If anything, the first day of the U.S. National Team’s World Juniors training camp was comfortable for freshman defenseman Charlie McAvoy and sophomore defenseman Brandon Fortunato.
Not only did the training camp begin Tuesday morning at the players’ home ice in Agganis Arena, but the two ran drills on the same defensive pair.
“It just makes me feel more comfortable because I know my surroundings,” McAvoy said
Fortunato said he, too, feels confident in his interactions with McAvoy.
“We know what we’re going to do, with or without the puck,” Fortunato said. “I feel like we have good chemistry, so it’s a lot of fun playing with him.”
McAvoy and Fortunato, both members of the Boston University men’s hockey team, are two of 29 players under the age of 20 vying for a spot on the United States’ squad during training camp. The camp will run in Boston through Friday, and then move to Vierumäki, Finland from Dec. 20 to 24.
The team will be cut to 23 players by Dec. 24, and the world tournament will begin in Helsinki on Dec. 26.
Two other Terriers will compete for a spot for their respective countries: sophomore defenseman Brandon Hickey for Canada, and freshman forward Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson for Sweden.
“I’m just trying to enjoy it,” Fortunato said. “This is the only time in my life I’m ever going to be at this camp, so I might as well enjoy it, take it all in and that’s my attitude.”
Both Fortunato and McAvoy played before for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, and the two defensemen have been briefly reunited with some of their previous NTDP friends, including University of Notre Dame forward Anders Bjork, forward Auston Matthews, forward Sonny Milano and University of Michigan defenseman Zach Werenski.
“It’s awesome. It’s really exciting to see all the guys,” McAvoy said. “I saw them all [Monday] night for the first time in a while. So it’s good to kind of reconvene with everybody and play with them again.”
Fortunato added, “It’s a lot of fun. We talk about a lot of memories that we had over the years. It makes it a lot more comfortable and easier also to adjust to the camp when you have guys that you’ve played with before.”
For BU this season, Fortunato ranks third on the team in scoring with 15 points (four goals, 11 assists). McAvoy has tallied one goal and seven assists, and has also blocked 24 shots in 17 games this year. While both have proven to be effective players at the college level, they will be fighting for spots on the United States’ team among competitive players from across the NCAA and major junior leagues.
“I think we’re a really versatile group right now,” McAvoy said. “This camp, I think we have a lot of special players here. I think everyone here is a great player. And I just really think that we have a lot of components that are going to make us a really good team.”
McAvoy and Fortunato said they were eager to prove they deserved a spot among the nation’s best.
“I’m kind of an unorthodox player, being an undersized defenseman, but I’m just trying to prove that the game’s not totally about size,” Fortunato said. “It’s about playing hockey, at the end of the day. I’m just going to play my game and hope for the best.”
McAvoy added, “Everyone wants to be over in Finland and represent their country, and I think that’s just what really this camp is all about. You just have to prove that you deserve to be there.”
Sarah covers men's hockey and other sports for The Daily Free Press, and is the chairman of Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. She served as Editor-in-Chief of the FreeP during the Spring 2014 semester and was Sports Editor in Fall 2013. She has also written for the Boston Globe and seattlepi.com. When she's not writing, she loves baking and going to concerts. You can contact her by tweeting her at @Kirkpatrick_SJ or emailing her at sjkirkpa@bu.edu.
