Levi Starling | #32 | D
Height: 6'6
Weight: 220
Born: March 18, 2007 (Age: 19)
Birthplace: Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, CAN
Shoots: R
Draft: 2025, COL (3rd overall), 1st Round, 3rd Pick
BIO
Levi "Starry" Starling is the breakout rookie picked 3rd overall in the 2025 draft by the Colorado Avalanche. He's a player known for his dedicated sportsmanship on the ice, always passing the puck to someone else if he thinks they're going to have a better chance on goal than him. Where other rookies would be trying desperately to get their first goal in the NHL, the Star's goal in every game has always been for his team to win, and has been hyper-focused on that, not on himself. While he's known to be incredibly sweet, gentlemanly, and kind off the ice, his personality on the ice is a complete 180. In contrast to his soft-spoken, sincere, and passionate way of being, when Levi Starling is playing hockey, he's intense. He never shies away from shoving someone into the boards, fighting hard for the puck, and maybe getting sent to the box a few too many times. Fans' biggest criticism of Starling is his lack of thinking before he acts, although many analysts predict he'll grow out of this as he ages.
Starling was raised by his grandmother and aunt after his mom died at 17 due to complications giving birth to him. He's been very open about his relationship with his grandma and his aunt, as well as his feelings and grief relating to his mother. He's a huge advocate for men's mental health, as well as going to therapy and grief counseling. Starling does very well with fans, especially younger fans, as he's very charming and loves interacting with kids. Despite his roughness on the ice, he's very well-liked within the league and by the fans. Everyone can agree that Levi Starling is an absolute gem of a man, and can't wait to see what he does next.
okay I have a few levi questions 😅 can you tell I'm obsessed lmao
what's his worst injury playing hockey? (not just nhl, any college teams as well)
who is he closest to on the team?
is he known for being chronically online or an offline king?
has he had any particularly iconic/viral moments?
girl it's so okay to be obsessed because i am too he's such a cutie, genuinely i'm in love with him. thank you so much for your questions, they're really good! here's some more info on levi!
levi's actually been very lucky so far on the injury front, his whole life. he got a concussion as a kid once, didn't really get any major injuries that would require like... medical attention while he was playing in college. his biggest nhl injury was a puck to the face that knocked him out for a few seconds. it managed to slip under his visor and hit his forehead juuuuuuuust right, and then he was crumpled on the ice. the game had to stop and they had to take him to the hospital. he ended up being completely fine, just a concussion and he was out for a few games, but it definitely could've been a lot worse. the team was really terrified, because he's kind of like their collective kid, so they saw him go down and then everyone was skating over, watching in concern as the medics took care of him. cale actually kneeled down next to him to try and see if he was awake, and got really scared and started shouting for help when he realized that he wasn't. thankfully, it looked more dramatic than it was, but still a scary time. he also recovered fully, that happened at the beginning of the season, and he's totally fine now!
honestly, levi really struggles with making connections with people, so it took him a really long time to get close with most people on the team. nathan mackinnon in particular was a tough nut to crack, but now they're besties! the person that levi is closest with is definitely cale makar! there were a lot of players who were willing to host levi when he got drafted, but he ultimately decided to live with cale and his wife tracy, because cale makar is one of the best defensemen on the planet, and he also just seemed like a very welcoming guy, which eased levi's anxiety around moving in with an established nhl player a bit. the two are known for being very close at games, talking a lot on the bench, teasing and messing with each other during warm-ups (in reality, it's cale messing with levi, but occasionally levi will retaliate), and talking about each other in interviews. the amount of times that cale has shouted out levi in post-game interviews, and vice versa. the fans think their relationship is adorable. levi is also super close with tracy, and their dog loves him so much that cale and tracy sometimes worry that she's going to try and leave with him when he eventually moves out. that was a very long-winded way of saying that levi and cale are the closest on the team.
as for the chronically online/offline thing, levi unfortunately is something of an ipad baby. he has an instagram account and tiktok, but he doesn't post very much. he posts more on his tiktok than his insta, mostly funny videos he takes with his friends, but that doesn't happen like... super often. he gets a lot of chronically online and ipad accusations... because of his reposts. he's reposting things constantly, and it's always really weird funny videos. nothing concerning obviously, levi starling is an unproblematic king, but just things that people are like "why did you see this and feel the need to repost it?" this gets brought up to him in lots of interviews, and it always makes him giggle. he doesn't use the repost button as it's intended, he uses it to save videos, but then people get confused why he would need those videos saved. it's things like brainrot and those movies and tv shows that people post the entirety of, broken up into a million minute long clips. it cracks everybody up, including people on the team, because levi has no real explanation for why he needs to "save" those things, and why he can't be bothered to click the save button on tiktok.
a very important thing you should know about levi starling: he's a baby whisperer. he can't explain it, nobody understands what it is about him, but babies love him. gabriel landeskog and his wife had a new baby this year, and melissa took a video of the first time levi held their youngest daughter. levi was sitting on their couch, looking so excited (which is cute in and of itself), watching as gabe walked over with their baby girl. she was a little fussy, and melissa admitted to being nervous that she was going to cry the second she was handed to levi, but she was left dead wrong, because gabe settled the baby girl in levi's arms, and she immediately quieted. she just kind of let out a sigh, and fell asleep. everyone was shocked, their newest baby has been their fussiest by far, and hasn't been taking to strangers very well. she also didn't cry the entire time levi was holding her. after a while, gabe figured she needed to be fed, so he picked her up, and she immediately started crying. he handed her back to levi to be fed, and she just laid there quietly and drank her bottle. melissa ended up posting the video, and it's gone viral, everybody obsessed with the baby whisperer avalanche rookie.
levi's most iconic moment in a hockey context is the day he got a hat trick, but it wasn't just a hat trick. a natural hat trick that happened within five minutes of game time. when asked afterwards, he said that he kind of has no idea what happened to him, he just locked in and managed to do it. he's said in a few interviews since that it was the best night of his life, which is very understandable because it was very impressive. a lot of analysts and reporters cite this moment as evidence that levi starling is going to be an amazing player, that he's going to win stanley cups, and that the avalanche did an amazing job choosing him at last year's draft. this is definitely considered his most iconic hockey moment.
can we get more on levi’s relationships with nate and cale please i am loving it 🥰
when i said that nate and cale are mama and papa to levi, i wasn't kidding.
levi spends the majority of his time around either of them, most of the time both. he doesn't post on his social media accounts very often, but when he does it's pictures of him with nate or cale, or both.
cale is incredibly level-headed, helping to guide levi into making good decisions. if levi is unsure about anything, he goes to cale before he goes to anyone else. cale's become kind of an older brother figure to levi, and he really values that relationship for a lot of reasons. a big one is the fact that levi was raised entirely by women (his grandma and his aunt), so he never really had much of a male presence in his life. that's been a big adjustment he's had to make with playing hockey throughout his life, but especially since starting to play in the nhl. he's around men all the time, and he doesn't like very many of them. but he likes cale. a lot.
cale's definitely taken levi under his wing since he's been drafted. pretty much as soon as he saw that levi was drafted to the avalanche, he started talking to tracy about having him live wtih them. tracy was on board, and so cale extended the offer.
they're both defensemen, and cale is considered one of the best defensemen on the planet. levi loves talking to cale about strategy, how he thinks when he's playing, general things about defense in hockey. cale likes feeling like he's passing on knowledge, and levi likes bettering himself, his game.
levi's also super close with tracy, cale's wife. levi has always felt more at ease, more comfortable, with women so it's always felt very easy spending time with tracy. they bake together, watch shows together, and could literally gossip for hours. levi's a great gossiper because, again, he was raised by women. and two very gossipy women at that.
cale loves seeing levi with tracy, loves seeing their bond. tracy loves levi, thinks he's so charming and such a cutie. tracy reminds levi a lot of his aunt olivia, so spending time with her makes him feel a little bit less homesick.
both cale and tracy adore him, so levi always has a home with the makars. he's so thankful that he gets to live with them, that he gets to have such a special relationship with some of the coolest and most amazing people on the planet.
when it comes to levi's relationship with nate, they also feel like brothers, but in a... different way.
levi and nate are the kind of brothers that are always messing with each other. anytime they're near each other, nate can be counted on to be ruffling levi's hair, or playfully shoving him into a nearby wall. seeing the two of them at warm-ups is super entertaining, because they're basically just goofing off together.
sometimes they do light saber battles with their sticks, sometimes nate acts like he's paying attention to something else and then trips levi, sometimes they shoot pucks at each other as hard and fast as they possibly can. yes, injuries have come from this.
levi's favorite thing to do is come up behind nate and jump on his back. most of the time, nate falls down and then levi falls down too, and it's really funny. but every once in a while, nate will catch him, and then he'll be skating around with levi on his back like a baby monkey. levi can never really decide if he likes this, because it's kind of fun but it's also a little bit terrifying.
that in particular is something that editors have really latched on to when it comes to nate and levi's relationship.
even though levi and nate's relationship is much sillier than levi's relationship with cale doesn't mean it's any less deep and meaningful, for them both. nate has really benefited from being around levi. he's kind of reminded nate why he plays hockey in the first place, the deep love that they have for the sport, for the game.
nate often jokes that levi keeps him young, despite the fact that nate's only 30. levi helps to remind nate that even though they play hockey professionally, hockey doesn't define every aspect of their life.
the two of them really like to try new things together. if they have a whole day in a city, they like to try some sort of experience. "experience" is a loose word, too, because they often find trampoline parks or movie theaters in whatever city they're in, just trying to spend some extra time together off the ice and in a way where it has nothing to do with hockey, which is something that levi insists on. his grandma and aunt were really big on constantly reminding him that even though hockey is important, can be important, it doesn't define his worth. that life doesn't end if you lose a game.
levi can see that nate struggles with that sometimes, so he's tried really hard to bring the philosophies he was raised with into his teammate.
cale and nate are definitely mentor figures for levi, and they care about him a lot. they're pretty protective over him, especially on the ice, because they care about him so much. they don't really need to be protective over him on the ice, though, because levi can definitely take care of himself. he towers over them both, has been lifting weights since he was fourteen, and has been playing defense since he was five. levi starling can definitely take care of himself.
still, they want to be there for him and take care of him.
which is why that one time a puck slipped under levi's helmet and knocked him out cold was such a horrible and scary moment for them both.
there's a bit more on levi's relationship with nate and cale! they both love him to death, and he loves them, too. levi's family is super thankful that he has them, that he plays on a good team where his teammates care about him.
levi's so beyond grateful that he plays with cale and nate, that he gets to have them in his corner.
they're hockey guys, so they kind of have to be super macho about things sometimes, but the relationship between these three is definitely something they can all get a little bit emotional about.
the more you mention levi getting knocked out, the more I yearn for a full version 😭
it was a game against the minnesota wild, and things were getting intense.
late in the third period, it was a tie, 3-3. the wild wanted it, but the avs wanted it bad.
unfortunately, there was just a lot going on that night. personal things going on with some of the guys which meant their heads weren't entirely in it, a few guys out on injury, and the wild had really brought their a game.
by the second period, everyone was tired. the avs were playing hard, but the wild was meeting their every move and fighting back ten times harder. it was one of those games where everyone was anxious that they weren't going to win, desperately wanted to, and also really just wanted the game to be over.
well, everyone except for levi.
being a rookie this season, drafted third overall, he feels like he has a lot to prove. and he kind of does, because there was a lot of hype around him prior to his draft, and so there's a lot of expectations coming at him from all different people from all different sides, so he's been feeling a lot of pressure, and really trying to live up to it all.
which has been difficult, despite the fact that he appears very calm and collected to everyone else. inside, he's been low-grade screaming for months.
anyways, this particular game was a lot for everybody. all the guys were feeling sluggish and tired, the wild were beating them to a pulp, but the avs were still managing to hold their own. that was largely due to number 32's dedication to holding onto the puck and shooting at the wild goal no matter what.
everyone could see that levi was getting more and more worked up, getting angrier and pushier the closer to the end of regulation it came.
it happened right after a little tussle with a wild player. levi was frantic, and eager to get a goal, get the puck, do anything to help his team win.
the puck got stuck in a corner, four different hockey players all poking at it, trying to get it out. levi was the one closest to the puck, practically pressed against the wall with the other bodies around him. because of his height, he was towering over the other players fighting for the puck, but he couldn't extricate himself from the situation even if he wanted to.
everyone was watching, eyes glued to the fight for the puck, when it happened.
someone jabbed at the stick, they've never been able to figure out who it was, and they managed to hit the edge of the puck. it flipped up, and levi just so happened to be leaning over the puck, trying to get a better look at it.
it came up hard and fast, and slipped under his visor, hitting him square in the forehead.
he crumpled immediately.
everyone was really confused at first, all the players sort of backing away from levi's body, limp on the ice. cale makar was there before anybody else, skating like the wind to reach his rookie.
the second cale was close enough, he dropped to his knees and abandoned his stick. he was breathing hard, and started shaking levi, calling out his name.
all of ball arena went quiet, everyone watching in anticipation. everyone's hearts dropped when cale turned around and started shouting for help. the look on his face was one of pure panic, and everyone could tell that there was something wrong, and not just by cale's reaction. it had been a little over a full minute of levi starling laying unconscious on the ice.
medical staff rushed over, pushing cale out of the way and starting to examine levi. cale and nate were standing as close as they could get without impeding the medics, both of them watching in fear and anticipation at what was going on.
another minute or two passed, and then levi's eyes started blinking open. the medics carefully led him off the ice, two people holding him up as he shakily skated off to the locker room.
ball arena was filled with cheers and the sounds of sticks hitting the ice as he left the game.
the incident left the entire team determined to win, for levi. he'd been trying so hard, and everyone else was dropping the ball, so the team's energy and will power was restored tenfold.
they ended up scoring two more goals in the last six minutes, leaving the final score 5-3 in favor of the avs.
all the comments under the media team's post about the win were concerning levi, how they were all hopeful he would be okay and that he played so hard before the puck hit him.
levi posted on his instagram story the next day a picture of him smiling blearily at the camera, holding up a thumbs up, with a dark bruise just above his right eyebrow, where the puck hit him.
on the screen he wrote the word: concussed.
nate and cale did not think it was funny, because it was one of the scariest moments of both of their lives.
ultimately, the ordeal ended up looking much more dramatic than it actually was, because the concussion was fully healed and he was clear play within two weeks, and then he was back on the ice. his first intermission interview he did after the incident he laughed it off, and played it down significantly. he just said that it was all good, and he was fine so everyone should just forget about it.
he admitted to the camera that the whole thing was a little bit embarrassing, which the reporter he was talking to laughed at.
that's all that happened. every once in a while, someone will mention the puck to the face that levi took in that game, but generally it's regarded as a result of the avalanche falling short, and levi being the only one trying to pick up the pieces and actually win the game, so he doesn't get teased about it very much.
levi's grandma and aunt said that they were beyond glad he was okay.
his aunt said that she's glad he didn't lose any teeth, because she spent so many years trying to get him to learn how to actually brush them.
a/n: here's a little blurb on the puck to the face incident! tbh i think it's the most dramatic thing that's ever happened to levi 😭 i want to write more for him! so if you have requests/thoughts, please let me know (: thank you sm for reading, i hope you enjoyed this. thank you sm for requesting, and have a wonderful day/night!
happy birthday to levi!! did he do anything special?
thanks! (i know i'm not levi but still)
the avs had a home game on levi's birthday, against the dallas stars, so he celebrated a little bit with the guys in the morning, but didn't really do anything at night. cale and nate arranged for a cake to be brought into the locker room, and the entire team sang for him. it was really fun and cute, and the media team definitely got some content about it. they made a video asking each team member what their favorite thing about levi is, and there were a wide range of responses.
cale said he's one of the best people he's ever had the honor to know, nate said he loves the kid's work ethic, and how funny he is. parker kelly complimented levi on his sportsmanship, and how he never prioritizes his own points over the success of the entire team. and gabe landeskog said that he thinks the avalanche is lucky to have such an amazing and talented player on their team.
literally everyone on the team had something wonderful to say about levi, and when he watched the video back a few hours later, it warmed his heart and made him really happy. he texted his aunt and grandma and told them all about it, they were so proud and thought it was so cute how excited he got.
because the avs were playing at home that day, he got some extra cheers from the fans when he was announced and skated out onto the ice. lots of people made signs for him, and he gave out so many pucks during warm-ups.
the actual game was... interesting. the avs played hard, but so did the stars, and oettinger is kind of a beast of a goalie. the game ended up going to a shootout, where the stars won.
so, it was not... the ideal end to levi's birthday.
still, levi played well, and he ended up getting player of the game. there were lots of times that the stars could have stolen the puck from him, but he kept hold of it and was able to pass to other players. oettinger just managed to stop them all the times but one. he assisted cale makar's power play goal, too, so ultimately levi did amazing that day.
even though they lost, the guys still tried their best to celebrate his birthday after the game. unfortunately, levi was turning 19, not 21, so they couldn't take him out for drinks. they took him to a bar, and bought him food and shirley temples, but it didn't have the same effect with him being unable to drink in the states.
when him and cale got home, tracy was waiting with a cupcake for him, a call from his grandma and aunt, and a present from her and cale. they got him new headphones, because levi had been living off his wired ones that he got as a freshman in high school, and they thought that he deserved something nice for working out and before games.
he was very thankful for the nice headphones, and especially grateful for the talk he was able to have with his loved ones. it wasn't a super long conversation, mostly because him and cale had just gotten back from a game and they were both a little bit exhausted, but it was still nice to hear their voices on his birthday.
I've been thinking of some more questions about levi, partially inspired by the various hockey team admins on my instagram. I hope its not too many, I was trying to think of some good ones ❤️
is it pronounced le-vee or lee-vi? I feel like it should be obvious but I've heard both lol
does he have long hair or short hair?
on that note, does he separate shampoo and conditioner or use a 5-in-1 monstrosity? 😂
was he involved in this years olympics at all?
and I think several nhl admins have done this, but who's his favourite woman in sports?
oh my love there will NEVER be too many levi questions, that's impossible, actually (: thank you sm!
first of all, his name is pronounced lee-vi! i totally understand your confusion, because i have also heard the name pronounced different ways, although i've noticed if it's pronounced le-vee it's spelled levy. but there you go!
funny that you mention levi's hair, because he has a very interesting relationship with it.
a lot of hockey players don't shave during the playoffs, but levi's kind of the opposite. whenever he gets to a higher stage of competition, he completely shaves his face and gets a nice, clean haircut. a lot of his teammates judge him for it, but that's just the way he's always done it.
when he was playing in his very first junior league, his team made the playoffs. his grandma had just so happened to schedule a haircut for him the exact day that they won the team that put them into the playoffs. the same thing happened the next year, somehow, and ever since levi's just associated moving up in competition with being clean-shaven.
generally, levi likes to keep his hair fairly long. well, long isn't exactly the right word. he has really curly dark blond hair, and he likes when it hangs around his ears a bit more. he just thinks he looks better that way.
(also, in high school a girl he liked told him that she liked when his hair stuck out of his helmet a little bit, and he likes it for that reason, too. mostly. he would never admit that out loud, though, especially because the girl turned out to be a real bitch.)
levi's hair looks pretty messy most of the time, but in a way that's purposeful. he messes with it a lot, it's perpetually falling into his eyes, and whenever he takes his helmet off between periods or after games, it sticks every which way. it's adorable.
as i've said many times, levi starling was raised by two women. he has a very in-depth shower routine, specifically with his hair. he has curly hair, and he knows how to take care of it. people comment a lot on how beautiful his hair is, how curly, and he takes great pride in that because he was taught to. his aunt olivia taught him early on how to take care of his curls and make them look pretty, so it's been something that he's taken great pride in for a long time.
it also didn't occur to levi until he was in middle school that not every boy has four different products they put in their hair every time they shower. he thinks 5-in-1 and head and shoulders products are an absolute abomination and would never even think of putting that garbage anywhere near his body.
levi wasn't chosen for team canada at the olympics, and a lot of people online were very upset about it. he was definitely included in those "pov: you're one of the worst olympic snubs" compilations on tiktok. it was definitely an age thing, because levi is very good, but he's a rookie this year, and hasn't been able to show his potential as much as he'll be able to in the future. i think he'll definitely be included in the next winter olympics on team canada, and he'll probably perform very well.
he definitely flew out to milan for a few days to see cale and nate play. he has all that nhl money and needed a good way to spend it, right? also, nate and cale are two of his favorite people on the planet, no way he wouldn't fly all the way to italy to support them. he didn't stay out there the whole time, mostly because his grandma and aunt wanted to spend time with him during the olympic break. he definitely would've if he could've, but the fact he wanted to see his family combined with the insane amount of money hotel rooms and food cost there, he just couldn't justify it.
levi's favorite female athlete is definitely marie-philip poulin! while he was in milan, he made time to see a few of the women's hockey games, and loved watching her play. every once in a while, levi catches a pwhl game, and he supports the montreal victoire, so he knew of her prior to the olympics, but seeing her play at the olympics made him decide that he needs to make more of an effort to watch pwhl games regularly, and he has! the avs media team definitely asked him this question, and they had to actually cut off some of his clip because he yapped about how cool he thinks marie-philip poulin is for like... five minutes.
