It’s only a few more hours to go before the most anticipated hockey tournament of the year kicks off! For Boston Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy, it’s going to be a seminal moment in his career. The 27-year-old defenseman has been nominated as the alternate captain for Team USA, and it’s only the second good news to come his way in recent weeks.

The Bruins are currently sitting in the sixth spot of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. However, for Charlie McAvoy, changes in his personal life would seem more titular at the moment than his NHL career. But it’s one of those changes, he believes, that has helped him turn his life around ahead of the upcoming tournament.

In an article by the Boston Bruins on February 5, the hockey sensation credited his newborn son, Rhys, for his recent success. “Everything around this tournament has brought on a lot of emotions just because I take so much pride in it. These are things you dream of. There’s really no other way to explain it.” McAvoy remarked on his elation about the responsibilities he will undertake at the upcoming rumble.

But the excitement doesn’t end for him just with being named the co-captain of the USA squad. Instead, it’s the fact that he will be playing under Mike Sullivan, head coach of team USA for the 4 Nations Face-Off, who also happens to be his father-in-law. “Me and my wife, with Rhys, we just brought a son into the world. His dad got to play for his grandpa. How incredible that is and just how rare,” Charlie joyfully expressed how things have panned out after Rhys’ birth in the recent article. “I’ve seen in my wife and just how proud she is of her dad and of me and it’s just extremely special,” the star said gleaming with pride.

Rhys Michael McAvoy was born on January 26, and immediately, as though a good luck charm, his dad’s play seemed to improve. In back-to-back matches against the Rangers and the Wild, the defenseman scored to help Boston win. “Dad strength, as they say,” joked McAvoy about his sudden stroke of luck, as per an article by Boston.com from February 5. But while Charlie revels in his family expanding, his dreamy state can very well change before the blink of an eye when he hits the ice this Thursday.

Charlie McAvoy and Team USA to brace for what’s coming

On February 13, the USA will have their first taste of the 4 Nations Cup when they locks horns with Finland at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The Fins pose an intimidating roster and Charlie McAvoy will be facing off against many familiar faces from the NHL. The Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov, a Stanley Cup winner, is undoubtedly a formidable force that McAvoy and the USA will have to deal with in their first match of the tournament.

Carolina Hurricanes’ Mikko Rantanen and Colorado’s Artturi Lehkonen will only amplify Barkov’s prowess and Sullivan’s boys will have to pull their socks up as far as possible. However, the real ordeal for the team will come on Saturday.

Team USA will take on Canada on February 15, which presumably will be a massive challenge. Sporting a lineup full of incredible talent like the Edmonton Oilers’ captain Connor McDavid, Chicago’s dynamic center Sidney Crosby, Charlie McAvoy’s Boston teammate Brad Marchand, the Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon, the Panthers’ Sam Reinhart, to name a few. Do we need to keep going?

Knowing full well that Team Canada boasts a major beefy lineup, defenseman Drew Doughty said, “We expect to win, and we’re not going to be satisfied with anything but a championship. I think a lot of the guys in here, we feel that pressure, obviously. But that’s what we thrive under.” Sounds like an open duel challenge to the opponents, doesn’t it?

Do you think McAvoy & Co. are up for the task? Do you believe Team USA has what it takes to lift the 4 Nations Face-Off trophy? Share your predictions below!