Canadian NHL star Matt Duchene comments on protests in his home country.

There is a major protest currently ongoing in Canada, specifically in the country's capital of Ottawa, Ontario, and it is a protest that has now garnered worldwide attention with protestors in Italy, Australia, Denmark and more effectively mimicking the Canadian protestors.

Over the weekend I covered comments made by legendary National Hockey League analyst and former NHL head coach Don Cherry regarding the trucker convoy that at the time was making its way to Ottawa, but it seems other stars from the hockey world have also chosen to comment on what has transpired. 

In spite of the fact that he currently plays for a team in the United States of America, Nashville Predators star forward Matt Duchene made it clear on Saturday that he still pays close attention to the happenings in his home country. Duchene took to social media on Saturday and shared his thoughts on what has been going on during the protest. Duchene appeared to express support for the protestors by suggesting that they were fighting for the return of their freedoms, but also added that he feels the need to remain respecftul during such action is paramount.

Here are Duchene's comments, unedited and in full:

"I’m ALL for getting our country’s freedom back… but guys, let’s have some respect for our national heroes and the monuments that commemorate them. We are Canadians… we are polite, thoughtful, accepting, intelligent, proud and patriotic, let’s protest in that manner," said Duchene.

It's a bold stance for Duchene to take given that the countries leader, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has now repeatedly condemned the protestors and has stated in no uncertain terms that he has no intention of meeting with them or speaking to them. That being said the pressure on him to do so has been mounting as the news has garnered more and more international attention, and with prominent figures from the hockey community adding their voices to the mix I suspect that will only continue to increase.

I suspect we may not have heard the last on this front from members of the hockey community, whether they be for or against the ongoing protest in Ottawa.