Colorado’s Matt Duchene Pays For Zdeno Chara Jersey For Young Bullied Bruins Fan in Random Act of Kindnesshttp://nesn.com/2013/08/colo

[CJ Matthews]

http://nesn.com/2013/08/colorado-avalanche-player-pays-for-zdeno-chara-jersey-for-young-bullied-bruins-fan-in-random-act-of-kindness/

"Sports can bring out some of the biggest rivalries, but it can also remind us about the important things in life. The Minden Times brings the story of one young Bruins fan who learned just how generous an athlete can be when she received a random act of kindness from Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Duchene. Trista Greer had been having a tough time at school with bullies. Even after pep talks from her parents and learning strategies on how to deal with the bullies, the 11-year-old still had her spirit crushed when she was at school. After the school year ended, Trista’s father, Wayde, decided to do something to lift his daughter’s spirits. He was scheduled to attend an auction and golf tournament to benefit Minden, a town in Ontario that was affected by severe flooding earlier this year, and he learned that the tournament would have several pro hockey players in attendance. Greer also found out they would be auctioning off a game jersey worn by Zdeno Chara, Trista’s favorite hockey player. Greer solicited money from his friends for a “‘cool daddy’ fund,” which he would use to bid on the jersey. Greer raised $500, but when the bids started creeping over that amount, he realized he wouldn’t be able to get the jersey, Enter: Matt Duchene. The Avalanche forward was one of the NHL hosts of the event and was sitting across from Greer. “Get it for her,” Duchene said. “I’ve got you covered.” Every time the price went up, Greer glanced at Duchene who nodded his head to keep bidding. Once the price rose to $1,600, Duchene held up two fingers toward Greer. Greer grabbed the microphone and yelled “Two thousand!” and the jersey was his. He gave the Chara jersey to Trista for her birthday along with a note saying “happy birthday” from Duchene."

[enzo269]

Great story.. It was on the news here in Denver..

[mfitz804]

How awesome. It would be amazing if it was his own jersey, it's even more so that it was another player on a different team.

[dsl135]

And Matt Duchene just went from "liked" player to "f'in awesome" in my book.

I love hockey players.

[KG777NT]

Great story!

[Xspoilerx]

Stand up guy such an awesome story

[SuperTheGreat]

Great story, great guy. Makes me root even harder for Matt. Hope this guy is an Av for his whole career.

[JohnnyOnTheSpot]

And that's why hockey players are the coolest of all athletes. You just constantly hear stories of their awesomeness.

[NYIJM29]

Atta boy Matty D! Incredible story

[Cygnus X-1]

Awesome. Hockey players rule.

[jjjoejr]

Looks like Matt just became this girl's new favourite player!

Great story, thanks for sharing.

[DropkickMurphy8]

Classiest guy in hockey? Matt Duchene just became my favorite non-Ranger.

[ValleyParade]

Nitpicking the NESN article, it's not a gamer. The link shows a picture of the girl and the jersey, it's a signed Premier.

That said, Matt Duchene, you are an awesome dude.

[OR68]

2000? For a signed premier? Someone got fleeced.

[Girouxsalem]

Doesn't make Duchene's actions any less kind at though. Awesome story.

[arittel137]

This makes me an even more proud Av's fan. When Duchene was drafted I didn't like him for some reason but I've liked him since after his first year. After reading that I think he's pretty frickin' cool.

[Flyers845]

That's a great story

[foppa21]

You guys should check this video out too if you have time.

Duchene is my favourite active player

[Hollywood Cannon]

Always liked Duchene. I have a blueberry crap NHL Shop replica that I got when he was drafted. Today I am placing an order to get a MacKinnon and Landeskog Debut jersey done up and seeing this made me decide to throw a Duchene in there too. Can't wait to get the trio of them. Don't have any Avs 2.0's besides my Stastny/Forsberg Warm-Up jersey from the retirement night.

[SnakeOiler12]

The world needs more hockey players. Awesome gesture. Clearly a class act.

[mfitz804]

2000? For a signed premier? Someone got fleeced.

It was a charity auction. Items always sell for way more than they are worth.

[HawksFanInDC]

Very nice story. Sure she does not know the difference or care since few of us even care that it is an authentic, so does not matter in the slightest. if she was wearing a 58+ games it would be swimming on the floor.

[tomtucker]

chara is her favorite player ? then i say more power to those bullies !............just kidding