MONTREAL — Charlie McAvoy and Mike Sullivan have a strong connection off the ice that goes way beyond hockey.
McAvoy is married to Sullivan’s daughter Kiley, who recently gave birth to the couple’s first child. McAvoy plays defense for the Boston Bruins, Sullivan coaches the Pittsburgh Penguins and their careers had not overlapped — until now. They’re on the same team with the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
“I have a son now, for his dad to play for his grandpa, those are things that I would have never dreamed of,” McAvoy said. “This is just where hockey’s taken us, where our jobs have taken us, so it’s extremely special.”
Sullivan, the coach of the U.S. team, called it an incredible privilege and thinks he and McAvoy will gain a greater appreciation of this looking back on it.
“Someday we might look back on this and smile,” Sullivan said. “Charlie means the world to us, to our family. First and foremost, he’s a terrific hockey player. He’s fierce competitor. But more importantly than that is he’s a great kid and a good person and he means the world to our family.”
Rhys Michael McAvoy was born in late January. Sullivan joked he had “zero input” on the name Kiley and Charlie chose.
But adding to their family just before being together for an international tournament only added to their joy.
“What it’s like when him and my daughter just had their first baby, for my wife and I, it’s an incredible thrill,” Sullivan said. “It’s certainly a privilege to be a grandparent, and we’re enjoying that process also. And it’s new. He’s only 2 weeks old, I believe. It’s exciting times for our family. This event just adds to the excitement. … I can’t tell you what it means to me to have the opportunity to share in this event with him.”
McAvoy said he does get teased a bit by his U.S. teammates, but he added that he and Sullivan are professionals and there’s no concerns about the dynamics of playing for his father-in-law.
“Everybody gets it at this point,” McAvoy said. “My friends all know, and everybody really knows. It’s certainly funnier now and easier to make a couple jokes about it, but at the end of the day, we’ve both worked to be here and it’s an incredible honor to be here together.”
4 Nations Face-Off ends hockey’s long wait for an international tournament with the NHL’s best
Sanheim steps in
Canada lost Shea Theodore to a right wrist/forearm injury in the middle of its 4 Nations-opening overtime victory against Sweden, and coach Jon Cooper said the defenseman is out for the rest of the tournament.
“I just think about Theo as a person — I know how much this tournament meant to him and representing his country and being on that team,” said U.S. center Jack Eichel, a teammate of Theodore’s in the NHL with the Vegas Golden Knights. “Obviously it’s a huge loss for our team in Vegas and what he brings to our team on a night-in and night-out basis. He’s been so good this year. It’s never fun seeing anyone get hurt, and obviously I care about Theo as a person so I feel for him.”
The next man up is Philadelphia’s Travis Sanheim. He’s also the only other defenseman on the roster because each team was only allowed to bring seven.
“I just said that I’d be ready if they needed me,” Sanheim told reporters in Brossard, Quebec, after Canada’s optional practice. “You’d hate to see it happen this way, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Sweden rests
While Canada’s Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon took the bus out to the Canadiens’ practice facility in Brossard to get on the ice, Sweden’s coaching staff opted not to have players skate. The snowstorm dumping several inches on Montreal factored in to that decision as the Swedes prepare to face rival Finland on Saturday afternoon.
“I felt the boys need the rest,” coach Sam Hallam said. “And just with the weather being what it is, it would be double-time out, double-time back. I think for Saturday we’re going to be better by just having a day off today.”
Hallam did not commit to starting Filip Gustavsson again after the Minnesota Wild goaltender was excellent in making 24 saves against Canada.
“It was a really good game for us for 50 minutes (Wednesday night), and that goes from goalie all the way up,” Hallam said. “We’re really happy with the way he played (against Canada), and we’re just going to put our minds into who gives us the best chance to win Saturday.”
Barkov basks in Mario love
The tournament-opening ceremony involved the captains of all four teams and a legendary player from each of the four countries: Mike Richter from the U.S., Teemu Selanne from Finland, Daniel Alfredsson from Sweden and Mario Lemieux from Canada. Fans at Bell Centre roared when Lemieux walked onto the red carpet on the ice and chanted “Mario! Mario!” to honor arguably the greatest French Canadian player in hockey history.
Aleksander Barkov, the Stanley Cup-winning captain of the Florida Panthers who also wears the “C” for Finland, was blown away by the reception Lemieux received.
“I got to experience an amazing moment there on the ice, them obviously welcoming Mario Lemieux back in the building,” Barkov said. “It was one of the coolest moments I’ve ever been a part of. It was a great experience and great atmosphere.”