Charlie McAvoy Sr.

Jeremy Perkins 0:00
This is bucket talk, a monthly podcast taking you across America meet the most badass trades, people, industry leaders and personalities. If you're looking to level up in the trades, you're in the right place.

Eric Girouard 0:13
So a lot of you guys know we sponsor Charlie McEvoy, who plays for the Bruins. This is Charlie McEvoy, technically senior, but he really just goes by Charlie, right? That's it. They don't really have kind of the junior senior definition. So this is his father. We were super excited. Tim and Jeff and team obviously formed the partnership this year, going in really, really important to us. They're going to get into the details. I don't want to spoil too much of it, but I ended up flying in. I got there a little later at the rink that Charlie JR and Charlie senior, even, that's not what they call him. Grew up on where he started skating, and they'll get into the details of it, but I'd say the most exciting thing for me, right, was we got a guy who's been in the trades multi generation did everything it took to kind of support his son, support his dreams. Now he's obviously here playing tonight. They're going to the Olympics, things that you can't dream of. And for me personally, I'll let Jeremy get into the reality. For me personally, really, really special partnership, because I don't think I've ever told him this, but very reminiscent, right? My father grew up working two blue collar jobs. You know, different, right? I'm 40 now. Charlie's in his late 20s. My dad's 80. You're not even close to that. So it happened, you know, a couple of decades in advance. But you know, my dad grew up working two blue collar jobs to provide for my sisters and for me, so that I can go on to do what I wanted to do. Obviously, started brunt, and you guys have helped build the company. He did the same thing, made the sacrifices, the long hours, the all the stuff for hockey and and the result is kind of all of us here today, so very unique for me personally, and Jeremy's gonna get into the the details of the partnership and the background and the story and all that. So can't thank Charlie enough for sitting down and doing this. This is not something he's, you know, he's usually fixing, you know, plumbing, heating and all that stuff. And to have him step up and do this for us is is a huge thing. So thank you, sir. Appreciate it.

Jeremy Perkins 2:20
All right, we're here with Charlie McEvoy, senior, lifelong plumber, owner of McEvoy Plumbing and Heating, father of Boston Bruins, alternate captain, Charlie McEvoy Jr, who is also a member of the US National Team. We got a very special episode of bucket talk today. We're in Heritage Hall at the TD Garden in Boston. Welcome Charlie.

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 2:40
Thanks for having me, Jeremy and Eric and the whole Brunt gang. It's it's great to see this company and the whole crew be here and hoping for many more years of that.

Jeremy Perkins 2:49
All right, well, before we get into why we're here in this location, let's start with your your business. How'd you get into plumbing? The company itself started in New York in 1926 so it's 100 years old this year.

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 3:03
Yeah, this year is our 100th anniversary, which is, I told people, I'm gonna make it to 100 and then quit, you know, but, but I don't think that's gonna happen. I enjoyed doing it, but, yeah, my grand, my grandfather, started the company in 1926 in Long Beach, New York, small town. It was pretty much an Army Navy bungalow town at that time, and he created a company in one of these bungalows. He had 26 men working out of that house. And then he went on to build our shop, where Eric had the pleasure to be there with me in 1941 he built that shop, and that's

Jeremy Perkins 3:37
where we are now, no way, no way. So when it was your turn to step in and take over the business. Did you feel pressured? Were you proud to do it, or a little bit of both?

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 3:45
Little bit of both. So I was, I was getting at I did one semester of college, and it was like my claim to fame. I played hockey there, and the team disbanded, so I figured I'm not going back to school now. But anyway, I started working for my dad, and unfortunately, six months later, he passed away, so that kind of threw me into the fire. Always worked summers during, you know, as a kid growing up, you know, and enjoyed that made good money, worked hard and learned some of the trade. But then when that happened, it was all hands, you know, we had to jump in.

Jeremy Perkins 4:15
What was one of the hardest moments that really tested you when you, when you when you were running the business, probably when you first started off. I'm sure everything's smooth sailing now,

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 4:24
yeah, when we first started off, it was my brother, Kevin, who's 10 years older than me. He had to go and get licensed within a year after my dad's passing, because you can't operate a business without a license. So we were doing that. And, you know, he had to, he had to get studying. I mean, it's plumbing is one thing, but the book part of it is different story, and you just got to be ready and prepared to pass that test. So he got licensed, and we just took off from there. A lot of the guys that were working for my dad stayed with us, which was awesome, and we just kept rolling. And he and I worked together for the last 35 years. He finally retired five years ago. This is my 40th year. Here at McAvoy, yeah.

Jeremy Perkins 5:01
So you've been blue collar all your life, for people that don't know what? What does that hard work teach you?

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 5:08
Well, teaches you that few things. Number one is, if you don't go out there and work, you're not going to earn if you're not in the field, you know, you're not going to you're not going to make it. Another one is that no one's going to give you anything. You got to go out there and get it. So you really just got to get your boots up, put your work boots on every day, and get to work and and serve the people that you're working for. Awesome.

Jeremy Perkins 5:31
So being an owner operator, obviously, you know, Eric has talked about him working with the business and and the trials and tribulations there, with the family life, how was it for you balancing home and and and work, especially being not only on the road doing the job, but focusing on the business aspect as well?

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 5:50
Yeah, the that was a lot. Had Charlie and his sister Kayla, were our first and then I got both of them playing hockey, and then I started coaching. So it was just, you know, hands on with that. And then work, my wife was great. She wasn't working at the time. We had the ability to, you know, she would get them to the rink, I'd meet them there, and so on. But, but, but that was it. Was challenge, you know, just getting out of work or having to leave something left over for the next day. You know, you got it. You got it. You got to get things done, otherwise you're not getting paid.

Jeremy Perkins 6:22
Yeah, I think I took this from your website. Do it the right way. What does that mean to you?

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 6:28
Yeah, do it. Do it once, and do it right so you don't to go back, you know, because when you add on a service call or any type of call, putting a could be a heating system or a full house, rough, whatever it is, you know, you just got to make sure it's done properly, otherwise you can have call backs and you don't make money on callbacks.

Jeremy Perkins 6:45
Yeah, so, you know, I've talked with a few folks. I got young kids myself, and we were, you know, talking about sports costs and all that stuff. And obviously, hockey is not a cheap sport. How was, what was the challenges with you, with youth sports, and obviously the time and the monetary commitment and the pressures, you know, at work and everything like that. How did you balance that all out?

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 7:07
Yeah, just I worked the days I didn't have to practice with him because I was coaching. Then, luckily, when you coach, you get a little break on the on the tuition, and that was helpful for me. That's a reason why I stepped into that because I had both of them playing, Kayla and Charlie both played hockey, and then we had twin twin girls who also played hockey. So, yeah, balancing it was it goes by so fast. And for you guys who have the young children out there, enjoy it now, because I just can't believe I am where I am, here at TD Garden. But you know, back then, when they were younger, it was just a grind. You just you got up every morning early and got started, and you hit your pillow, you hit the pillow, and you knew you did well that day.

Jeremy Perkins 7:49
Now, obviously Charlie plays at the highest level. Do you think him watching you work, and obviously the generations of hard workers before him kind of instilled that value in him and getting him where he is today.

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 8:02
Yeah, I mean, Charlie, his mother got to thank, I thank God for his mother. That's for sure. She's got the patience in the family. But yeah, he, he was always very understanding of what was going on. And they saw it, you know, they knew that I was coming home dirty, you know, getting things done, and then just jumping into the next, the next role of being a father and being present for my for my children and my wife. They they understood it, and he saw that. And I guess it creates a lot. It creates discipline. It creates, you know, understanding what your dad's doing and what your mom's doing to to do the right thing and do the best

Jeremy Perkins 8:42
for you, yeah. And as a parent, I mean, you've taken him to practice. You've been there supporting him the whole way. What kind of emotions and what was going through your head the first time you saw him play at a professional level?

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 8:55
I'll never forget it. The Bruins got a hold of us and we flew up to Ottawa. Charlie got called up. He played two games in Providence, and several Bruins defensemen were injured. And he, he got called up. We, they flew us up to Ottawa, my wife and I for the first game. And he's a D partner with Zidane o Chara, and I'm just sitting there, and I can't believe it. It's like, you know, I'm just for to this day, you know, it brought tears to my eyes, without a doubt. And you know, I knew right then this kid made it. It was like it was something else, the pride for all his hard work. It paid off.

Jeremy Perkins 9:34
I got to throw in an unscripted question, Was it tough? Was it tough seeing him put on a Bruins jersey?

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 9:40
Not at all. When I was a kid, I liked the Bruins too. I was a big fan of John ratell. He played for the Rangers, and my dad was friends with him, and he lived right down our block. So when John came here, he would he would give get us tickets when the Bruins came back to MSG Madison Square Garden in New York, and we'd meet John and the first jersey that I bought after. Delivering newspapers and saving up was a Bruins jersey. Okay? Genre tells number on it.

Jeremy Perkins 10:05
How do you think growing up in a blue collar home helped him prepare for for the pro side?

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 10:11
Yeah, again, he, he knows what hard work is. Yeah. He that was something I didn't really need to teach him, whether it was because he saw what I was doing or not. He was always a kid that was motivated, always ready to go. Had his bag by the door when I was, you know, I'd call home, he'd be ready. He'd be waiting for me, Dad, we're going to be late. You know, he wanted to get to that rink. He wanted to do his job. So when, when growing up in that environment, definitely, I think it helped him. He understood that nothing was going to be given to him, and that he's got to go

Jeremy Perkins 10:44
out there and earn it. So if the first generation, McEvoy saw where you are the business and Charlie is today, would you think he'd say,

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 10:53
that's a that's a great question. I'd love to see it. I think about it. Sometimes. I think about my dad, who never had the opportunity to even meet my wife. You know, he passed away when I was 21 very young man at 58 so, yeah, those are things that I think about my grandfather. I'm sure he's proud. I'm sure that he's, you know, they're up there watching the game they'll be watching tonight.

Jeremy Perkins 11:12
So what would be one of the biggest pieces of advice that you could give to blue collar parents? You know, obviously, you know, hustle and bustle of kids being in sports or whatever activities they do and and obviously trying to manage all that, like, what's one piece of advice you could give them to motivate them and what they're doing is the right thing. I mean, I'm in that situation now, it's from work to wrestling practice and back to work and, you know, but I come from a hard working environment, the blue collar space, like, what, what would be a good piece

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 11:45
of advice for them? Yeah, that's, that's another great question. That's, you know?

Jeremy Perkins 11:50
I mean, for me, it would probably be, don't sleep too much, yeah.

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 11:53
Basically, it's going to get tough. There were tough times. Yeah, it's going to get tough. The grind is real, you know? And you just got to stick with it, because your kids love it. You want to make them happy. You want to enjoy every bit of it, to watch them one day, maybe, you know, their dream will come true, and if not, they're going to have fun doing it, and you're going to be there. We used to call it windshield time. We just be, you know, driving to Toronto, driving to Buffalo, driving to Michigan, driving to Florida for tournaments. And we just have time, and that's that's family time, but things get tough, and you got to stick it out, and your kids are going to love you for it, and they're going to love you no matter what, and that's really what it comes down to.

Jeremy Perkins 12:31
Now, I'm sure you sacrifice something, a job or whatever, but what was one of the bigger opportunities that you passed up on the business side to support your family, or one of the on the on the other side, like sacrifice something a tournament or something that you you didn't have time for to do a big job.

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 12:48
There were probably more times that I couldn't make the tournament and I had to give Charlie to another family so that I could stay back and work. Yeah, those, those were, those were more than than me having to bail on a job because I had to go. So I had, luckily, I had the support of all the families and other coaches to help my family because I had to work. I had to it. Just had to get done.

Jeremy Perkins 13:11
Yeah, did Charlie ever come out with you and work summers and all that stuff?

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 13:16
Yeah, he did. I would, I would get him going. Every so often, when we had a real nasty job, I'd have him, you know, break up a whole street to run a new sewer main or a water main. And there's actually an article that came out today that I did and he he got so sunburned this one day. He was probably 14 years old, and his tarps were off, and he was going for it. He got so sunburned he couldn't work the next day. But we got the job done. He's like Dad, when should I stop digging? I said, dig until you hit the pipe.

Jeremy Perkins 13:44
So, I mean, obviously, with the business you've, you've been doing this for a long time, obviously it's handed down generation over generation. Was Charlie in line to take it? Did you see, you know, things going in a different way? Did he want to take it?

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 13:59
I don't think I ever wanted him to do that. And I've said this before, I think he was too smart to be a plumber, but, you know, I just know that, you know, I enjoy it. If I had the opportunity that he had, I would have played hockey too, but that just wasn't in the cards. And I didn't plan it like this, to give Charlie every opportunity to become a pro hockey player. I never thought that was going to happen, you know, but I didn't really think I wanted him to be a plumber. I was hoping there was, there was something different for him. So what's next for the business after you so my brother Kevin, who, you know, jumped in with me. He was already working as well when my dad passed. So he retired five years ago, but his boys work for us. I have Kevin JR and Robert McEvoy, and those guys are doing a hell of a job. They'll be taking over when I'm ready to retire. Just turn it 60 this year. So I'm not ready yet. I enjoy working, I enjoy making money, and love the business. Wish I could get to more hockey games, but we're going. To go to Italy in February. Let's go USA and, you know, and we'll just keep going. That's it. You know, the grind is real, right? Like I said, and we just keep doing it, and it's all good.

Jeremy Perkins 15:11
So obviously, piggybacking on that, Charlie's had a an epic career with one of the most decorated franchises in NHL, one of the original six. But how does it feel for you? Him representing the United States?

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 15:27
Yeah, I mean, the Bruins alone is what would be enough, you know, that's that's something special to be a part of a, you know, an original six hockey club and be an alternate captain with the team, but with USA. You know, he played with the US national team, and I'll never forget the day that he made that team. I was in Detroit with him, and he went out there as a 15 year old, spent two years in Ann Arbor, playing for the national team. And, you know, pretty much he had to take his toothbrush with him, and they took care of everything else. So, but, but when, when USA comes calling to play, Charlie usually calls me right away, and he's like, Dad, I'm putting the jersey on again. You know, he just has so much pride in putting the USA jersey on and supporting and playing for his country.

Jeremy Perkins 16:09
What was one of your most favorite or memorable moments in his career? One that stands out above all of them,

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 16:14
probably the World Juniors that they want up in Canada, they beat every team. They beat Canada twice, and they beat Russia twice in the Toronto, Montreal World Juniors that year. And they put it on every year, on on New Year's Day, for whatever reason, on NHL network. And I watch it every time that was that was a highlight. I mean, the other one was making it all the way to 2019 Stanley Cup Finals with the Bruins, and unfortunately losing that seventh game we were here, and that was, you know, you have your highs of being drafted that year in 2016 first round by the Bruins, and then you have your lows. It's not, it's not a great, it's not a huge low, because you still made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, but you just didn't win it and making it to that seventh game. You know, just never know when you're

Jeremy Perkins 16:58
gonna get there again. Yeah, do you have any advice for hockey parents in general?

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 17:02
Yeah, just if you're coaching, good luck if you're not, let them play. Let them have fun. You know, what's going to happen? Is going to happen. You support them the best you can, get them on the ice as much as possible, especially if they love it. And you know, just listen, I could tell you some good ones about what I did with Charlie. It wasn't always fun, and I wish, I wish I could say it was different like that, but there was some of those windshield rides that he wouldn't want to remember.

Jeremy Perkins 17:32
So speaking of the national team, outside of obviously, Charlie, you excited about the group of guys who are you also rooting for on the team? You know, who are you excited to see Charlie play alongside with?

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 17:43
Yeah, they go back playing together for so long when Charlie was literally played for the Boston Junior Bruins. I don't know how these guys did it, but the Peter the Masters brothers, who ran the program Boston Junior Bruins, they somehow picked out at five and six years old, these kids. And it was like we had the chucks, we had Austin Matthews, we had Jack Eichel, we had Noah hannifin, who will be playing tonight with Vegas, and they were all playing on the same teams in the summertime. We would go to Montreal. We play the Montreal meltdown, the Toronto ottf. It was called tournament. The tournaments were amazing, but but that whole group, and we're gonna get to be with those guys, plus the Hughes family, who their dad played at St Mary's High School on Long Island that I used to play against. So it was, there's a bunch of connections. The Hockey World is a very small world.

Jeremy Perkins 18:30
Yeah, and obviously you've been on this earth a very long time. So what is one of your favorite USA players over years?

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 18:38
My favorite USA player was probably Brian Leach. I loved watching leachy play with this team I love like Austin Matthews and even the used boys, I mean, and all of them Jack, Jack Eichel, I can't wait to watch him play. I got to watch him play when Charlie was at BU, so, yeah, it's just going to be fun to watch every one of them.

Jeremy Perkins 18:57
Yeah. Speaking of BU, obviously, you know, he went up through that program, and guys like Mike carruzione, did they have a big impact on him? Was that kind of like an area that, you know, he started to blossom into something that was going to make it to the show,

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 19:13
yeah, for sure, when he got to BU, I'll never forget meeting. They call him Rizzo, right? We met Rizzo at one of the dinners, and he's coming over to me, and he's, you know, he's asking me questions about kids on Long Island. Who's this kid? You know, because they're scouting, and he's trying to get guys at BU. And it was funny, but then David Quinn, who was Charlie's coach at the time, really put an element into Charlie's game that you could see he was preparing him for the next level. And you know, that whole that program was awesome. It was just, it was awesome to get up to BU on those nights. On Friday nights, I just about make it to the game with the traffic from Long Island. Forget about it if I didn't leave at 12 o'clock on a Friday I was late

Jeremy Perkins 19:50
to the game. When did you show Junior miracle? He

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 19:53
watched miracle as soon as he came out, which was so we had a van that we probably put 300,000 miles on. That I had a 27 inch TV in the back. It was one of those luxury vans. It was my probably best investment I made as a father. Took all my kids to, you know, to tournaments in it, and Charlie watched miracle. They watched everything like Mike. They watched them all, but miracle was his favorite. Yeah. What were they for? The common lines they were it was the Chevy Chevy Express, 1500 series, Astro, yeah. No, not, not the Astro, the Express van. It was a van, a full size van, yeah? And you had a TV in it, and everything, TV and everything, yeah, dude, living in luxury. I like it. Those are the days.

Jeremy Perkins 20:34
So obviously, you know, this was a right fit for Brunt and the brand you know, you hard working. You embody, you know our product, and you know everything that we stand for, we like to support, obviously, the men and women in the trades, and you've been doing it for generations. Now we're just getting started. Really excited to be a part of this partnership. Charlie brings that, that grit and that tenacity to the ice, obviously represents the values of the blue collar individual. So I'm really excited to keep this partnership going. Can't wait to make it down to Long Island to see your operation. Spend some time with you doing a day in the life. But I really appreciate you giving a little background on your family, opening up, and you know, we're gonna get to see Charlie tonight, so I'm really excited about it, but thanks again for being on the podcast, and it's going My pleasure.

Charlie McAvoy Sr. 21:26
Jeremy, thanks very much. I appreciate being awesome.