’ culture | The Drop

Joining us now on the drop Charlie mckoy Boston Bruins defenseman and official NFL playoff prognosticator for this postseason Charlie you went seven and five that’s not bad it’s not bad at all you took some chances they didn’t work out but seven and five is nothing to sneeze at oh we’re plus money

Uh seven and five um n i I love football football was always my uh my favorite sport besides hockey I played it for as long as I could and uh I love watching college football I love NFL it coincides with with our season so I don’t think

There’s any better time in the year than that late August September when you’re when you’re getting ready for you know for football hockey season now when you say you played it did you play it like in school growing up or were you just messing around with kids from your

Neighborhood like I did no I played it I played Pop Warner and then uh I played up until seventh grade so when and I had to go out for like the middle school team that was kind of when it was just too much like we had games every weekend

For hockey all through the fall so you’re missing those games anyway and um you know practice doesn’t doesn’t coincide with it either so the coach was always like I played lacrosse the longest honestly and it would it would always be kind of funny like because those they don’t really understand I be

Like man I I’m I think I’m good at this hockey thing I don’t want to miss hockey but like if you miss their sport so if you would miss like lacrosse practice he’d be like you’re not playing this weekend like so you can never have the

Best of both worlds but I wish I could have had that with football a little while longer uh because I loved it so there was never a point in the Multiverse where you could have been Mark Bavaro right like you were always going to be better at hockey right I I would

Imagine I was never going to be Mark Bavaro my dad actually we went I went to a Giants game with my dad and he had actually I bought him a Mark B Jersey right yeah when we went we went to their opener vers the Broncos like three years

Ago four years ago and I got him a Bavaro Jersey freaking love no I wish I could have played it longer because you never know like I gave up on it too early but I don’t think that I would have uh I don’t know I don’t know if I

Had the intangibles to be a football player but I played I was big as a kid played like running back and linebacker so nice well we you and I have talked before about how you had a happier upbringing because I’m a Jets fan and you’re a Giants fan so we don’t have to

Go there again uh Super Bowl 58 is upon us the Kansas City Chiefs meet the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas let’s not keep the people waiting Charlie what is your official Super Bowl pick for this year’s big game yeah I’ve tried to uh tried to get

As as many views as I can on both sides obviously sometimes we’re playing um but but I don’t understand how you could go against momes in this situation and I really don’t understand how they’re underdogs to be honest he’s just been there too many times the record is the record’s wild

Like I think I took them to lose in the divisional it’s like the guy the guy’s seven and0 in the divisional like you just he’s a shoe in for the conference Championship every single year so I don’t know why I was thinking that and now I’m just going to let the let the

Numbers work for me so I don’t know I think it’s it’s really hard to go against the Chiefs here and their defense is probably the best they’ve had even better than last year so I don’t know and then you look at the ners yeah I don’t know I looked at the ners and

I’m like they tried every way to lose their playoff games and they somehow got through now I don’t know if that that’s obviously a good test is like you know their their medal and but so maybe now they flip the switch and now they’re just going to

Like run Kansas City out but I don’t know I you going to have to show it to me you’re going to have to give me momes and uh on Super Bowl Sunday I’m with I’m with you I’m on the Chiefs like give Andy Reid and his coaching staff that

Amount of time to figure out how to torture Brock perie like they’re G to be able to figure it out like mcaffry is gonna get his he’s like minus 260 score touchdown he’s gonna get his yeah like if they give the Chiefs time to figure out how to torture Brock pie they’re

Going to torture Brock pie oh and by the way their offense is playing really well too right now with you know Mahomes Peko everything so um I mean we might both look dumb at the end of the day it might be Brock pie telling us all how excited

He is to go to Disneyland at the end of the Super Bowl but I I I I’m with you like the idea of the Chiefs being an underdog in a game like this is mindboggling so I’m with you on the yeah you’re going to have to show it to me

Like they had to go the hard way so they went into Baltimore they went into Buffalo and they won both those games Buffalo into Buffalo and then into Baltimore freezing and like that’s the same Baltimore team team that put up 35 on on San Fran in in San Fran like I

Know those games don’t really you know you like to play that game a little bit but like right they went and they went and won that game with their defense so I don’t know I just I I like gimy Mahomes is an underdog in the Super Bowl

And it feels like it feels like a gift there you go makoy wasinski both in the Chiefs for throwing Taylor Swift friendship racist at each other we’re very excited we’re both we’re both on the Chiefs what you think about Swift and Kelsey by the way the whole the

Whole thing with there uh I think it’s pretty cool we were joking about it the other day because obviously like you know my my wife loves Taylor Swift and you know I’m I’m not ashamed to say I I listen to Taylor Swift too uh yeah you

Know she’s she’s an icon um I just was saying I’m like man she couldn’t she couldn’t have dated a hockey player someone was saying the re someone was saying the revenue of uh you know what she’s brought to the NFL um and obviously she’s helped her own brand

Along the way but I was like Dam like we couldn’t have gotten like couldn’t have gotten like Jack Hughes or somebody to to slide into her DMs I don’t know um it would our our ceiling our ceiling is Hillary Duff I think that was our ceiling is Hillary Duff Hillary Duff and

Mike Fisher yep oh that’s right no you’re right Hillary Duff was you’re right Underwoods are ceiling she’s more famous than Hillary Duff you’re right good point Charlie good point all right you’re a USA hockey guy big international hockey news at the NHL All-Star game let’s start with the four

Nations faceof with the US Canada Sweden Finland what were your thoughts on that tournament for next season yeah I thought it was really cool um just really exciting uh you know at the prospect of playing you know some hockey for Team USA again um you know

It’s been a little bit uh some of the best memories I’ve had in in hockey and and it’s always an honor uh to do so I’ve had the dream of being an Olympian since you know since the first time I ever watched it and then 2010 when they almost won

The gold medal um I remember that I remember sitting on the couch watching that with my family and how special that tournament was to to view and then to you know to internalize that and be like man that’s where I want to be so to have

The opportunity to do it I know we thought we had it last go around and that was equally as exciting and then kind of equally as disappointing when it got bold but um you know hopefully there’s there’s no un unforeseen stuff that could uh you know that could throw

A wrench in this and we get to see it through and and you know hopefully as long as I do everything I can I’ll be able to to play on that team yeah people don’t understand how close it came with Beijing like you told me you had to

Submit your measurements for your Ralph Lauren like opening ceremonies or closing ceremonies gear right yeah it was every they you know you could see all the names that are on the list and we had we had gone as far as having you know like

A a long they make a long list right um you know and then that we got on a zoom call and and that was with the coaching staff and the general manager so you have all these guys that are in the player pool um you know with the

Prospect of making the team and um you know you have to give you know sort of home addresses and I think there’s you know they can come and drug test you and stuff like that like water and then you go through you know your measurements for stuff like that you’re kind of

Filling out like this this pre pregame application and we made it all the way into the season into the winter time so we were getting kind of close to February and then I think they called it I don’t know month month and a half before two months before so when all

Those outbreaks happened and it would have you know would have been hard but yeah it was uh you know it was cool because you’re doing all these things and you’re getting excited about it just hoping you know just as long as my play can can uh you know can stay well and

Get a chance to go but um but it’ll be equally uh you know as exciting this time around round if we get to uh if we get to do it and obviously I hope I hope we will and then the four nations too um Boston and Montreal two two of the best

Cities I think in in the league for for hockey um you know obviously if I get to play in that uh a little bit of home ice for me would be would be awesome um having you know living here in Boston year round so uh I know it’s only four

Teams and I understand what its placeholder is and a pasta was kind of upset um you know cuz the cchs have a have a great hockey country uh but as I understood it it was sort of just like what they put together in the short time

And then it’ll it’ll be a you know a first step towards World Cup of Hockey again where everybody will be able to play yep exactly and then obviously they announced that the All-Star game like you said 2026 2030 Olympics for the NHL players all right here’s your chance

Give you the platform please tell myself and the rest of the Patriotic Americans watching the drop that we’re finally going to beat Canada and win gold one of these tournaments Charlie makoy yeah I mean I’m not GNA throw that on the on the bulletin board right now

But I I’ve had these I’ve had these conversations and uh you know because because 2010 I guess 2014 was the last one so there for that I was there in 2010 too crushing crushing crushing yeah so I remember looking at those teams and I remember thinking you know wow it’ be

Really cool to to see if they can go far in these tournaments and you know in the conversations that I’ve had you know recently with with just with the player pool and with the talent that USA Hockey has and you look around and there stars all over the league um that are American

At at every single position um so I think that kind of changes now I think it’s you know instead of being like Oh I wonder how far they could go it it looks like hey you know why not us to to go and go over there and and make some real

Noise there USA Hockey group chat no I have a lot of guys from my my ncdp team and stuff a lot of them you know a lot of them were at the wedding and okay and uh you know we stay close we’ve had some amazing experiences whether it be

World Juniors or or u8s and stuff you know those things kind of kind of give you a really special bond um so I I it would be it would be really unique and and obviously some of the names are are the same to think about if

We got a chance to go and play this uh it would be sort of a a reunion that’d be awesome finally uh the Bruins have been one of the best stories of the season so far you know pressing for the president’s trophy again after losing some key players after last season and

Suffering that devastating loss in the playoffs in the first round has this season been a surprise for you at all or did you were you confident that the Bruins still had this kind of season in them I thought you rely upon the culture I guess and that is and that is a

Winning culture um you know sort of doing doing all the things you need to do in order to win but I was definitely surprised uh I I’ll I’ll say it you know for won’t hide it I was you know we lost a lot of guys and I think maybe it was

The outside noise that kind of you know sort of and and I I think I embrace sort of an underdog role this year and I think our team did as well and as we started stringing together our identity and and winning more and more hockey

Games um I was kind of like you know a little bit of how are we doing this and then then it sort of clicked like okay you know this this isn’t luck this isn’t like we’re we’re a really good hockey team again are we built like last year

No not at all we’re more of a put it in deep team now versus line Rush we’re more of a where you out behind the net than we are you know sort of cyc on making skill skill plays High um we’re doing it a completely different way this

Year but you know when I look back on it now I will say like you know the goalie stay the same the defense stayed the same we got a we got new guys up front um but at those two pillars were you know they we we got better in those two areas Um not much changed you know there was there was familiarity with our structure and stuff like that so uh it worked out really well and then our forwards you know have been getting better and better every in every game this year pleasant surprise indeed all right you heard it

Folks Charlie mckoy on the Chiefs he’s plus money run run to wherever you run to and and and take that knowledge with you Charlie you’re the best thanks for taking time with us today on the drop we appreciate it thank you guys go Chiefs

Boston Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy joins The Drop to give his stone cold lock Super Bowl pick. He also gives his feelings on the return to the Olympics and pulls the curtain back on the Bruins’ winning culture to hockey fans.

00:00 Welcome Charlie McAvoy to the show!
00:50 Playing Pop Warner football as a kid
2:40 Charlie picks the Super Bowl Winner
5:30 Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce has been a topic of conversation in the McAvoy house
6:45 On the return to the Winter Olympics
10:00 Badly wanting Team USA to beat Team Canada
11:45 Surprised to see the Bruins in first place in the East and winning culture

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