Why a couple Mondays in February have now become appointment viewing for Charlie McAvoy & Matt Grzelcyk

When Boston University first came knocking in the spring of 2013, Charlie McAvoy had an idea of what to expect from the Terriers’ recruiting pitch. 

State-of-the-art hockey facilities? Check. The tradition that comes with donning a scarlet and white sweater? Check. The promise of pro-focused development under the tutelage of new head coach David Quinn? Check. 

But as McAvoy and his family held court with BU associate head coach Steve Greeley (now assistant GM of the Sabres), the promising young defenseman didn’t exactly know what to make of another nugget Greeley offered up as one of the Terriers’ main draws. 

“You’re through recruiting and they say to you — one of the reasons to come here is you get a chance to play for a Beanpot,” McAvoy told BostonSportsJournal on Friday. “Being a kid from Long Island, I was like, ‘I'm not really sure what that means. That'll probably be cool.’ I didn't know what that really is all about. I wasn't a Massachusetts kid so I didn't grow up going to the Beanpot, seeing what that was all about.” 

To be fair, a mid-season tournament held up in Boston isn't exactly going to be on the radar of a 15-year-old kid down in Long Beach.

But fast-forward a couple years, and the first two Mondays in February now represent appointment viewing for McAvoy. And he's not alone in the Bruins' locker room.



It's rather obvious as to why McAvoy has now become smitten with the Beanpot — a tournament that has pit BU, BC, Harvard and Northeastern against one another at the Garden every year since 1954. (The first Beanpot was held at Matthews Arena in December 1952).

While many of us locals were drawn to the annual showcase by watching the Terriers, Eagles, Huskies and Crimson duke it out from the seats of Boston Garden and its successor, McAvoy experienced the pomp and circumstance firsthand from the TD Garden ice in 2016 and 2017.

McAvoy's first foray in the Beanpot ended in heartbreak — as BC dispatched the Terriers in the title game, 1-0, off of an OT winner from now Golden Knights forward Alex Tuch.



Even if a few of McAvoy's friends and former U.S. National Team Development Program teammates in Colin White and Casey Fitzgerald managed to lift up the trophy with the Eagles, there was little love lost between the Terrier blueliner and his BC buddies in the immediate aftermath of that 2016 title game.

"It is truly one of the most special tournaments, I think, in all of hockey, with the pride that four schools have and the rivalries," McAvoy said. "BC and BU is obviously the one, but it's like a 1A, 1B — well, I don't know, maybe a 2A, 2B with the other two (teams). But you don't like those teams just because they're Beanpot schools. You know you're going to play them, you know, in one game or the other, every other year. It's just special and it's really neat. It was without a doubt, one of the best experiences I ever had."

Whereas McAvoy came up just short in both of his two years at BU, his collegiate and pro-hockey teammate Matt Grzelcyk did manage to reach the mountain top back in 2015.

Unlike McAvoy, a Charlestown native like Grzelcyk was well aware of the tournament long before he first started playing hockey on Commonwealth Ave. back in 2012. Still, even though his father, John, has worked at the Garden since 1967, Grzelcyk did not attend a Beanpot matchup in person until he actually suited up for BU's showdown against Northeastern on Feb. 4, 2013.

"It was kinda crazy," Grzelcyk said. "I always had hockey practice or, you know, I was doing schoolwork or something. Somehow I just never got to a Beanpot game. I don't know how, but it was just always something that I watched on TV or found another way. It was one of the highlights of my young career. Just watching that with some of my friends and teammates at the time. So I was never in the building personally. Stepping on the ice for the first game, I was definitely really nervous for that."

After getting bounced in the opening round during both the 2013 and 2014 tournaments, Grzelcyk and the Terriers finally broke through in 2015. Grzelcyk, then junior captain of the club, provided the heroics — wristing a puck into twine during overtime to close out a 4-3 victory over the Huskies and clinch BU's 30th Beanpot title — tops among all schools.



“BU is kind of known for doing really well in the tournament and it had been a few years since we'd had success,” Grzelcyk said of his game-winner. “So we had a couple of seniors who had been through a lot of ups and downs and I was a junior on the team at the time. So to kind of finish that off was huge and it meant a lot to the program. It was obviously nice to score the goal, but just to share that experience with my teammates at the time was something I'll never forget.”

Whereas the tournament was traditionally tabbed as the "BU Invitational" given the Terriers' run of dominance over the years — the fact that BU is currently saddled with the longest championship drought (four years) is a sign of the parity that has grown within the showcase. After BU and BC traded titles in 2015 and 2016, Ryan Donato and the Crimson bested McAvoy and the Terriers in 2017 to clinch Harvard's first Beanpot since 1993. The last two tournaments have belonged to the Huskies, who took home their first title in 30 years back in 2018 before repeating in 2019.



On Monday, the Huskies will be looking to complete a three-peat, while the unranked Terriers — fresh off an upset over BC last Monday — will attempt to play spoiler.

Given the number of Terrier products in the Bruins' room (Charlie Coyle also attended BU from 2010-11), a vocal minority has clearly emerged when it comes to declaring BU as the favorites on Monday night.

But these days, the Beanpot is starting to evolve into far more than just a Boston-centric piece of tradition.

The list of NHLers that have taken part in Beanpot tournaments is extensive, featuring the likes of: Johnny Gaudreau, Jack Eichel, Brian Leetch, Keith Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk, Joe Mullen, Brian Gionta, Craig Janney, Shawn McEachern, Clayton Keller, Kevin Hayes, Chris Kreider, Adam Gaudette, Mike Eruzione,  Jim Craig, Dave Silk, Jack O'Callahan, Jimmy Vesey, Ted and Ryan Donato, Cory Schneider, Bill Guerin, Chris Drury, Tony Amonte, Jay Pandolfo, Don Sweeney, Joe Sacco, Brian Boyle, Mike Grier, Ryan Whitney, Cam Atkinson, Scott Young, Kevin Shattenkirk, Cayden Primeau, Grzelcyk, Coyle, McAvoy and many others.

As such, national outlets are starting to pick up on a chance to see some of the brightest young talents have at it in an engaging college atmosphere. This year, the 68th Beanpot is not only being broadcast regionally on NESN, but is also being featured on both NHL Network and various TSN channels up in Canada — expanding the viewership reach by a significant margin.

“That's really neat,” McAvoy said of Beanpot's growing appeal. “I think that's awesome that they're picking up on that. I think I saw TSN and NHL Network and a couple others. I think for kids, like Canadian kids where junior hockey is kind of their Mecca, their, their path. It's not to say that that's for everybody. We have read a lot of Canadians on our team and stuff, but I think maybe seeing that and seeing the atmosphere of that and you know, the skill and the pace of that hockey and then realize, well maybe I want to play that instead and then, you know, kind of change the mindset.” 

McAvoy and Grzelcyk don't plan on watching Monday's title game from home, though. Both the local kid from Charlestown and the Long Island transplant will try to snag tickets at the Garden — cheering on the next generation of skaters vying for a chance to make lifetime memories out of these chilly Monday nights in February.

“I never won, but if they win on Monday, I'll make sure to go down and touch the trophy, can't jinx myself now. I can't go back and win one," McAvoy said. "Some of those guys (still on BU) I went to school with, so I'd be really, really happy for them.I went 0-2 in the finals. To see them, because this is the last crop of players (I played with) at school. But I know those guys are, they're all really good players. The senior class is all guys who I played with so I'm really pulling for them — some special hockey players and they've been playing awesome. I hope they get it done on Monday."