Charlie McAvoy details recovery from concussion: ‘My brain is out of shape’

When the symptoms first started to manifest, Charlie McAvoy didn’t exactly have much of an answer.

The 20-year-old defenseman had never suffered a concussion before in his hockey career, but something certainly felt off following Boston’s loss to the Oilers on Oct. 18.

“There’s a plethora of concussion symptoms,” McAvoy said on Saturday at TD Garden. “When I first had it, it was kind of really overwhelming me.”

After consulting with the team’s medical staff, McAvoy was put on a plane and sent back to Boston on Oct. 20 — with the skilled defenseman yet to return to game action after over five weeks on the shelf with concussion symptoms.

While McAvoy is still not cleared to return to the B’s lineup, he did offer some updates on his recovery process as well as the challenges that come from overcoming a brain injury during Saturday's game against the Red Wings.



“It’s a lot, and at times, it can really consume you,” McAvoy said of the slow crawl in terms of his recovery. “Being my first time going through it, I’ve felt certain emotions with it, and it’s really tough, but I’m very fortunate to have such a good support system.

“Obviously, my family, they’re always there for me, but just the pointers I’ve gotten from guys like Bergy, and other guys on the team that have gone through concussions – Don Sweeney and all of the trainers and the doctors, they’ve kept me in great spirits, kind of acknowledging that it’s my first time, and a lot of this stuff is new to me.”

McAvoy said that he hadn’t experienced concussion-like symptoms prior to the road matchup in Edmonton, but also did not know what hit or other form of contact caused the concussion.

He played the entire game against Edmonton (22:04 TOI), but it quickly became apparent that something was off upon leaving the ice at the end of regulation.

“It’s kind of weird. These things happen,” McAvoy said of the exact incident that led to his ailment. “One of the things I’ve learned is that it can come from – it’s not always a hit that, say, knocks a player out unconscious on the ice; it can be just a little blindside hit with the same effect and sometimes worse.”

While Sweeney noted back on Nov. 9 that McAvoy dealt with vestibular issues during training camp, McAvoy differentiated between that and his concussion symptoms, even though both can be treated in a similar fashion.

“You get a hit like this, and it’s able to really throw you off in that regard, and you get a concussion,” McAvoy said. “As far as vestibular goes, it’s really kind of reteaching your brain to handle certain activities that can bring on certain symptoms, like a dizziness or kind of feeling out of it, stuff like that.

“So, this is basically that concussion rehab that I alluded to, reintroducing these things to my brain. Actually, one of the things I heard is my brain is out of shape. So, it’s kind of teaching those things, reintroducing them, and things are going well right now.”

With his absence stretching past 19 games now, the Bruins have managed to collect a steady of points since McAvoy’s absence — posting a 10-6-3 record without their No. 2 defenseman for a significant stretch.

Still, McAvoy’s ability to log heavy minutes while carrying the puck through the neutral zone has certainly been missed for a club that has averaged two goals per game over its last eight matchups.

“He’s a guy we talked about, part of our breakouts,” Bruce Cassidy said of McAvoy. “Usually plays with the Krech or Bergeron – well, in this case, the Marchand line. He gets them the puck in good places, so I think we’ll be a better attacking team. Plays against the top line every night, defends well, plays hard, game like tonight where the temperature of the game goes up he tends to be a better player in those games, so he would’ve been a factor. We miss him.”

McAvoy continues to make strides in his rehab, including donning a red non-contact sweater and taking part in most of the team’s practices at Warrior Ice Arena this week.

Still, there is no set timetable for the B’s defenseman, nor are there set hurdles to clear in his recovery.

“That’s the thing, I don’t think there’s really a magic number of practices or good days," McAvoy said. "I think it’s just following the steps, and we have a good process with the trainers and the doctors of how we’re going to approach this.

"Hopefully, it’s sooner than later, but we’re taking it a day at a time. … My spirits are high, and I’m optimistic. Things are going well, and I’m starting to skate more and integrate with the team, and that’s the best part for me, because they’ve been doing a heck of a job. It’s so good to see them all again and to be skating with them back with the group.”