SPORTS SCENE
DUCHENE FINDS ASSURANCE IN GOD, COUNTRY MUSIC
AVALANCHE FORWARD NOT DETERRED DESPITE TEAM STRUGGLES BY CARTER BROOKS
One of the best ways that Duchene has been able to take his mind off of hockey is through music.
F
rom the earliest of ages, hockey, music, and faith have been the three biggest pieces of NHLer Matt Duchene’s life. Although now owning a dog and recently becoming engaged to longtime girlfriend, Ashley Grossaint, Duchene is still able to maintain his connection to both music and faith, even through the difficulties of an arduous hockey season. Duchene’s Avalanche have found themselves sitting as cellar dwellers for the past two seasons. With wins extremely hard to come by, Colorado is currently on pace for the worst statistical season in franchise history since relocating from Quebec City in 1995. “My faith is definitely one of the biggest things in my life that I lean on,” Duchene says. “You know, it has definitely been tested this year, but it’s the foundation of my life, and I try
30 SEVEN MAY / JUNE 2017
to live that way every day.” The 2016-17 NHL season has not been kind to the 26-year-old centreman. With just 36 points in 62 games played, Duchene has found difficulty scoring goals—something new for the former prolific junior hockey sniper. But through his troubles, he has been able to stick to his beliefs and his Christian upbringing, relying on his connection with God to help him through the difficult times. “I just try to stay true to who I am, true to my roots and true to my faith,” he says. “I feel that I have done a good job of that so far, and it’s definitely something that I know I will make sure that I stay with and continue that way. As a kid my family went to church quite a bit. Obviously it was tough with hockey at times, but my parents made an effort to take us there and just get the Word into
us. I think it was the right way to be brought up for sure.” While playing a professional sport, attending Sunday morning church services becomes extremely difficult, if not impossible. But luckily for Duchene and others, there are options readily available for Christian athletes. “We have Tim Burke with Hockey Ministries International in Colorado, who runs our chapels,” Duchene says. “Tim comes in and we get together for about a half hour. It’s nothing crazy, nothing too long, but it’s good just to get the Word into you and to be thinking about the right stuff. Those chapels always seem to come at the right times. Especially with it being such a trying season here, HMI been a big part of how I am trying to get through it.” Although HMI is able to provide peace and guidance for its athletes
