EurolancheDavid
Registered User
Matt Duchene played for Ambri-Piotta during the recent lockout and also appeared with you at the Spengler Cup tournament for Team Canada. How do you remember him?
I called him when I signed (with the Avs) and I told him I was so happy to come back and hopefully play with him. I’m sure he’s going to help me out. He’s a great guy. In Europe, he showed our team what it is really like to be a NHL player. He’d show up at the rink ready to work out, to work on the ice every single day, because he kept saying “This is a big year for me,†and he really showed guys after the lockout. He came back after the lockout and I think he was one of the best players in the NHL that year. It was really great for our team to have a guy like that, who was really skilled and a really good person. He wouldn’t just wait and then show up for a game. He worked during the whole week. It was really great for a lot of the Swiss guys and for the younger guys on our team to see how hard you have to work to become that good of a player.
Did you know about the Avalanche’s interest in you before, or was it kind of a surprise when they offered you a contract?
I think my agent talked to them a little bit at the end of the year, not during the season. I’ll be honest with you, even last year I got some offers to sign here, to come back here and play, but it wasn’t the right fit so I decided to stay in Europe. On the Tuesday when I got the offer, on the 1st July, I said to my agent “They’re so young, they’re such a good team, they play so fast,†and that’s how I like to play, I like the quick transition game. I called Matt Duchene and he thought I’d be a good fit with the way I play, so hopefully I can prove to people that I deserve to play on this team. I’m not taking it for granted, as much as my contract is a two-year guaranteed, it’s a one-way, but I know there’s no guarantee and I just want to show up and prove that I can play.
What does it mean to you to come back to the NHL, especially in an Avalanche jersey?
It means everything to me, since Day 1. I got down here, I told the organization. I’m having a great time here, I love the city. My dream was always to come back, because deep down I just felt that I could play in the NHL. Maybe it was good for me to go to Europe and work on my game, so now I can come back and surprise some people, to make them think that maybe I can play in the NHL.
Full interview at >>> http://eurolanche.com/article.php?id=5018
I called him when I signed (with the Avs) and I told him I was so happy to come back and hopefully play with him. I’m sure he’s going to help me out. He’s a great guy. In Europe, he showed our team what it is really like to be a NHL player. He’d show up at the rink ready to work out, to work on the ice every single day, because he kept saying “This is a big year for me,†and he really showed guys after the lockout. He came back after the lockout and I think he was one of the best players in the NHL that year. It was really great for our team to have a guy like that, who was really skilled and a really good person. He wouldn’t just wait and then show up for a game. He worked during the whole week. It was really great for a lot of the Swiss guys and for the younger guys on our team to see how hard you have to work to become that good of a player.
Did you know about the Avalanche’s interest in you before, or was it kind of a surprise when they offered you a contract?
I think my agent talked to them a little bit at the end of the year, not during the season. I’ll be honest with you, even last year I got some offers to sign here, to come back here and play, but it wasn’t the right fit so I decided to stay in Europe. On the Tuesday when I got the offer, on the 1st July, I said to my agent “They’re so young, they’re such a good team, they play so fast,†and that’s how I like to play, I like the quick transition game. I called Matt Duchene and he thought I’d be a good fit with the way I play, so hopefully I can prove to people that I deserve to play on this team. I’m not taking it for granted, as much as my contract is a two-year guaranteed, it’s a one-way, but I know there’s no guarantee and I just want to show up and prove that I can play.
What does it mean to you to come back to the NHL, especially in an Avalanche jersey?
It means everything to me, since Day 1. I got down here, I told the organization. I’m having a great time here, I love the city. My dream was always to come back, because deep down I just felt that I could play in the NHL. Maybe it was good for me to go to Europe and work on my game, so now I can come back and surprise some people, to make them think that maybe I can play in the NHL.
Full interview at >>> http://eurolanche.com/article.php?id=5018
