Matt Duchene is the new face of the Avalanche, but at Park Meadows mall, he’s just another teenager in jeans and a T-shirt. About the only people who have approached him during his regular visits to the mall have been salespeople from vendor carts.
“I’ve been flying under the radar so far,” Duchene said, smiling Monday after his first training-camp scrimmage with the Avs.
“Playing in Brampton (Ontario) for junior, it’s not a big hockey market, so I’m used to that,” Du-chene said. “I actually still get surprised when people come up to me. I’m flattered and kind of embarrassed sometimes, because I feel I’m just a person, right?”
Enjoy the anonymity while it lasts, kid.
It was impossible for the packed crowd at Family Sports Center not to notice Duchene on Monday. Centering a line with Milan Hej-duk and David Jones, the Avs’ top draft pick this past summer dazzled at times with the puck, scoring two goals and nearly setting up a couple more. New coach Joe Sacco’s tactic of using him with two upper-tier forwards may be a sign the Avs have plans for him to stay with the big club all season, and not send him back to Brampton.
That is Duchene’s assumption too. Spend much time around the native of Haliburton, Ontario, and you know he’s not a braggart, but does not lack for confidence.
“I think I’ve got a good shot (making the team). I feel like I fit in pretty well. I don’t feel like it’s above my head at all,” Duchene said. “But it’s just one intrasquad game, lots of hockey left to be played. There’s the Burgundy-White game, and exhibition games and maybe some regular-season games before they have to make a decision.”
Ask Sacco about Duchene, or any other rookie, and he purses his lips, and gives a quick lateral move of his head. Praise from Sacco, it is becoming clear, will not come easy. But there was some for Duchene.
“He has good vision, and he does everything hard for an 18-year-old kid,” said Sacco, who stopped himself there.
Ask 363-goal NHL goal-scorer and Avs television analyst Peter McNab about his first impression of Duchene, however, and praise flows like water over Niagara Falls.
“Too many times, people try to say, ‘What does a guy do well?’ But what I see with this kid is, he just plays the game well,” McNab said. “He just plays hockey. You see him, and you know it. You can teach guys to react, and you can teach guys to react quicker as they get some experience. But what you can’t teach is for someone to see it before it happens. Instinctive hockey players are moving before the play, and you’re wondering, where are they going? And all of a sudden, there they go to the right spot. And that seems to be something that he does instinctively. He gets the puck and makes the right play.”
Avs defenseman John-Michael Liles was on the team playing against Duchene on Monday and had to admit it was no easy day.
“You can see there’s definitely some brilliance in the way he plays,” Liles said. “The way he sees the ice and the way he controls the puck, there’s a reason why he was the No. 3 pick.”
Duchene’s father, Vince, will travel from Ontario to Colorado to take in Wednesday’s Burgundy-White scrimmage at the Air Force Academy. Since moving to Denver on Sept. 7, Duchene has lived in a south suburban hotel suite with fellow Avs rookie Ryan O’Reilly. Trips to the mall have been fit in around a lot of TV watching — especially the U.S. Open tennis tournament.
“I really like tennis. I’m a big Roger Federer fan,” Duchene said. “Ryan and I, we’re good buddies, so we’ve had some fun together. That’s a great mall over there, and we’ve actually played golf together the last couple days. So, good times.”
But not anonymous for long.
Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com
18 is old enough
Matt Duchene is only 18, and some NHL people think that’s too young to start his NHL career. But last season there were a number of prominent 18-year-olds:
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Scored 23 goals and 46 points in 79 games for Lightning.
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Played 81 games on defense for Kings, with 27 points.
Zach Bogosian, Atlanta Defenseman played 47 games for Thrashers, scoring 19 points.
Luke Schenn, Toronto Played 70 games for Maple Leafs and already considered a team leader.
Nikita Filatov, Columbus Scored four goals in eight games for Blue Jackets.
Mikkel Boedker, Phoenix Played 78 games for Coyotes, scoring 11 goals.
Adrian Dater, The Denver Post
