From Kentucky to Connecticut: Oilers' McAvoy has eyes on college hockey

Recommended Video:

NORWALK -- As the home of the Kentucky Derby, the Bluegrass State is known for producing thoroughbred race horses.

Hockey players, however, are a different story as there are no known NHL players, past or present, born in Kentucky.

Paul McAvoy, one of the newest members of the Connecticut Oilers who grew up in Kentucky, says there are two rinks in the entire state, one in Lexington and one in Louisville.

McAvoy can thank his father Bill, who played junior hockey and club hockey in college, for getting a kid from a basketball-mad state interested in a sport that is foreign to most Kentuckians.

"My dad played hockey his whole life," McAvoy said after the Oilers' practice on Tuesday. "He grew up in Detroit (which is known as Hockeytown), so he just kind of passed it down to me, and we found a rink in Kentucky."

Fortunately for McAvoy, he lived in Lexington and the rink there was only 20 minutes from home and he started playing hockey when he was 5 years old.

However, ice time was scarce -- maybe once or twice a week -- which wasn't enough to satisfy his needs as he got older, so McAvoy left home at the tender age of 13.

Hour Photo/Alex von Kleydorff Oilers forward Paul McAvoy grew up in Kentucky and left home at 13 to further his hockey career. His journey has brought him to Norwalk, where he will suit up for the Oilers next season. less Hour Photo/Alex von Kleydorff Oilers forward Paul McAvoy grew up in Kentucky and left home at 13 to further his hockey career. His journey has brought him to Norwalk, where he will suit up for the Oilers next ... more Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close From Kentucky to Connecticut: Oilers' McAvoy has eyes on college hockey 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Though still a month shy of his 18th birthday, McAvoy's experience reads like something an NHL player would encounter after two or three trades.

As a 13-year-old, he went to play in Alabama for the TPH Thunder before moving to Cleveland, Dallas and then back to Cleveland.

"I haven't lived at home in awhile," said McAvoy, who recorded six goals and eight assists in 32 games last season for the Cleveland Barons' U-18 team in the tier one Elite Hockey League.

According to McAvoy, leaving home at such a young age was "pretty scary at first" and he didn't make it all the way through the first year.

"I actually moved back home halfway through the year because it was too much for me, but the next year I could handle it," said McAvoy, who is living with a billet family in New Canaan.

Despite his background, McAvoy already is on the radar of some colleges and will be making an official visit in the coming weeks to a top Division I program that Oilers' coach Eric Lind declined to name.

Lind got wind of McAvoy, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound forward, through a coaching friend at a Division I school.

"He skates very well and has a big body," Lind said. "He's got nice hands for a big guy. He'll have an excellent opportunity to get some exposure this year and hopefully move on to a Division I school."

McAvoy is indicative of the wide net the Oilers cast in their recruiting efforts as they have players from 13 different states on the roster.

"There's so many states producing good players now," Lind said. "Even when I was at Yale, we started going down South a lot to scout players. You can't really handcuff yourself just to the North any more."

Oilers' assistant Tim Horst, the Oilers' director of recruiting and player personnel, likened the process of bringing McAvoy to Norwalk to the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

Horst initially recruited Devon Pilkington from the Rocky Mountain Roughriders who played with current Oilers' Brendon Knox and Dejon Marsh in Colorado.

Pilkington opted for the BCHL after attending the Oilers' tryouts but told Horst about his friend Andrew Noel, a defenseman with the Cleveland Barons.

Noel ended up going to the NAHL, but alerted Horst to a Barons' teammate named Paul McAvoy.

"Through Devon Pilkington and this kid Andrew Noel, I got in touch with Paul and Paul was thinking about going to the North American league," Horst said.

"I told him you should be with us. It's a perfect situation for him to grow and develop. We had some good conversations. I talked to his dad and we were lucky enough to get him."

McAvoy joined the Barons' U-16 team in 2011-12, then played for the Queen City Steam in the NAHL tier three league the following year.

McAvoy was taken by the Minnesota Magiciansin the 2013 NAHL draft, but failed to make the team and returned to the Barons' U-18 squad.

The Oilers convinced him to come East becauseof the exposure to schools in the Northeast andthe opportunity for training both on and off the ice.

"Two and a half hours of ice every day, you can't get that anywhere else," McAvoy said.

Despite the sacrifices McAvoy has made in his life, he has no regrets.

"It's to get to the next level," he said. "The ultimate goal is pro, but college hockey is where I want to play, Division I."