A Long Island native is looking to help lead Team USA to a gold medal that has remained elusive to them for 46 years. The men’s hockey team won its first three games in Milan Cortina, and is hoping to make it four in a row in the quarterfinal against Sweden. Making his debut for the U.S. in the 2026 Winter Olympics is Charlie McAvoy, a 28-year-old from Long Beach. The defenseman has played for the Boston Bruins ever since he was drafted out of Boston University in 2016, but his family says it was his upbringing on Long Island that helped lead him to this moment. “You know, like so many parents think their kid is better than he is,” said Kevin McAvoy, Charlie’s uncle. “But when you hear other parents telling you how good your nephew is, then, you know, he got the real deal.” McAvoy Plumbing, the family’s 100-year-old business, has been buzzing lately over the hockey star they call “one of their own.” “He always had that work ethic. And he came back, each year you could see it. You could see the growth in it,” said Kevin McAvoy. That hometown pride has also been on full display at the town’s rec center, where a young Charlie McAvoy learned to play hockey as a kid who grew up a Rangers fan. McAvoy — who got engaged the last time he went to Italy — is enjoying success and life, one that his family says was shaped growing up in Nassau County. They’re hoping he can use what he learned at home to lead the team to gold, something the U.S. hasn’t earned in men’s hockey since the “Miracle on Ice” team in 1980. “Somebody from the 1980 Olympics said, they said, ‘When we score, it’s we scored, not I scored,’ you know?” said Kevin McAvoy. “It’s that like dedicated…That mentality. And I think these guys have to kind of hopefully have that same mentality.” His hometown next has an opportunity to see McAvoy play on Wednesday at 3:10 p.m., when Team USA takes on Sweden in the men’s hockey quarterfinals. The action can be seen on NBC New York, and streamed on Peacock or NBCOlympics.com. ...read more read less