MONTREAL — If Matt Duchene’s NHL career goes the way people think it will, this will be old hat some day: Just another first-class charter airplane ride, just another dinner out at the city’s fanciest restaurant, just another three-star performance followed by a night in a five-star hotel.
For now, though? It’s all one big, wide-eyed experience for an 18-year-old kid. Last Wednesday night in Nashville, Tenn., Duchene ordered his first room service item as a pro, a nice chocolate mousse after a salmon and pasta dinner on the town. Room service at the hotels Duchene was accustomed to in junior hockey consisted of going to the vending machine in bare feet and hoping all the potato chips weren’t sold out.
“Just all the luxuries we have when we travel, it’s something I’m amazed by and (am) just trying to get used to,” said Duchene, the Avs’ second-line center and 2009 first-round draft pick. “It’s unbelievable, really. So far, the whole thing has been pretty amazing. I’ll tell you, I like flying on the charter a lot more than commercial.”
No matter where Duchene played on his first NHL road trip, it would have been an unforgettable memory. But the fact that it is a seven-game, 14-day trip — with five games against Original Six teams — has made it that much more so for the Ontario native. Thursday night’s stop was in Montreal for a game against the Canadiens in the arena where he was drafted about four months ago, the Bell Centre. Two nights earlier, Duchene played in front of about 100 family and friends in Toronto’s Air Canada Centre.
Forget the reality show of the same name, this is the real “Surreal Life.”
“I’m enjoying it, and it helps a lot that we’ve done pretty well so far as a team on the trip,” Duchene said before the Montreal game, his seventh pro game.
At the same time, there is pressure. Duchene was upset he still hadn’t scored his first goal after six games, and there is still the issue of whether he’s guaranteed a roster spot the rest of the season. It might seem like a formality he’ll stay and not go back to his junior team before an unofficial 10-game cutoff point, but the team has not told him that yet.
So, while there have been bright lights, big cities and fun, this trip also has been stressful for Duchene.
“He’s fighting a little with himself, trying to get that first goal, but I’ve just told him, ‘Don’t change the way you’re playing,’ ” said Duchene’s roommate on the trip, veteran defenseman Brett Clark. “He’s playing unbelievable, getting chances every game.”
Times have changed since Clark broke in as a rookie with the 1997-98 Canadiens. He roomed with Shayne Corson, an old-school player who played hard on and off the ice.
“I just hid in the corner, not knowing what to expect,” Clark said.
Today’s players typically have a more subdued road routine. If they get into a city the night before a game, players break off into groups, go out to dinner at a nice place near the hotel, then come back and spend the rest of the night watching hockey games back in their rooms.
In the YouTube, camera- phone age, long, booze-filled nights on road trips past are rare for NHL players. On the airplane, players are usually doing one of three things: playing cards, watching a movie or sleeping.
“You get to be like a robot at times,” Clark said.
As a kid of the new millennium, Duchene is more likely to be occupied with one thing more than any other: “His computer,” Clark said. “In the room, he’s pretty much got the laptop open all the time, propped up in bed, headphones on. But he’s a pretty amazing kid. He’s just all hockey, but he’s smart with other things too. He was showing me some of the designs he’s made, like the high school team logo he came up with, and it’s pretty unbelievable.”
The Avs got into Montreal in the wee hours Wednesday morning and had the day off from practice, so Duchene and fellow 18-year-old teammate Ryan O’Reilly got to see some of the city, walking around mostly unrecognized. O’Reilly has been living with Duchene at a hotel in Denver, both hoping their local address becomes permanent after the 10-game mark.
“Matt’s just a real honest, hardworking guy, a natural leader type,” O’Reilly said. “We’ve both kind of looked at each other at times on the trip and said, ‘This is hard to believe.’ But at the same time, you don’t want to get too carried away. You have to focus on each game, and that’s it.”
Avs coach Joe Sacco has enjoyed seeing his budding young star experience his first trip in the big time.
“I think he’s one of those kids that is able to handle the pressure and what he has to deal with,” Sacco said. “He’s a guy who expects a lot of himself, I’ve noticed. He’s pretty demanding on himself, which is why he’ll be the player he’s hopefully going to be.”
At the morning skate Thursday, Duchene was asked about the possibility of being sent back to junior, and just discussing it seemed to bring a brief, downcast look to his face.
“I hope I show enough to make them want to keep me, but it’s out of my control,” Duchene said. “But this is definitely the place I want to be.”
Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com
