Page 6 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, November 8, 2019 From BU to the Boston Bruins By The Old Sachem, Bill Stewart M any of you know that I am an avid follower of Boston $3.39 $2.45 GALLON GALLON We accept: MasterCard * Visa * & Discover Price Subject to Change without notice 100 Gal. Min. 24 Hr. Service 781-286-2602 * Corporate Litigation * Criminal/Civil * MCAD * Zoning/Land Court * Wetlands Litigation * Workmen’s Compensation * Landlord/Tenant Litigation University hockey. I attend every game I can and watch them when they are on television. I graduated from BU with a B.S. in Engineering and a Master’s in Business Administration, both of which lead me to follow the Terriers sports. No, they do not play football; they did when I was there, with Harry Agganis from Lynn Classical at quarterback, but eventually decided it was too expensive to carry out the game. UMass spends about five million on football each year. This season the Bruins have three notable players who formerly played for the BU Terriers: Charlie McAvoy, Charlie Coyle and Matt Grzelcyk. Coyle (Weymouth) and Grzelcyk (Charlestown) are from around here and McAvoy grew up in Long Beach, N.Y., and all played for the Boston University and now the BosLawrence A. Simeone Jr. Attorney-at-Law ~ Since 1989 ~ * Real Estate Law * Construction Litigation * Tax Lein * Personal Injury * Bankruptcy * Wrongful Death * Zoning/Permitting Litigation 300 Broadway, Suite 1, Revere * 781-286-1560 Lsimeonejr@simeonelaw.net Bill Stewart The Old Sachem ton Bruins. Matt Grzelcyk was born January 5, 1994, in Charlestown, Mass., and as a Bruin weighs in at 176 lbs., somewhat small (5ft. 10) under today’s standard for a professional defenseman. As a youth he played for the Middlesex Islanders and competed in the Quebec International PeeWee Hockey Tournament. Next, he advanced to the Belmont Hill School in the 2009-2010 year, accumulating 20 points. His next stop was the U.S. National Development Team, playing there for two seasons in the U.S. Hockey League, where he played 60 games. Matt was selected to the U.S. U17 team in 2011, the World Junior Championship (WJC) 18 national team in 2012, and the U.S. WJC team in 2014. At BU he played for four years, scoring 100 points as a Terrier. As a junior he became captain, was selected to the CCM First Team All-American, Hockey East First Team All Star, and the All-Regional Team of the NCAA Tournament. He was named to the Hockey East All-Tournament Team and was fourth in the nation in points per game (0.95) among defensemen. Grzelcyk was drafted by the Boston Bruins 85th overall in 2012 and was then assigned to their 505 Broadway Everett, MA 02149 Tel: 617-387-1120 www.gkdental.com • Family Dentistry • Crowns • Bridges • Veneers/Lumineers • Dental Implants • All on 4 Dental Implants • Emergency Dentist • Kid Friendly Dentist • Root Canals • Dentures • Invisalign Braces • Snap On Smile • Teeth Whitening We are the smile care experts for your entire family Providence farm club. Matt got 32 points in 70 games for Providence in the 2016-2017 season, and near the end of the season, he was brought up for two games. In the 2017-2018 season, he played 61 games for the Bruins and was sent back down to Providence. The 2018-2019 season saw him back to the NHL, where he played in 66 games with 18 points, not bad for a defenseman. Next up we have Charlie Coyle, who played for Weymouth High School, and as a freshman helped the Wildcats into their first ever MIAA finals. During the tournament the Wildcats knocked off Malden Catholic, Austin Prep and Central Catholic before losing to BC High in the final. He transferred to Thayer Academy in Braintree, then came back to Weymouth as a senior. His next jump was to Tier III Junior A ice hockey in the Eastern Junior Hockey League with the South Shore Kings, and he finished fifth in the league in overall scoring, getting 63 points in 42 games. He signed with Boston University to play in the 2010-2011 season and scored 26 points in 37 regular season games for the Terriers. Matt was drafted by the San Jose Sharks, 28th overall in 2010 and left BU in 2011 in December and signed with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Drafted by San Jose, he was traded to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Brent Burns and a second-round pick in the 2012 NHL draft. He signed a threeyear entry-level contract in Minnesota; they let him finish the season in the Quebec Juniors. Matt made headlines by making a young fan named Henry dream come true by waving to the boy during warmups, and the result was a viral plug on YouTube. In the 2015-2016 season, Matt was second in goals scored for the Wild: 21 with 42 points. Coyle played seven seasons for the Wild. In the 2017-2018 season Matt broke his leg, which ended his string of 316 consecutive games for the Wild. On February 20, 2019, he was traded to the Bruins in exchange for Ryan Donato (another local from Harvard) and a 5th round pick the following draft. Charlie was inconsistent early on for the Bruins, but eventually became the third line center for the squad, scoring 9 goals and 16 points in 24 games. In the 2019 playoffs, Matt scored 9 goals and had 7 assists. He has two cousins who also played in the NHL: Tony Amonte and Bobby Sheehan. The third ex-BU collegian to In House Dental Plan for $399 (Cleanings, X-Rays, Exams twice a year and 20% OFF Dental work) Schedule your FREE Consultations today advance to the Bruins is Charlie McAvoy – born December 31, 1997, in Long Beach, N.Y. Charlie is 6 ft and 208 pounds, a good size for a defenseman. He was selected by the Bruins 14th overall in the 2016 NHL draft. Charlie played for the New York Rangers youth ice hockey team in the Quebec International Pee-Wee Tournament in 2010. He played for two seasons for the U.S. National Development Team, then signed to play for Boston University in August 2013. McAvoy was a member of the USA team that won the Gold Medal in the 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship, and he was awarded the Player of the Game Honors in the Gold Medal game. He ended his college career on March 29, 2017, and signed an amateur tryout with the Providence Bruins, and on April 10, McAvoy signed with Boston – an entrylevel NHL contract – a real bargain for the Bruins. Charlie was thrown into the playoffs with the Bruins despite having no NHL experience, and recorded the second-most ice time and got three assists in six games. His first regular season game was on October 5, 2017, in the season opener against the Nashville Predators where he had a goal and assist in a 4-3 win. On December 18, 2017, he recorded what has been called a “Gordie Howe Hat Trick” as he scored a goal, added an assist and a fighting expulsion in the same game. Shortly after New Years’ Charlie was operated on for supraventricular tachycardia, a heart arrhythmia. He resumed practice time at the end of January, then resumed full team practice on February 1. On February 5 he resumed Bruins play, skating 18:51 minutes for the Bruins. On February 27, 2018, McAvoy scored the overtime winning goal against the Carolina Hurricanes in a 4-3 home ice win, the youngest Bruin to ever accomplish that feat. In 2018 he was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team and also was a player for the IIHF World Championship Team and was voted fifth for the Calder Memorial Trophy. In 2019 after seven games, he suffered a concussion and was placed on injured reserve on October 30. He was activated on December 6 after missing 20 games. Charles McAvoy has been awarded a gold medal at every junior level, winning at the 2014 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, the 2015 IIHF World U18 Championships and the 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship. In 2016 he was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team, and in 2017 he was selected as an AHCA East First-Team All-American and the Hockey East First AllStar Team. My hope is that the Bruins will win the Stanley Cup in 2020 and Boston University will win the Hockey East Championship, then the NCAA College Championship. My friend, Tony Struzziero, while he agrees with me about the Bruins, he tells me that he is pulling for Boston College to win both titles.
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