Last season, Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy was a part of Team USA at the 4 Nations Faceoff. However, his time in the tournament was cut short with an injury after he took a hit in the first matchup against Team Canada.
That hit ended not only his 4 Nations Faceoff run, but also his season with the Bruins. Boston collapsed the rest of the season and ended up tied for last place in the Eastern Conference with the Philadelphia Flyers. It all worked out with James Hagens falling to them in the 2025 Entry Draft.
McAvoy is heading to the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 as a member of Team USA, living out a dream of his since he was a kid. He's even heading over for the opening ceremonies.
“I had the opportunity because we end on the 4th,” McAvoy said. "So we talked to the powers that be. Treating everything like a once-in-a-lifetime (thing). So I’ll be there.”
Charlie McAvoy almost missed a moment of a lifetime
It's great that he's able to go, but truth be told, he came close to missing out. In Wednesday night's 5-4 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers, McAvoy took an elbow to the head from Sandis Vilmanis, which kept him down on the ice for some time. He was able to skate off with the help of teammates, but surprisingly, he returned for the second period and finished out the game.
On Thursday, he had an interview for the Olympics with NBC and revealed a swollen cheek on the same side of his face where he had taken a puck back in November against the Montreal Canadiens. Here is the video provided by Bruins writer Bridgette Proulx of WEEI.
Here is the clip pic.twitter.com/okfIbVaBP9
— Bridgette Proulx (@bridgetteproulx) February 6, 2026
It remains insane that Vilmanis only got a minor penalty on the play, and the Bruins ended up shorthanded. Vilmanis left the game with what the club called an "upper-body'' injury (do with that what you will), but he played in Thursday night's loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Given how the hit looked and McAvoy's swelling on his face, it's amazing he came back and is playing in the Olympics. However, hockey players are different, and it's not surprising. What is surprising is the league's malpractice in ignoring what happened.