The NHL is back on Olympic ice, and for the Boston Bruins, that means a few familiar faces are chasing gold in the red, white, and blue.
Team USA enters the men’s hockey tournament with high expectations-and two key Bruins in tow: defenseman Charlie McAvoy and goaltender Jeremy Swayman. Both players arrived early to soak in the Opening Ceremonies, and the experience clearly left a mark.
“It was incredible,” McAvoy said. “There was a lot of buildup, a lot of excitement.
I got to meet other athletes, hear about their sports, how they’ve been doing. Some of them had already started competing.”
And that walk into the stadium? Unforgettable.
“That moment is just once in a lifetime when you come out there,” McAvoy added. “I was pretty starstruck looking up and seeing all the lights and everything. I will never forget that moment.”
Now, with the pageantry behind them, it’s time to get down to business. For McAvoy, that means anchoring Team USA’s blue line with the kind of two-way dominance Bruins fans have come to expect. He knows the path to gold won’t be easy-but he also knows what it would mean to be part of the team that finally brings it home.
“It has been a long time since America has won a gold in the Olympics,” McAvoy said. “Just how special it would be to be part of the group that brings it back.”
It’s clear the history of American hockey is never far from his mind. Like so many kids who grew up dreaming of Olympic glory, McAvoy still remembers pretending to be Mike Eruzione in the driveway, channeling the spirit of the 1980 Miracle on Ice.
That legacy looms large-but this group is carving out its own identity.
In net, Jeremy Swayman is expected to start the tournament as Team USA’s third goaltender, but don’t mistake that for a passive role. He’s staying sharp, staying ready, and drawing confidence from a gold medal run with the U.S. at the World Championships last year-one that meant more than just hardware.
“That win was a lot deeper than just a gold medal for me personally,” Swayman said. “The adversity that I faced with this last year-it was a really big weight off my shoulders. I am just so grateful that Team USA believed in me to put me a part of that team.”
Now, he’s focused on being ready when his number is called.
“I’ve got a job to do, and that is to win games for Team USA,” Swayman said. “I know I am going to do it, and everyone in this room is going to do it. We’re really excited to get moving forward.”
Team USA opens its Olympic campaign against Latvia on Thursday at 3:10 p.m. ET, with back-to-back group stage games against Denmark and Germany to follow on Saturday and Sunday, respectively-both also at 3:10 p.m. ET.
It’s go time for McAvoy, Swayman, and a U.S. squad with gold on its mind.