This report card is a joint effort by Beachie, Sandie, Paul, SlamDunktheFunk and DDC. Stats courtesy of hockey-reference.com and NHL.com
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Final Grade: A-
Midseason Grade: A+
Last Year: A-
Position: C (77gp), LW (3gp)
(36gp 1st line, 44gp 2nd line)
Vitals: 5'9" 5'11" / 200 / Age 20 / Shoots Left
Drafted by Colorado, 3rd overall in 2009
Joined Avalanche: Made the team out of training camp 2009. Made his NHL debut in the season opener on Oct. 1 vs. San Jose, recording an assist.
MHH Nicknames: Dutchy, Absolut Duchene, Boy Wonder, Mighty Matt
Linemates:
LW:
- Fleischmann 21gp 11g 10a 21pt -1
- Jones 17gp 5g 8a 13pt +2
- Olver 11gp 5g 9a 14pt -1
- Porter 10gp 3g 5a 8pt +1
- Yip 8gp 0g 4a 4pt -1
- Forsberg 2gp 1g 0a 1pt -4
- Stewart 2gp 0g 0a 0pt -1
- Stoa 2gp 1g 0a 1pt -1
- McClement 1gp 0g 1a 1pt -3
- McLeod 1gp 0g 1a 1pt +1
- O'Reilly 1gp 0g 0a 0pt +1
- Galiardi 1gp 0g 0a 0pt -2
C:
- Stastny 3gp 1g 2a 3pt +1
RW:
- Hejduk 52gp 12g 29a 41pt -7
- Jones 12gp 7g 5a -3
- Winnik 9gp 5g 5a 10pt +3
- Stewart 4gp 2g 0a 2pt +1
- Fleischmann 1gp 0g 0a 0pt -2
- Mauldin 1gp 1g 0a 0pt Even
- Yip 1gp 0g 1a 1pt Even
Most Common Line:
- Jones - Duchene - Hejduk (14gp 3g 7a 10pt Even)
Avs with Duchene in the lineup: 30-43-7 (.419 pt%) 2.8 GF 3.5 GA
Ice Time:
- TTOI 18:56 (2nd)
- ES 16:01 (1st)
- PP 2:50 (3rd)
- PK 0:04 (14th)
Career Highlights: Duchene was the youngest player in franchise history to lead the team in scoring and reach 100 career points. In his first appearance at the NHL All-Star Game, he became the youngest player in Avalanche history to participate and the first player in NHL history to be awarded a penalty shot. He had his first career fighting major on Nov. 15, 2010, vs. Vladimir Sobotka of the St. Louis Blues, and had a career-high six-game point streak (5g/4a) from March 12-24, 2011. He led the team in points (67) and shots (202), in addition to tying for first in goals (27) and games played (80).
Report: Some people felt disappointment with Duchene's performance as he had a big slump in the middle of the year. He did have a tendency to try for the pretty plays, dangling and maneuvering his way out of puck possession. His defensive play - which started out impressively improved over 2009-2010 - began looking suspect. And he simply could not hit the twine. However, his collective contributions over the entire season were anything but disappointing. There were few games when he wasn't the best player on the ice, and he showed that he is already tapping into that elite player potential. You only need to look at the competition he faced - the top forward lines and defensive pairings - to see that.
His biggest struggles came about because his wingers kept dropping like flies. At some point, he had to feel he was cursed (or the curse). Last year's heady feeling created by the idea of the Mueller-Duchene-Hejduk line quickly evaporated with Ferris' 1,365th concussion pre-season. The skies parted and hope prevailed with the addition of Tomas Fleischman, as their chemistry was a thing of beauty. In true Avalanche fashion, though, Flash went down with a season-ending injury, once again forcing Duchene to adjust to yet another LWer. After much juggling, Dutchy found Mark Olver complimenting his style well, and he was able to close out the season being that mesmerizing player we know and love. Far from a sophomore slump, Duchene's follow-up campaign to a stellar rookie season saw improvements in nearly all areas, including goals, points, face-offs, shots, and penalty minutes. He also stepped up as a leader, both on and off the ice, and continued his tradition of pushing himself to improve his play.
Fun Fact: Duchene started a Twitter account this year in order to help the fans feel like they are part of what's going on with the team and see a side of him that they wouldn't in game-related interviews. Recently, he Tweeted that he uses a curve on his stick invented by Joey Hishon and that he's soon going to record a song with singer and songwriter, Guinevere.
The Matt Duchene Drinking Game involves vodka Drunk Potential: Depends on the legal drinking age in your country
What We Said Last Year: Through the middle of the season he was absolutely brilliant, scoring most of his 24 goals and showing he could be dominant. Unfortunately, he also went through two streaks where he couldn't score a goal to save his life. Duchene has the ability and the intelligence to become a Datsyuk-like dominant center in this league.
2010 Cap Hit: $3,200,000
2011 Status: Signed through next summer, RFA at expiry.
Outlook for Next Season: Duchene is set to solidify his place as the top line center for the Avs. As one of only two players receiving an "A"-level grade from the ace evaluators here at the M Double H Ranch, the Avalanche need him to continue to develop...and hope that some of the other young talent around him can make jumps to the next level
Next Up: Kyle Cumiskey