Remember the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ “Buckle Up Baby”? The two-year-old whose over-the-top reaction to a Sidney Crosby goal turned him into an internet sensation is all grown up now — and he’s about to take the next big step in his own hockey career.
Ty Avolia was just two years old in 2014 when it happened. During a Penguins playoff game against the Philadelphia Flyers, broadcaster Phil Bourque‘s call of a Crosby goal — “Buckle up, baby! Are you kidding me?” — happened to coincide with a perfectly timed, wildly animated reaction from a toddler in the stands. The clip exploded across social media, and Avolia was forever known as the “Buckle Up Baby.”
Penguins’ ‘Buckle Up Baby’
More than a decade later, Avolia is no longer just a fan in the stands — he’s a hockey player himself, and a serious one. The now 14-year-old winger has spent the past two seasons in Pittsburgh’s competitive youth hockey scene, playing for the Pittsburgh Stars 13U AAA in 2024-25 before moving up to the Pittsburgh Aviators 14U AA this past season, where he posted six points in 17 games. The season before that, he racked up six points and 40 penalty minutes in 24 games with the Stars.
Now Avolia is taking a big step up in competition. He’s set to leave home to play for the Connecticut Junior Rangers, a move that will see him competing against players up to two years older than him.
“I started skating when I was 2, and played my first organized game when I was five or six. It just really kinda fell into place since,” Avolia told WTAE.
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The jump won’t be easy. Avolia will be playing in the 16U division, meaning he’ll often be facing off against kids nearly two years older. And, in many cases, considerably bigger.
“I will be a lot smaller than everybody, and will have less of an advantage than I had when playing against kids my age. I was kind of tall compared to other kids, so I think the size is going to be different. The games will be a lot faster and it’s something I have to adjust to,” he said.
Through it all, Avolia hasn’t forgotten the moment that started it all. Even as he chases his own hockey dreams, the memory of that night in the stands still means everything to him.
“I just remember loving the Penguins ever since I was knee-high. It was great. I think it was something special that happened to me that night. I’m forever grateful for that, and it just sparked my love for the game,” Avolia said.
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