This feature profiles an NHLer that’s making noise on the Twitter machine.
Confession time: I had no idea who Brad Paisley was until Duchene mentioned him. I mean I’ve heard the name and all, but if you told me Brad Paisley was a soap opera star or the guy that invented the Segway, I probably would’ve believed you.
That said, it’s not surprising that Duchene feels the Paisley concert is a matter of life and/or death. One, he’s 20 years old. Everything is epic when you’re 20. For example, seeing Entertainer of the Year at the 44th annual Country Music Awards perform in your home town. Fairly epic.
Two, Duchene might be the most earnest person alive -- he seems genuinely enthused about everything. He loves playing guitar. He appreciates fashion. He and Paul Stastny used to celebrate wins by doing the Bang Bang dance from How I Met Your Mother. Missing the Paisley show was probably a major bummer for him.
With that said, I’d like to point out all is not lost for Duchene. Colorado has a six-day break from January 24-31 that coincides with the NHL All-Star break. Well, guess what? Paisley will be playing a January 28th show in...wait for it...Las Vegas. Yes, live from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, it’s Brad Paisley along with special guests The Band Perry and Scotty McCreery. Vegas, baby. You can almost hear Duchene bouncing off the walls right now.
[Of course, Duchene is 20 and the legal drinking age in Nevada is 21, so maybe there’s a little less bounce than originally imagined.]
In closing, I’d like to remind you that Pro Hockey Talk is your No. 1 source for NHL news and country music tour stops. Taylor Swift plays Tampa on November 12!
And speaking of PHT (and Twitter), a reminder to follow all of our writers: Me (@PHTalk_NBC), Jason Brough (@JasonPHT), Joe Yerdon (@JoeYerdonPHT) and James O’Brien (@cyclelikesedins).