Matt Duchene

Matthew Duchene (born January 16, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and alternate captain for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected third overall by Colorado in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He won a gold medal with Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Minor
Duchene grew up playing minor hockey for the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA)'s Central Ontario Wolves (based in Lindsay) of the Eastern AAA League. He also spent his early hockey years playing for his hometown Haliburton Huskies before moving up to the AAA level. In 2006, Duchene verbally stated he was interested in college hockey in the United States and verbally committed to playing in the NCAA. After the 2006–07 season with the Wolves, however, Duchene was selected in the first round of the 2007 OHL Priority Selection by the Brampton Battalion.

Junior
Duchene played major junior in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in 2007–08, recording 30 goals and 50 points in his rookie campaign. The following season, 2008–09, he improved to 79 points in 57 games, then added 26 points in the post-season, helping the Battalion to the J. Ross Robertson Cup Finals, where they were defeated by eventual 2009 Memorial Cup champions, the Windsor Spitfires.

Entering the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Duchene was ranked second overall among North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau, behind just John Tavares. Swedish defenceman Victor Hedman was also considered a strong candidate with Tavares for the first overall selection. Duchene's well-rounded, two-way game, however, garnered him attention for the top pick, as well. After Tavares and Hedman were picked first and second, respectively, Duchene was selected third overall by the Colorado Avalanche. Growing up as an Avalanche fan, Duchene quickly became a fan favourite after video footage showed him pumping his fist after Hedman was selected second overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning, effectively sealing his fate as an Avalanche draftee. Having played alongside Vancouver Canucks prospect Cody Hodgson, who had been selected tenth overall the previous year, in Brampton, Ontario, Duchene sought draft advice from him over the course of the season. Whilst playing in junior, Duchene drew comparisons to such retired NHLers as Steve Yzerman and Joe Sakic, as well as current NHLer Mike Richards.

Professional
Duchene notched his first career NHL point in his Avalanche debut on October 1, 2009, against the San Jose Sharks with an assist on a powerplay goal by defenceman John-Michael Liles. Duchene's first goal came later that month on October 17 against Chris Osgood in a 4–3 shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings. It was announced the next day that Duchene would spend the entire season with the Avalanche instead of being reassigned to junior.

On November 30, 2009, Duchene compiled his first two-goal NHL game in a 3–0 shutout victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The next game, against the Florida Panthers on December 2, 2009, Duchene tallied his second two-goal game and first three-point game of his career, scoring twice against Florida's Scott Clemmensen and assisting on a goal by Chris Stewart in a 6–5 shootout loss. It marked the first time that an 18-year-old recorded back-to-back two-goal games in the NHL since Radek Dvořák did so with Florida in November 1995. Duchene was subsequently selected as the NHL Rookie of the Month for December 2009 after scoring five goals and eight assists for 13 points in 14 games. On April 6, 2010, the Avalanche had the opportunity to clinch a Stanley Cup playoff berth with a victory against the Vancouver Canucks. Tied 3–3 after overtime, Duchene scored the game-winning shootout goal against Roberto Luongo to send the Avalanche into the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Duchene finished his rookie NHL season third on the Avalanche in scoring with 55 points, and second in goals with 24. Among NHL rookies, he finished first in points, ahead of John Tavares by one, and tied with Tavares for first in goals. Duchene added three assists in six playoff games as the Avalanche were eliminated by the San Jose Sharks in the opening round. After completion of the season, he was selected to the NHL All-Rookie Team and placed third in Calder Memorial Trophy voting, the award given to the NHL's top rookie of the year.

The following season, in 2010–11, Duchene recorded his first five-minute major for fighting, against opponent Vladimír Sobotka of the St. Louis Blues on November 15, 2010. Several months later, Duchene was chosen to participate in his first NHL All-Star Game. During the contest, he became the first player in All-Star Game history to be awarded a penalty shot when Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin tossed his stick toward Duchene on a breakaway. Duchene's attempt, however, was turned away by Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers. Soon thereafter, Duchene recorded his 100th career NHL point on January 26, 2011, with a goal against Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov in a 5–2 loss. The goal made him the youngest player in franchise history (including the Quebec Nordiques era) to record the milestone, beating Duchene's boyhood idol, Joe Sakic. Duchene finished the season with 67 points and became the youngest player in Avalanche history to lead the team in scoring.

On November 4, 2011, Duchene tallied his first career hat-trick in a 7–6 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars. The game also marked Duchene's first career four-point game. Having missed only three games in his previous two seasons combined, his third season in the NHL would see only 58 games, tried by left-knee, and later right-ankle, injuries. After the 2011–12 season, Duchene confirmed to The Denver Post that after his ankle injury, he played the remaining games of the season hurt in a desperate bid for the 2011 playoffs that ended for the Avs after the team's 81st game. He finished his season scoring 28 points with 14 goals. On June 23, 2012, Duchene, as a restricted free agent, agreed to a two-year deal with the Avalanche worth $7 million. With the 2012-13 NHL lockout in effect, however, Duchene signed an initial two-month contract with Frölunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League on October 2, 2012. He made his debut on October 14 in a 4–3 win against Modo Hockey, where he contributed with two assists. Nearing the completion of his contract with Frölunda, it was announced Duchene would not be extended and in his final game in Sweden he scored the game-winning goal in a 3–1 victory over Linköpings HC. He was given a standing ovation after the game and finished with four goals and 14 points in 19 games. The following day, on December 9, 2012, Duchene continued to remain in Europe to sign a one-month contract, with the option for the remainder of the lock-out, with HC Ambrì-Piotta of the Swiss National League A. He appeared in four games, scoring five points over the next month with Ambrì, whose roster was limited by a Spengler Cup selection. After a tentative agreement to end the NHL lock-out was reached, Duchene was farewelled by Ambrì fans on January 7, 2013.

Duchene and the Avalanche agreed to a five-year, $30 million contract extension on July 18, 2013.

The 2013–14 season saw Duchene leading a resurgent Avalanche team to a Central Division title. He went on to lead the team in assists, points and tied Ryan O'Reilly in game-winning goals, with six. On March 31, 2014, the Avalanche announced that Duchene would likely miss four weeks with a knee injury after colliding with teammate Jamie McGinn during a game against the San Jose Sharks. Duchene missed the Avalanche's first five 2014 playoff games as a result of the injury, but came back to play Games 6 and 7, registering three assists. The Avalanche, however, lost the Western Conference Quarterfinal series in seven games to the Minnesota Wild.

On October 13, 2016, the Avalanche announced that Duchene would serve as an alternate captain for the 2016-17 NHL Season.

Personal life
Duchene is a committed Christian, listing "Christian" in his personal description on Twitter and is featured on the BREAKAWAY HOCKEY NEW TESTAMENT by Hockey Ministries International. He is the nephew of Arizona Coyotes assistant coach Newell Brown. He was a die-hard Avalanche fan growing up and had jerseys for Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy, his current General Manager and former head coach.

International play
Duchene made his international debut at the 2008 World U-17 Hockey Challenge. He scored ten points in six games to help Team Ontario to a gold medal. The same year, he was named to Canada's under-18 team for the 2008 IIHF World U18 Championships in April and was selected as captain at the 2008 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in August; he won gold at both tournaments. Playing in his second major junior season, Duchene participated in Canada's junior camp ahead of the 2009 World Junior Championships, but was ultimately cut from the team's final roster.

Following his rookie season in the NHL, Duchene was named to the senior Canadian team's roster for the 2010 IIHF World Championship in Germany. He made his full international debut, recording a goal and an assist, in a 5–1 preliminary round win against Italy on May 8, 2010. Duchene finished the tournament with four goals for seven points in seven games after Canada was eliminated in the quarter-final by Russia.

Duchene was again added to Canada's World Championship team for the 2011 edition of the tournament following the Avalanche's failure to make the 2011 playoffs. He was unable to repeat his point scoring performance from the previous year, however, going scoreless in seven games as Canada finished in fifth place.

After signing an NHL lock-out contract in Switzerland with HC Ambrì-Piotta in 2012, Duchene was added to Canada's roster for the annual Spengler Cup. In four games, Duchene scored five points and was selected as the centre to the All-Star Team in helping his nation win the Cup for the first time since 2007.

On January 7, 2014, Duchene was named to the Canadian roster for participation at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. He was initially used as Canada's extra forward or as a healthy scratch in Canada's round robin stage, though after a tournament-ending knee injury to John Tavares suffered in the quarter-finals, Duchene was inserted as the fourth line centre for the tournament semi-final, as well as Canada's gold medal-winning game against Sweden on February 23.

At the 2015 World Championships, where Canada won the gold medal for the first time since 2007 with a perfect 10-0 record, Duchene finished in a tie for third in scoring with 4 goals and 8 assists.