The 2022-2023 NHL season is in full swing and the Boston Bruins are off to one of the hottest starts in league history. The original-six franchise is currently sitting with a record of 13-2-0 which is good enough for second in the NHL standings, just two points behind the Vegas Golden Knights, and their best start in the team’s 98-year history.

Going into this season, the Bruins were expected to struggle to start the season by many people around the league. That was expected because the team has just hired a new coach in the offseason, Jim Montgomery, and multiple key players were going to be out long-term with injuries. One of those key players was the team’s top defenseman, and one of the NHL’s best, Charlie McAvoy, who had shoulder surgery in June which was scheduled to sideline him for three to six months.

Great news came out of Boston on Wednesday when it was announced that McAvoy was recovering much quicker than initially expected and that his return would probably be soon. Fans of the Bruins got even better news the next day when coach Jim Montgomery announced that McAvoy was going to return to the lineup that night against the Calgary Flames.

The 24-year-old Long Island native was selected by the Bruins with the 14th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft out of Boston University, where he played on a pair with current Boston teammate Matt Grzelcyk. He chose to return to Boston University for one more year and officially ended his college career when he signed an amateur tryout contract with the Providence Bruins, Boston’s AHL affiliate team, on March 29, 2017. He signed an entry-level contract with Boston on April 10, 2017, two days before he made his NHL debut in a playoff game against the Ottawa Senators, a game in which the Bruins won 2-1. Ottawa would go on to win the series in six games.

McAvoy’s NHL regular-season debut was in Boston’s 2017-2018 season opener against the Nashville Predators. The Bruins won the game 4-3 and McAvoy notched his first career goal and assist.

He was a key piece in Boston’s 2019 Stanley Cup Playoff run that saw them lose to the St. Louis Blues in seven games of the Stanley Cup Final.

He signed a three-year contract worth $14.7 million on September 15, 2019. And just two years later, the Bruins signed him to a contract extension worth $76 million over the course of eight years.

McAvoy looked like he was never injured in his regular-season debut on Thursday night against the Flames. He finished the game with a goal, along with five hits and two blocked shots in 19:18 of ice time. The Bruins went on to win the game 3-1 with McAvoy’s goal being the game-winner.