They were two of the most anticipated NHL prospects at their position to come through the college hockey ranks in a long time, and they haven’t disappointed. Now, they’re both at the top of the marquee as the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild prepare to do battle with a spot in the Western Conference Final on the line.

“I’d say they are the two best defensemen in the world,” Avalanche defenseman Sam Malinski said. “It’s a fun matchup for everyone to watch. We’re all lucky to watch Cale every day. It’s going to be exciting.”

They have been the two most prolific offensive defensemen in the sport since 2019-20, their first full NHL season, and it hasn’t been particularly close. Makar has 26 more goals than anyone else at the position. Hughes has 45 more assists (Makar is second).

Makar’s 507 points are 76 more than anyone not named Hughes, who has 482. They have won three of the past four Norris Trophies. Makar has finished in the top three for five consecutive seasons. Hughes has done the same each of the past two years.

They have been compared to each other constantly, dating back to their days at Michigan and UMass. The comparisons on social media are often quite contentious.

It will almost certainly be a huge talking point in this series.

“It’s just funny,” Hughes said. “Pretty cool to have been able to come in with him. He’s a year older, but pretty much the same age, and there’s so many great defensemen in the league right now, honestly. You want to play the best and have that opportunity. This series with Colorado, I think it’s just a great opportunity to go up against those guys. They got a great team. We got a great team, and just looking forward to the matchup.”

Makar also played down the individual matchup, but both stars heaped plenty of praise on each other in the days leading up to Game 1 on Sunday night at Ball Arena.

“He’s ultra competitive,” Hughes said. “He’s always attacking. He’s a great goalscorer. Can really score and shoot the puck. He’s got great hockey sense, can skate. So he’s, obviously, going to be a problem, and I know he’s going to try to bring his best, and we’ll try to do that too.”

Added Makar: “There’s so much (he respects). I think when he has the puck, it’s incredible to watch. He’s very mobile and finds the right seams. We saw a lot of that in the Dallas series. … Him and (Brock) Faber in general have been incredible. At the Olympics, too. It’s fun watching those guys. They are incredible at breaking up the puck, and they’re in every rush. They make forwards’ lives challenging, and give them credit because they did a great job against Dallas.”

A pass-first facilitator and the NHL’s best finisher from the blue line

This is not just Makar versus Hughes, obviously. Their typical defense partners, Faber and Devon Toews, were also both Olympians. Both clubs are also missing a key second-pairing guy to start the series — Josh Manson for the Avs, Jonas Brodin for the Wild.

Minnesota was a very good team on Dec. 12, but the Wild became one of the top Stanley Cup contenders the following day when they sent a huge package of assets, headlined by former University of Denver star Zeev Buium, to Vancouver for Hughes. It was the biggest trade of the season.

“Made (me) a better coach, that’s for sure,” Minnesota’s John Hynes said. “We all see what he what he does on the ice. But I think for him, he’s just what I respect so much about him that I didn’t know, is I didn’t know him personally, but coached him here, and then had an opportunity to work with him at the Olympics and see him in that environment, just, I think, the type of guy he is. He’s a leader, he’s really intelligent, cares about the game, he’s coachable. He brings the on and the off-ice component of an elite player.”

They are obviously similarly world-class players, but there are some differences. Hughes is more of a pass-first facilitator, while Makar has been the game’s best finisher from the blue line since he entered the league.

They’re both on the smaller end of the defensive spectrum, but are also elite players without the puck.

“I feel like they’re similar, but then also when you see them kind of first-hand, so different too,” said Avs center Brock Nelson, who played with Hughes at the 2026 Winter Olympics. “I mean, maybe in just the way they kind of defend and body position, how they skate. Quinn is so, so dynamic and maybe in a little bit more fast-twitch way. Cale’s obviously dynamic in his own way, as well as in the ability to beat guys, unbelievable edges.

“Both guys can kind of just come in … one-man breakout. It����ap hard to kind of really lock them up. You have to try and contain them and just kind of limit their space because they’re so shifty. Even when it feels really that you’re kind of draped all over them, they’re both slipping away from guys. … I feel like getting that matchup is going to be a fun one to watch.”

That wasn’t part of Nelson’s development path, and he’s certainly OK with that. Labeling himself a bit of a late bloomer, staying home for Nelson allowed him to take part in one of hockey’s greatest events — the Minnesota state high school tournament at then-Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

“The small school tourney — at the time that was the coolest thing as a high school, getting down there to play at The X,” Nelson said. “It wasn’t a sellout for the smaller schools like it was for the (Class) AA schools, but it was still a great rink for that.”

Nelson and Sam Malinski are both proud Minnesotans. They will both get the chance to play at home in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this series as the Colorado Avalanche take on the Wild. Game 1 is Sunday night at Ball Arena. The rest of the series remains TBD, but Games 3 and 4 at the recently renamed Grand Casino Arena should be special for the “State of Hockey” kids.

Malinski played at Class AA Lakeville South, which is a touch under 30 miles south of St. Paul. His team finished third in the state tournament in 2017. That included a consolation game overtime loss to Eden Prairie, which had one of the great players in Minnesota high school hockey history on its roster … ex-Avalanche center Casey Mittelstadt.

“It’s going to be really fun,” Malinski said. “Just kind of like any other game against Minnesota, I’ve sort of grown out of those nerves about playing at home.”

Nelson went to Warrod High School, which is about a six-hour drive from the Twin Cities and just south of the border with Canada. Warroad is a town of fewer than 2,000 people, but it has a storied hockey history. Nelson’s family is a big part of that, and he joined his uncle, grandfather and great-uncle as U.S. Olympic gold medalists in February.

He got to play in the state tournament twice, finishing third in his junior year and as the runners-up his senior season. Malinski went to Cornell, but Nelson spent two years at North Dakota, which meant more postseason hockey in St. Paul.

Nelson won the old WCHA conference tournament in 2011 and 2012, defeating the University of Denver in the final both years. Both of his college seasons also ended at The X, with a Frozen Four semifinal loss to Michigan in 2010 and a regional final loss to Minnesota in 2011.

“It will be a little bit different,” Nelson said of finally playing Stanley Cup Playoffs games in that building in his 13th NHL season. “I’m trying not to think too much of it like that, just business as usual and a work trip. It’s a little bit different than in season, when you’re trying to think about seeing some family and friends you haven’t seen in a while.

“Now is not the time for that. We’ll put that on pause and see them in the summer.”

The Avs found out they will be playing Minnesota late Thursday night, when the Wild finished off the Dallas Stars in Game 6 with a raucous Grand Casino crowd celebrating the franchise’s first series victory since 2015. The text messages from friends and family back home started pouring in that night.

Malinski said the ticket requests haven’t been too bad, so far. Nelson said an old neighbor reached out almost immediately after the game with what might have been a rhetorical question about him getting to play at home in the next round.

Nelson was born five months to the day after the only Game 1 in Stanley Cup Final history involving a team from Minnesota, when the old North Stars faced the Pittsburgh Penguins for the 1991 championship. Malinski was nearing his fifth birthday when the Wild made their greatest run in franchise history, reaching the Western Conference Final in 2003.

The core guys from that team were definitely part of Malinski’s childhood.

“I don’t know if it was my first game, but I definitely remember going to one game with grandfather and my two brothers,” Malinski said. “That was back when like Mikko Koivu and Marian Gaborik were on the team. It was a good memory for me.”

Both of the Minnesota boys on Colorado’s roster are ready to create new lifetime memories in St. Paul during this playoff series.

Lindsay Salas started working as the deputy commissioner of administration at the state’s beleaguered Behavioral Health Administration on Nov. 17, 2025, spokesperson George Laumeyer confirmed Friday. The BHA is part of the Department of Human Services.

Salas had stepped down from her role leading CASA of Adams and Broomfield Counties five months earlier after the organization discovered she was taking donor funds meant for her graduate school tuition and using them for personal purposes.

CASA – which stands for court-appointed special advocates – announced her departure on June 6, .

The nonprofit launched an internal investigation and hired an independent forensic accounting firm after discovering Salas’ alleged misconduct. The findings were sent “to the appropriate authorities,” CASA spokesperson Cathy Lucas said in a statement.

The accusations went public this week when the state sttorney general’s office announced details of a civil settlement with Salas, including that she falsified and forged tuition invoices to pocket approximately $99,000 from a “top donor” who was paying for her graduate degree at the University of Denver.

Salas found out she could pocket the tuition money after she received a $5,000 scholarship from DU that the university sent to her because the CASA donor had already paid her full tuition, the attorney general’s office said. She is accused of altering invoices for larger amounts of money and creating fake invoices.

Under the settlement agreement, Salas will repay $66,000 and cannot work in charity fundraising roles for five years.

State officials said the Behavioral Health Administration followed state policy when hiring Salas, “including a background check, which did not reveal anything concerning.”

“We take any form of fraud very seriously and find this information very alarming. While these events occurred before the employee worked at the agency, BHA is reviewing this matter carefully,” Laumeyer said in a statement.

Salas was hired by former Commissioner Dannette Smith, whose retirement Gov. Jared Polis announced in February shortly before The Denver Post reported on what agency workers described as a toxic, unsafe work environment. That environment included Smith referring to “cutting their throats” during a 2024 meeting about a calendar improperly shared with someone outside the agency.

In the wake of CASA’s investigation, the organization updated financial oversight procedures “to reinforce accountability and stewardship moving forward,” Lucas said.

“Our focus remains on serving children and families in Adams and Broomfield Counties. CASA’s staff, volunteers, and leadership continue their work supporting the best interests of children in the court system,” she said.

DU officials confirmed Salas graduated from the university with a master’s degree in business administration.

“DU previously cooperated in the government’s investigation of this matter,” spokesperson Jason Gruenauer said in a statement. “Due to student privacy laws, the university cannot comment on any internal action taken by DU related to Ms. Salas.”

Salas did not respond to a request for comment.

Salas’ case is the latest in a slew of problems facing the Colorado Department of Human Services, which is being investigated by an outside firm after high leadership turnover and multiple formal complaints. The department paid nearly $3 million to former employees since 2019 to settle accusations of pay, age, gender and disability discrimination, whistleblower protection violations, and retaliatory firings.

One such accusation resulted in a federal lawsuit filed in September in which the former head of the Colorado Division for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and DeafBlind alleged DHS management humiliated and discriminated against him before forcing him out of his job.

The industry reacted with a mix of optimism and confusion on Thursday, after U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an order immediately rescheduling medical marijuana from the most restrictive Schedule I classification to the less restrictive Schedule III. The order also put FDA-approved cannabis products into Schedule III.

While industry insiders said formally recognizing the medical value of marijuana marks progress, the effects of rescheduling are not as widespread as cannabis purveyors had hoped they would be after President Donald Trump signed an executive order last December directing the Drug Enforcement Administration to reclassify the plant.

The move also essentially splits the market in states that have legalized weed for both medical and recreational consumers.

Recreational weed, also called “adult use” in Colorado, remains a Schedule I substance in the eyes of the federal government, though the DEA is expected to start discussing whether marijuana should more broadly be reclassified in June.

“Trying to bifurcate a plant — one substance — into two different schedules doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Cannabis is cannabis, and under the Controlled Substances Act, there are certain criteria that have to be met in order for a substance to be in a particular schedule,” said Rachel Gillette, head of the cannabis and psychedelics group at the Holland & Hart law firm. “What’s clear to me is that, especially by this order, marijuana has medical applications and therefore does not qualify as a Schedule I substance.”

“There are still significant questions about how this policy will work in practice — particularly when it comes to the distinction between cannabis regulated under state medical programs and cannabis sold through adult-use markets,” said Chuck Smith, CEO of trade group Colorado Leads, in a statement. “Clarity on how federal agencies will treat these different segments of the industry will be critical for businesses, regulators, and consumers alike.”

Gov. Jared Polis applauded the order for enabling the expansion of cannabis research and reducing unnecessary barriers for legitimate businesses.

“It����ap high time the federal government is finally catching up to states like Colorado that have led on safe, regulated medical and adult-use cannabis,” Polis said in a statement. “There is still more work to be done to fully deschedule cannabis and end the disconnect between federal law and what����ap working on the ground in a super-majority of states, but today’s decision is a step in the right direction.”

The most immediate effect of reclassification is expected to bolster the bottom line for cannabis companies that hold medical licenses. Those operators will be permitted to deduct certain operating expenses from taxable gross income that were previously prohibited, such as payroll, rent, utilities and insurance. That����ap because the federal tax code, in section 280E, dictates that companies working with Schedule I or Schedule II substances are prohibited from deducting many standard business expenses.

“That sounds very small and arcane, but that has been one of the big stumbling blocks for industry,” said Sam Kamin, law professor at the University of Denver.

Relief from that tax burden would be significant. Most state-licensed marijuana businesses pay an effective tax rate of 70% to 80%, which is approximately twice the rate paid by other legal businesses, according to Colorado Leads.

Still, that relief wouldn’t reach the majority of Colorado companies. Since recreational marijuana sales began in 2014, the number of companies holding medical licenses has steadily declined. As of January, there were 281 licensed medical dispensaries in the state compared to 687 recreational stores, according to the Marijuana Enforcement Division. When looking at the number of cultivations, there were 207 medical compared to 478 recreational.

Complicating matters further is the fact that some companies, like marijuana manufacturer Spherex, hold both medical and recreational licenses. Chief revenue officer Ryan Hunter said it remains unclear how exactly the company would leverage the financial benefits of rescheduling.

“Some brilliant accountant is going to have to tell us how this all goes,” he said.

Beyond the tax breaks, Hunter said it was “disappointing” that rescheduling was limited to medical cannabis because there is nothing that distinguishes the plant from adult-use except having a doctor’s prescription.

“We’re talking about a controlled substance; the substance itself now has three different treatments within the federal government, and none of them are logical,” Hunter said. The third treatment he’s referring to is hemp, which is also a cannabis plant but was removed from the drug schedule and regulated as an agricultural commodity in 2018.

The long-term impacts on the local industry may be determined by the DEA’s next steps. Brian Vicente, partner at Vicente LLP, is optimistic that this week’s rescheduling is an incremental movement toward de-scheduling and maybe even legalizing marijuana altogether.

“It����ap certainly a massive step for the federal government to acknowledge the medical value and the inherent effectiveness of state-run medical cannabis programs, so I think the next move after that… will be some sort of move toward acknowledging adult-use and having similar protections there,” Vicente said.

If the agency drags its feet, however, it����ap possible Colorado could see a resurgence in the medical market, Kamin said. In 2024, health officials in the Biden administration recommended that the DEA reschedule marijuana, but the issue stalled out in administrative hearings, and reclassification never came to fruition.

Trump reclassifies state-licensed medical marijuana as a less-dangerous drug in a historic shift

“For business people, they have to wonder, is this where we’re going to be for 5 years or 10 years? Or is it a 6-month solution until all marijuana is moved to Schedule III?” Kamin said. “If it����ap the former, these businesses are going to scramble, say, 'We have to convert to medical, we have to emphasize medical, we have to encourage our clients to get medical marijuana cards.' It will just be so much more financially advantageous to be on the medical side than on the recreational side for as long as these regulations are in place.”

One outstanding question Gillette has is about homegrowers, who don’t need a license to grow personal marijuana plants in Colorado. “Hypothetically, if you're growing your own marijuana in your basement, you don't have a state license, you can’t apply under the federal registration program. If you give it to your buddy, are you now a trafficker of Schedule I or Schedule III?” she said. "I don't know."

While Gillette and other advocates were encouraged by the rescheduling, they maintained that there are ultimately more questions than answers about the move.

“If they have this expedited hearing related to the broader rescheduling of cannabis, then maybe this problem will be solved in relatively short order, but it is going to create a lot of complications for businesses that either operate solely in the adult use market or businesses that hold dual licenses,” she said. “It����ap strange.”

Lindsay Salas was leading in 2021 when a “top donor” offered to pay for her to go to graduate school, investigators wrote in the complaint.

CASAs are local organizations that coordinate community volunteers — known as court-appointed special advocates — who advocate for children in the legal system who have experienced abuse or neglect. The Adams and Broomfield CASA is one of 18 in

According to the attorney general’s office, Salas enrolled at the University of Denver to pursue her master’s degree in business administration in 2022 and, at some point in 2023, received a $5,000 scholarship from DU that was later sent to her directly because the donor had already paid for her tuition.

Salas initially tried to return the money to be used on a future CASA tuition invoice, but eventually spent it on herself, investigators said.

“Now aware that the University of Denver would refund any surplus in her student account to Defendant directly, Defendant began altering invoices that she submitted to CASA,” state officials wrote in the complaint.

Salas started submitting altered invoices for larger and larger amounts of money and then started creating and submitting fake invoices, each time pocketing the money when the nonprofit sent too much to DU and the university reimbursed it directly to Salas.

The total amount of money Salas took from the nonprofit by submitting altered and fake invoices was approximately $99,000, state officials said.

The attorney general’s office and Salas filed a settlement agreement in the case on Wednesday. She agreed to pay $66,000 back to the state over six years, which the state will return to CASA of Adams and Broomfield Counties.

Salas is also barred from serving in “certain financial or fundraising roles for charitable organizations” for five years.

The settlement resolves the civil claims against Salas but “does not rule out any other potential legal action,” state officials said.

An attorney for Salas did not respond to a request for comment on the case.

Wright spent three years with the Pioneers, helping the most-successful program in college hockey collect its record-breaking 10th national championship in 2024. He spent Monday night hanging out with some of his former teammates at an Italian restaurant in Cherry Creek, helping them celebrate title No. 11, won last weekend in Las Vegas.

He’ll spend Tuesday night on the ice for the , playing in his second career Stanley Cup Playoffs game against the Colorado Avalanche.

Avalanche vs. Kings NHL playoff schedule

"I think if you would have told me this a year ago, I'd say you're crazy," Wright said. "But yeah, I've just been having a blast. I think DU prepared me incredibly well, just for pro hockey in general when I started in the AHL and here now and in the playoffs. And I can't say enough good things about David Carle and the Pios. I was so lucky to get recruited there and win a national championship there. It was really a big blessing."

Wright left DU to sign with the Kings after last season. He had a great start to his first year as a professional, scoring 17 goals and 30 points in 54 games for the Ontario Reign in the AHL, but that was just the appetizer.

When the Kings fired Jim Hiller on March 1 and replaced him with D.J. Smith, the organization also recalled three players to make their NHL debut in his first game in charge the following day. Wright was one of them, and he hasn't looked back.

"Skating, compete level, play away from the puck -- all the things I think that you tell young guys when they get drafted and most don't do," Smith said when asked how Wright made the NHL so soon and has stuck around. "Most takes them until they're 24, 25 to get those details in their game. I think most young guys it is score, score, score, and if I score, I'll get to play in the NHL. Well, there's only a select few that get to do that.

"The guys that have those details, don't need to score every night if they can provide those details -- speed forechecking. We think as he continues in his career, he will score. He gets breakaways, gets chances, but what's allowing to him to play is his ability to play away from the puck, his ability to get on the forecheck, his ability to play, especially in the D-zone, beat icings -- all those things that typically young guys take a long time to get to. He got there quick."

Wright played in 24 regular-season games for the Kings. His first was against the Avalanche at Crypto.com Arena, a fun footnote for the Burnsville, Minn., native.

Which coach is under more pressure: Nuggets’ David Adelman or Avs’ Jared Bednar?

"It was awesome, the first time just being the Avs," Wright said. "I really look up to Logan O'Connor. When I visited Denver, I sat down with him one-on-one and it was a really eye-opening experience. He won the Stanley Cup when was I there too. He's definitely someone I look up to."

Wright has not scored a goal in the NHL yet. He had four assists in the 24 regular-season games.

As Smith noted, the Kings expect the offense will come. In the meantime, his speed was quite noticeable against the Avalanche in Game 1.

"I'm just trying to stay where my feet are and take it one day at a time with practices and games," Wright said. "Hopefully I can be someone that can be relied upon with the coaches and gain their trust, but I'm not looking too far ahead."

"Stay where your feet are" is a popular phrase across town at Magness Arena. It's one of several that will come up in conversation with members of the Pios over the course a long hockey season.

O'Connor wasn't on the ice that night for Wright's debut in Los Angeles. He was still recovering from an undisclosed issue that popped up after offseason hip surgery.

He was on the ice Sunday afternoon for Game 1 against the Kings. Wright said they didn't say much to each other on the ice, but will look forward to catching up with again after the series is over.

"I had chills going down my back, especially when they were doing the starting lineup and the crowd was going crazy," Wright said of his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut. "You see all the towels. You see it on TV, but when you're actually in the game, you're just like, 'Holy crap. This is the best thing ever.' It was really, really cool."

The sculptures include “monumental” works such as 1991’s “Lao Tzu,” by artist Mark di Suvero. That 33,000-pound, 30-foot-tall red steel sculpture formerly sat on Acorn Plaza, between the Denver Art Museum’s Martin Building and Denver Public Library’s main branch, along 13th Street in downtown Denver. In 2017, it was removed and put in storage to make way for more than $100 million of renovations and construction at the Denver Art Museum.

Other pieces will be on display for the first time in Colorado, said Geoffery Shamos, who oversees the University of Denver’s collections and art spaces. They’ll be installed over the next 16 to 18 months, with completion set for summer 2027 as part of the new . (See the full list of sculptures below.)

The timing is coincidental, Shamos said, with Denver Art Museum having completed major renovations and construction in recent years, and the University of Denver looking to bolster its own collection. Both institutions share board members, but the pieces were chosen by the Denver Art Museum for their aesthetic and educational value to the public. Some of them had been acquired from the 1970s through the 1990s as part of a potential, Civic Center-area sculpture garden that never materialized.

A few of those pieces ended up in prominent places, such as Gail Folwell’s “In the Peloton,” which sat near the Reiman Bridge that runs over 13th Street at the Denver Art Museum. It will be installed near DU’s Ritchie Center, .

While Shamos had no cost estimate for the project, which involves complicated transport and installation involving cranes, forklifts and newly poured concrete pads, he said it’s being paid for entirely with philanthropic donations, which will support the creative management team, construction, and conservators who will spruce up and weatherize each piece.

“Even having been around this work for a while, it’s always startling to see how many details and logistics there are to work out,” said Shamos, who oversees DU’s 8,000-item art collection. “But we’re so grateful to the Denver Art Museum for transferring these works to us from their permanent collection, which allows us to take advantage of our beautiful spaces on campus.”

The steel and bronze works will become part of a new DU Art Walk that mixes existing outdoor sculptures on campus and the new crop from the museum. “This DU Art Walk is the first step in the creation of a holistic art experience at DU that will encompass art collections and galleries, and the performing arts,” the school said in a statement. They’ll sit along the north-south spine of the campus, Shamos added.

The pieces have been stored in various facilities across Denver until now, and their reinstallation will free up huge amounts of warehouse space, according to Shamos. The deal also underlines DU’s 100-year partnership with Denver Art Museum, dating back to when the nascent institutions shared a space in the historic Chappell House, at 1555 Race St. in Denver.

“This collaboration represents a unique synergy between two of Denver’s most vital anchors of culture and education,” said Craig Harrison, who serves on the boards of both DAM and DU, in a statement. “By bringing these monumental works from the DAM into the heart of the DU campus, we are reinforcing Denver’s reputation as a city where creativity and learning are truly inseparable.”

The collection will surely grow over time, Shamos said, but it already fits in nicely with other marquee Denver public art.

“That aspect is special, with Blucifer (a.k.a. ‘Mustang’) at the airport and the Big Blue Bear (‘I See What You Mean’) at the convention center becoming truly iconic,” he said. “It’s our hope that these works will join them.”

Here are the sculptures to be installed as part of the project:

• “In the Peloton,” Gail Folwell (2014)
• “Lao Tzu,” Mark di Suvero (1991)
• “Intruder,” Lauren Ewing (1984)
• “Device to Root Out Evil,” Dennis Oppenheim (1984)
• “Yin and Yang,” Edgar Britton (1964)
• “Bull Skull and Horn,” Jack Zajac (1962-1963)
• “Herbides 4: Scalpay,” Catherine Lee (2004)

Here are the 11 moments that defined DU’s run to the program’s record-extending 11th crown:

Jan. 16: Look at where DU was in mid-January, and the national title seems improbable. The Pioneers were blasted 5-0 by rival North Dakota in what coach David Carle called a Following this shellacking, DU was 12-10-2 and was treading water in a season where it looked like it would be a stretch to even make the NCAA tournament.

Jan. 23: After rebounding with a 3-2 victory in North Dakota on Jan. 17, the Pioneers fell 4-2 to St. Cloud State at Magness Arena. It was the final low point in a season that only went up from there, as it was DU’s last defeat of 2025-26. The Pioneers squandered a 2-0 led by yielding but from then on, DU was nothing but clutch in tight games.

Jan. 24: This is the volta in the Pioneers’ season. In a 6-0 win over St. Cloud State, Johnny Hicks took over due to an injury to starting goalie Quentin Miller about five minutes into the game. Hicks to start his unbeaten streak that stretched to 16-0-1 by the end of the season, while the offense showed its depth with 11 players with at least one point.

Jan. 31: In a 1-0 overtime win against Minnesota Duluth that foretold the drama of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship, Rieger Lorenz scored 2:17 into the extra frame Hicks stopped 19 shots to earn his first career shutout, and it was the first of four overtime wins down the stretch as the Pioneers gained confidence in pressure situations.

March 14: DU beat rival Western Michigan in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinal, , as Samu Salminen lit the lamp to win the game just under six minutes into OT. This came after DU forced the extra frame when Boston Buckberger scored with 3:41 left in regulation, with the Pioneers on the power play and Hicks pulled from net in exchange for an extra attacker.

March 21: The Pioneers looked like they were going to run Minnesota Duluth out of Magness Arena with three goals in a span of 10 minutes in the opening period. But the Bulldogs stormed back to tie the game, and Hicks stood on his head throughout OT before Kristian Epperson scored shortly into the second extra frame to claim an NCHC record fourth National Cup.

April 9: After dominating the regional round with two wins by a combined score of 11-2, Michigan gave the Pioneers a heavyweight bout in the Frozen Four semifinal. Buckberger had his pinkie lacerated by a Wolverines skate late in regulation, but had it stitched and bandaged, and returned to the ice for overtime following a bloody moment that defined DU’s resiliency.

April 9: For a moment against Michigan, it appeared as if Hicks’ Cinderella season was over. In the third period en route to a 49-save night, the goalie lay flat on his back for about 30 seconds at T-Mobile Arena after Wolverines forward Malcolm Spence took the puck to the precipice of the crease and DU defenseman Eric Jamieson met him there, causing a collision with Hicks. The play knocked the wind out of Hicks, who remained in the game.

April 9: In that same game against Michigan, DU looked cooked until Clarke Caswell’s textbook tip-in with 2:46 left in the third period tied the game 3-3. Caswell redirected a shot from Garrett Brown from the goal line, and then captain Kent Anderson scored only his second goal of the season in double OT to end the longest game in DU history at 92 minutes, 35 seconds.

April 11: Out-possessed, out-shot and out-of-sorts through the first two periods, Hicks kept DU in shouting distance with a 1-0 deficit entering the third. Then, after tying the game on a Rieger Lorenz rebound shot right in front of the net, Buckberger’s one-timer from the right point was tipped in by Kyle Chyzowski to completely steal the momentum from Wisconsin.

April 11: Chyzowski’s goal with 5:52 gave DU a 2-1 lead, and put the onus to seal the championship on the player who had carried them to the final game in Las Vegas: Hicks. The 5-foot-10, under-recruited freshman nicknamed Johnny Bricks delivered with a handful of flashy saves down the stretch, including a kick save with his leg pad with

But as a 20-year-old, Sides also knows young people are as just as comfortable, if not more so, getting their news from TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit and X. So when it comes to the future of 9News-KUSA in Denver, whose parent company, Tegna, is being purchased by Texas-based Nexstar Media Group — owner of Denver’s Fox31 — he’s not concerned.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen to 9News, good or bad, but whoever the owners are or whatever the politics behind these deals, it doesn’t change my values,” said the Colorado State University junior, who reports and anchors news at CTV, a student-run station in Fort Collins . “I’m not afraid of any of it.”

The $6.2 billion takeover, which the Federal Communications Commission approved in March, would give the combined operation 265 stations and the ability to reach about 80% of TV watchers in the U.S. That has alarmed free-speech advocates and triggered federal and state-filed antitrust lawsuits, including one that the Colorado Attorney General’s office signed on to.

One of those antitrust claims, by DIRECTV, has put the merger on hold as a federal judge considers claims that it would create a monopoly that would be bad for consumers; a judge on Friday delayed a decision on the case by another week.

But even as older viewers and opponents of the merger fret about corporate consolidation and its problematic effects on viewers, millions of Americans have already moved on to other forms of media. Only 15% of adults aged 18-29 say they follow the news all or most of the time, according to , which gauges media trends. More than three-quarters of that demographic also said they get their news, at least some of the time, from social media. And younger people are more likely to be regular news consumers on TikTok, Instagram, Reddit and X, .

That contrasts with people 50-64, who pay close attention to the news 45% of the time, but who get their news, in part, from social media just 45% of the time. And only 28% of responders over the age of 64 get their news from social media, at least some of the time, but they are the ones paying the most attention to current events, according to Pew, at 62%.

As of December 2025, streaming accounted for nearly half of all TV viewing, , according to a Nielsen survey. The company’s Big Data + Panel measurement also found ratings and viewership across 158 TV networks were down last year by an average of 18% to 30%, and have dropped by about 50% overall in the last decade.

That means the broadcasting companies are fighting for their lives as their majority Baby Boomer audiences dwindle and younger viewers decline to adopt the same viewing habits as their parents and grandparents.

Everyone is scrambling

Trust has also declined. Only 52% of adults under 50 say they still trust national news media, , and Gallup reports that overall trust in news media, in any age group, dropped below 30% for the first time since it began measuring in the 1970s. Young adults are the least likely age group to trust news organizations, the Pew study found

Local TV news has been a bright spot in terms of trust, though. In fact, 74% of Americans said they had “a lot of” or “some” trust in local news organizations, with 85% saying their local news outlets were at least somewhat important to their community, .

That might be because, unlike national networks or cable broadcasts — CNN, Fox News, etc. — local television is all about making honest connections, said Amanda Mountain, president and CEO of Rocky Mountain Public Media.

“Editorial independence is key to this trust, which is why locally owned and operated entities like public media will continue to further differentiate ourselves in the context of a mega-merger like this,” Mountain said.

Angelica Kalika, who teaches journalism and digital media at the University of Colorado Boulder, said part of that comes from innovative programming that stretches the boundaries of TV; for instance, 9News’ Jeremy Jojola offers vertical videos on TikTok, which are formatted specifically for smartphones.

So mergers like Tegna/Nexstar may not work, she explained. “Eating up loved broadcast stations is a cop-out to actual innovation and catering to your audience. … Everyone is scrambling and taking advantage of an almost regulation-free FCC.”

Prior to its acquisition, Tegna owned 64 stations, including 9News, an NBC affiliate, and KTVD-TV Channel 20 in Denver. Nexstar owned more than 200 stations, such as KDVR-TV Fox31 and KWGN-TV CW2, also in Denver, and KXRM-TV Fox21 in Colorado Springs; it also counts KREX-TV in Grand Junction and KREZ-TV in Durango among its properties.

Nexstar is now lined up to own all of it. Experts say that consolidating 9News’ newsroom into Fox31-KDVR’s existing operation is inevitable, likely resulting in layoffs.

9News has often boasted the best ratings and awards of any TV station in Colorado, according to past Nielsen reports. But the station last year lost ground to Fox31-KDVR, which dominated ratings in several time slots for local TV news. That’s despite 9News anchor Kyle Clark garnering national attention with his nightly “Next” program, which regularly invites donations for good causes and directly, humorously addresses viewer feedback and criticism.

Delete, delete, delete

Employees at 9News, including Clark, declined to comment for this story. Nexstar spokesman Gary Weitman also declined to comment on behalf of Nexstar’s stations, including Fox31, citing the pending litigation by states’ attorneys general and DIRECTV.

The Nexstar-Tegna deal follows an aggressive push for deregulation by the FCC and a 2026 federal court ruling friendly to media consolidation. President Donald Trump’s administration has long advocated loosening what it calls overly restrictive media-ownership rules, and current FCC chairman Brendan Carr has vowed to “delete, delete, delete” outdated regulations.

Carr has also said fears of a monopoly are overblown and that the removal of the ownership cap on local stations still only allows Nexstar to control about 15% of all U.S. TV broadcasters.

Denver is the 17th largest TV news market in the U.S., with a metro population of 4.6 million, and 1.8 million regular viewers, according to 2023 data from the National Association of Broadcasters. The Denver/Aurora market is the largest in Colorado, followed by Boulder, along with Colorado Springs and Fort Collins, the .

And yet, for younger viewers and journalists, the future isn’t about the TV news industry’s survival, but whether local news is sustainable, or worth going into, at all.

“Nonprofit news organizations are suffering from budget cuts and foundations pulling their support,” Kalika said. “So how are students and young journalists going to participate in that? We can no longer think of it as competing organizations trying to steal audiences. Colorado has a better news ecosystem than most, but we’re still figuring out what that support looks like.”

Young people remain passionate about journalism, both as consumers and producers, said Laura Frank, a professor of media and journalism studies at the University of Denver. As head of COLab (Colorado News Collaborative), Frank also sees in her students intense suspicion of large, corporate news-gathering operations, echoing what many outside the industry feel.

“They would often rather take a risk on their own to start something so they’re not caught in this downsizing they’ve been hearing about all their lives,” she said. “We may be more resilient to the collapse of editorial voices here in Colorado, with the variety of hyper-local news outlets that have rushed in. But we’re not immune.”

Making news relevant to young people is a constant but worthy challenge, said Linda Shapley, interim president of Rocky Mountain Student Media Corp. in Fort Collins.

“We want to make sure we’re building the skills for our students that still matter,” she said. “They all recognize that social media algorithms are structuring what they see — and they’re figuring out how not to be a tool of that.”

The Pioneers returned home on Sunday afternoon, their Sun Country charter greeted by the arches of water reserved for champions. Forward Samu Salminen walked off the plane, raising the hardware to the blue skies.

For the third time in five years, DU stands alone in college hockey. They long ago stopped being fantastic and became dynastic. The drone above, the media crew below, cameras rolling, the Pioneers could live in these snapshots forever.

But understanding the Pioneers’ breathtaking run requires a deeper examination of the scene. The players, legs tired, hair disheveled and voices hoarse, wore matching outfits: black shorts, white national championship t-shirts and black caps.

For all other schools, these are souvenirs. For the Pios, it is standard-issued gear.

It was hard to tell them apart. You think this happens by accident or a group chat?

They are not a team. This dramatically undersells their relationships. They are brothers willing to do anything for each other.

Which brings us to Boston Buckberger and his left pinkie. During the semifinal win over Michigan, he found himself sliding toward the boards, arms outstretched.

Wolverines forward Will Horcoff stood in his path like a second baseman waiting to tag him out. Instead, Horcoff stepped up to avoid Buckberger’s stick and, with all his weight, crunched down with his right foot.

“I think I got tripped by one of the Michigan players and just fell. And the guy that was beside me skated over my glove and cut right through my finger,” Buckberger said. “Immediately, I kind of felt like something was wrong.”

Or gone.

As Buckberger made his way to the bench, he held up his hand and it looked like he bought a prop from a Spirit Halloween pop-up. Blood stained his wrist, part of his palm and it looked like the tip of his pinkie was missing.

“Once I took it out, I could see blood leaking all over,” Buckberger said. “My twin brother Braxton sent me a bunch of pictures afterward. I can see why people thought it was so bad.”

Suddenly, in the biggest game of his life, Buckberger had become Ronnie Lott. The 49ers Hall of Fame safety had his pinkie mangled on a tackle during a game in 1985, and played with a splint before having the digit amputated after the season.

Thankfully, doctors spared Buckberger this outcome.

With the skin flapping, his words, not mine, the medical staff went full MacGyver on Buckberger. He received seven stitches and missed five minutes of ice time. Seriously.

This is the math that makes the Pios work: 7 + 5 = 3.

In a time when so many kids focus on their personal brand, DU players love their school and teammates beyond reason. In the biggest games. In excruciating pain.

“I was so happy to be able to get back out there. Kudos to all the behind-the-scenes people who made it happen. Everyone involved is just as big a member of our team,” said Buckberger, whose sniper shot was redirected by Kyle Chyzowski for the winning goal in the title game. “Once it was comfortable, I wasn’t thinking about it. There was no way I wasn’t going to play. You have to leave everything on the ice.”

When writing the chapters of DU’s dominance, there must be breathless paragraphs about their resilience and toughness. Quietly, DU has become to defensemen what Ohio State is to receivers and LSU is to cornerbacks.

Last season, the Pios featured the ridiculously talented Zeev Buium, who went straight to the NHL. Before him, his brother Shai won two national titles.

This year, there is Buckberger and Eric Pohlkamp. These players speak to coach David Carle’s eye in recruiting. He lands future NHL stars and guys who will become undrafted free agents.

He seeks talent that fits. Not talent over everything else.

The result? The Pios’ culture assaults the senses the moment players step onto campus.

The standard is the standard.

Develop them as men. And teach them how to win.

This is Carle’s Way.

“We want players with killer instincts who want to compete,” said the 36-year-old Carle, buttoned-up and matter-of-fact as always. “But we can do both. We want them to succeed here and beyond (in the NHL).”

This was probably Carle’s best coaching job of his three titles, and why NHL teams, like the Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks did a year ago, will likely try to gauge his interest in going pro.

But it is hard to leave something as special as he has nurtured on DU’s campus, where there will be a raucous celebration Tuesday night.

These Pioneers were nobody’s idea of favorites. They had a clumsy start to the season. And at one point, they dropped six straight games in January.

“We were in a pretty dark place. We just knew that we had so much talent,” Buckberger said. “Just looking in the mirror and having talks with guys, we did not want to waste it, leave anything unsettled or any stone unturned. From that moment on, everyone bought in.”

As the Pios regained traction, something weird happened. They found a goalie who forgot how to lose. Johnny B. Goode? More like Johnny Be Great.

Johnny Hicks finished the season 16-0-1.

He stands small and plays huge. His 5-foot-10-inch-ish frame fills the net and fear becomes a stranger. When the Pios’ offense finally awoke in the third period against Wisconsin — DU is a rattlesnake that patiently waits to strike — belief swelled.

Moments later, everyone knew they were going to win when a sprawling Hicks appeared to block a shot with his neck and swallow the puck.

“It was actually caught underneath my shoulder,” Hicks said with a smile. “With those guys playing in front of me, it gives me so much confidence.”

Again, it goes back to who the Pios are. The connective tissue. Before each period, Buckberger would skate up to Hicks, tap his pads. In the delirium on Saturday night, he texted Buckberger how much that meant to him.

Buckberger is not the first, but rather the last Pio to bleed Crimson Red.

DU has won a record 11 national championships.

And it is easy to put your finger on why.