Matt Duchene appreciation thread.

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Really surprising to see no thread about Duchene this season, at least not one that has been used in the past while.


We seriously need to start talking about the kid more. He is having one of the best seasons by an Avs player since Stastny in the 07/08 season.


66 Points in 66 Games now, puts him at a PPG on the season, one of only 15 NHL regulars currently at or above a PPG.


He's particularly been on fire since the Olympic break. 16 Pts(3G, 13A) in 11 games since the break, including points in every game but one. If we stretch it back to his last 20 games even, he's had 25 points.


What's perhaps the most impressive part about his season, has been just how snake bitten he's actually been at scoring goals this year. He had a hot start this year with 11 Goals in his first 15 games, but since then he's only scored 12 in the last 51 games. Its not been his fault either. He's had just as many if not more chances on average then the start of the season but he has had some ridiculously bad puck luck.

Shooting at a pretty low 10.5% on the season. If he were shooting around his career average 12.2% he would be at 26 goals on the season, good for 70 points and tied for 5th in league scoring.


He's having an incredible season. One has to seriously start to wonder what kind of potential he has. Especially if he goes out and puts up ~85 points this season(If he kept up his post olympic pace over the remaining 13 games he'd hit 85 in 79).




1 Point away from tying his Career best season. Unreal that we have he and Mackinnon for this team.

Click to read more...

 

[tigervixxxen]

This is much needed. There was some discussion on the bust thread but it's time.

Yep, I noticed that he's now up to 11th in league scoring. Tied with Malkin!! I think he also had the most point scored by anyone since the break.

Anyone who wanted Duchene to sit at home over the Olympics should be ashamed of themselves now. The way he came back confident and on fire is EXACTLY why I wanted him to go. What winning that gold medal did for him is invaluable and will pay dividends for the Avs for a long time

I agree that it feels like Duchene should easily have about 10 more goals. When he can start ripping them in the net again he's going to be unstopable.

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

Two years ago I remember having to argue against fellow Avs fans that Duchene would be fine and one down season isn't the end. Dark times when some of us wanted to trade him for Gardiner or Phaneuf. I think this thread took so long to come up because we just don't understand what kind of year Duchene is having. He's having a monster season in all areas. He's gotten so strong that he does remind me a bit of Crosby in that regard. I honestly believe that Duchene has received one of the biggest and underrated boosts with Roy coming in. I remember Duchene talking about how him and Roy have a good relationship this season. Roy also called Yzerman and asked him what Duchene needs to do to make Team Canada.

 

[JWK]

I appreciate him, never understood the whole bust thing couple years ago. It was obvious that he was injured and shouldn't have been on the ice, but for some reason, he came back when he wasn't 100% or even close to it.

 

[tigervixxxen]

Duchene basically said the other day to the Montreal media that he owes it to Roy that he was able to have the opportunity to win that medal and he'll never forget it.

Apparently Duchene had the same injury as Tavares and he came back in what, 3 weeks?

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

This is much needed. There was some discussion on the bust thread but it's time.

Yep, I noticed that he's now up to 11th in league scoring. Tied with Malkin!! I think he also had the most point scored by anyone since the break.

Anyone who wanted Duchene to sit at home over the Olympics should be ashamed of themselves now. The way he came back confident and on fire is EXACTLY why I wanted him to go. What winning that gold medal did for him is invaluable and will pay dividends for the Avs for a long time

I agree that it feels like Duchene should easily have about 10 more goals. When he can start ripping them in the net again he's going to be unstopable.

So true.

Duchene's career shooting % is 12.2, but honestly that number has come down a lot because of this season, and his injury year.

He would typically be shooting in the 13-14% range, which would be 27-29 goals at this point.


A bit of puck luck throughout the year, and he could have been looking at 72-73 points right now, or 3rd in the league.


Another crazy thing to point out about Duchene, is his consistency. When you look at the other top producers this season, a lot of them have at least one 4+ point game, and some of them have 3-4 including 5 point games.

Duchene doesnt have One 4+ point game.


Crazy season he's having. Consistency is no longer an issue for him.

 

[captaincheese]

His play along the boards/behind the net reminds me alot of Peter Forsberg.

 

[Flanagan]

I hope his best is yet to come!

Where's that thread where we all predicted point totals for each player?

I think I had Duchene at 84 points or so, but I'm interested in seeing which ones I got completely wrong.

 

[Avs For Life]

GREAT THREAD! Matty has been unbelievable this year. Some games he has just taken over and then even when it seemed like he was in a slump....he was still a PPG player racking up assists everywhere.

There is so much to like about the guy I dont even know where to start. I think his season has been a bit overshadowed by our young rookie which is a good and bad thing. I think sharing the spotlight has been good for all of them, but Duchene deserves more credit and recognition than I think he is getting. Matty's determination is starting to compliment his speed and skill and its a wonderful thing to watch.

We are going to be/already are so spoiled with Duchene, ROR, Landy, and Mackinnon. Thats not even counting EJ, Barrie, and Varly.

BTW I remember a thread about our core....the players above... THOSE are the core. Almost without a doubt now. Staz, PAP, Tangs, are in the air a bit.

 

[bromando]

Another crazy thing to point out about Duchene, is his consistency. When you look at the other top producers this season, a lot of them have at least one 4+ point game, and some of them have 3-4 including 5 point games.

Duchene doesnt have One 4+ point game.

Seems so weird to me. He's absolutely dominated so many games this year you'd think he'd have one or two 4+ point games. I think he's due...

 

[5280]

Funny, I always thought we should trade Dutchy when we got Mack. Guess I was wrong.

 

[The Kingslayer]

His play along the boards/behind the net reminds me alot of Peter Forsberg.

Matty is getting better but hes not close to Foppa. Only person who comes close is Crosby.

 

[Avs For Life]

Funny, I always thought we should trade Dutchy when we got Mack. Guess I was wrong.

Kiszla?

 

[5280]

Kiszla?

Don't you dare.

 

[Pokecheque]

Matty is getting better but hes not close to Foppa. Only person who comes close is Crosby.

And he's never going to be. He's almost a cross between Sakic and Forsberg in terms of his speed/power. No, not saying he's going to reach quite that level, but it's surprising how much power a guy that fast has in his game.

In a Bourne article I posted elsewhere it was pointed out that Duchene leads the league in penalties drawn vs. penalties taken. I'm obviously biased but I've never seen him take a dive in order to do so. All the more impressive.

 

[tigervixxxen]

And Duchene could easily have double the penalties he's drawn too.

 

[Foppa2118]

Matty is getting better but hes not close to Foppa. Only person who comes close is Crosby.

Yea, Forsberg does it with sheer strength and determination. Matty does it more with quickness and keeping the puck way away from his body to shield it.

Forsberg was better and generating quality scoring opportunities after the move, Duchene kind of just barely pulls it sometimes. Looks like he's gonna lose the puck a lot, but then gets the D man to bite on a certain direction coming out of the move, and gives himself some room to make a play.

Loved when he finally added that pass to the slot to the move, like he's done with PA a few times. He didn't always get the best shots off coming out of the move, where as Forsberg seemingly could pick the top corner every time. It was insane.

For a guy that always said he didn't have a good shot, he sure managed to have pin point accuracy when he wanted.

 

[The Kingslayer]

Yea, Forsberg does it with sheer strength and determination. Matty does it more with quickness and keeping the puck way away from his body to shield it.

Forsberg was better and generating quality scoring opportunities after the move, Duchene kind of just barely pulls it sometimes. Looks like he's gonna lose the puck a lot, but then gets the D man to bite on a certain direction coming out of the move, and gives himself some room to make a play.

Loved when he finally added that pass to the slot to the move, like he's done with PA a few times. He didn't always get the best shots off coming out of the move, where as Forsberg seemingly could pick the top corner every time. It was insane.

For a guy that always said he didn't have a good shot, he sure managed to have pin point accuracy when he wanted.

If you ask Forsberg himself he would prolly tell you Keith Jones was a better hockey player then he was. Dude can get 5 points in a game and say he played an ok game. Forsberg hates losing more then he likes winning. Says it all right there.

 

[MvpKinnon]

Yea, Forsberg does it with sheer strength and determination. Matty does it more with quickness and keeping the puck way away from his body to shield it.

Forsberg was better and generating quality scoring opportunities after the move, Duchene kind of just barely pulls it sometimes. Looks like he's gonna lose the puck a lot, but then gets the D man to bite on a certain direction coming out of the move, and gives himself some room to make a play.

Loved when he finally added that pass to the slot to the move, like he's done with PA a few times. He didn't always get the best shots off coming out of the move, where as Forsberg seemingly could pick the top corner every time. It was insane.

For a guy that always said he didn't have a good shot, he sure managed to have pin point accuracy when he wanted.

You are absolutely right. Duchy is still only 23 and should keep improving. If he could work on his strenght and scoring, he could be comparable to Foppa. I think the determination is already there. The fact that he's a center means he has other responsibilities to take care of rather than just keep driving to the net with all he's got.

 

[Bordeleau Of Blood]

Congrats to Matty for hitting the 70 point mark for the first time in his young career.

 

[tigervixxxen]

70 is fantastic. Tied for 12th in league scoring too!

 

[Bender]

Congrats to Matty for hitting the 70 point mark for the first time in his young career.

That's his max though.

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1228799

 

[HockeyFan100]

Not bad for a bust.

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

I'd be happy if he ended up between 75-80 points. No idea though if Roy will give his players a rest though closer to the end of the season.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

Every since last season he has looked like star. Not surprised by 70 points at all. It looks like Olympics really gave him more fire, look at his play after olympics. He has looked great and put up great amount of points.