From my perspective as a Colorado native, it was nice to see Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler Bozak and Jaden Schwartz hoist the Stanley Cup on Wednesday at TD Garden in Boston.
The St. Louis Blues’ trio each spent significant time in the Centennial State as youngsters, and I was fortunate to work with them and follow their development. O’Reilly joined the Avalanche at age 18 in 2009, and Schwartz was also 18 when he began his freshman season at Colorado College in 2010. Bozak, the late-bloomer of all late-bloomers, was 21 when he joined the University of Denver in 2007.