It’s been 637 days since Bobby Brink played a hockey game in the Mile High City.

A lot has happened since he and the rest of the University of Denver hockey team beat Miami (Ohio) in the NCHC Tournament at Magness Arena.

Just a few weeks after that quarterfinal matchup, the Pioneers won their ninth national championship. The day after the memorable win over Minnesota State to win the Frozen Four in Boston, Brink signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers, the team that drafted in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft.

The Minnesota native registered an assist in his NHL debut two days later.

But after an offseason injury required hip surgery that caused him to miss much of the following season, including the Flyers’ lone trip to Denver.

On Saturday, he got his chance as he contributed two assists in a big win for the Flyers over the Avalanche.

“It’s exciting,” Brink said prior to Saturday’s game. “Lots of good memories in this city, a lot of friends here, so it’s definitely cool to be back.”

Brink still has friends on the current DU squad that once again has the talent to get to the Frozen Four and he makes a point to come out and visit once a year, in addition to watching games when he can.

“If we don’t play on a Friday or Saturday night, I’ll throw on their game,” Brink said. “It’s cool watching your buddies. Those are some of my best friends playing. The program has meant so much for me and done so much for me. I will always keep up on it.”

Each time he gets to walk back into Magness Arena, he’s reminded of what he accomplished in the form of the 2022 championship banner.

“I wish I would’ve been able to be there for the banner raising, but it’s definitely cool that all of us got to make that memory together and it was definitely a childhood dream,” Brink said.

It was a pretty historic career for Brink, who ended it not only with a ring, but also as a first team All-American, the NCHC Player of the Year and the nation’s leader in points.

“I think the only real regret we probably have is that he didn’t win the Hobey Baker,” DU coach David Carle told The Denver Gazette.

That same player who was a finalist for the top individual award in college hockey is starting to show up again in Brink’s rookie season. In 22 games so far, he’s registered 13 points (four goals and nine assists) and is starting to look like a player the Flyers will want to keep around as the team is in the early stages of a rebuild.

“He’s just a really smart player,” linemate Morgan Frost said. “I think he’s probably the best passer on the team, too. He’s got really good vision (and) unbelievable offensive instincts.”

But it wasn’t guaranteed Brink would even get to this point. A brand-new front office was hired in the offseason as a pair of former Avalanche players — Keith Jones and Danny Briere — were brought in as the new president of hockey operations and general manager, respectively.

On top of that, Brink was limited to only playing about half a season last year with the Flyers’ AHL team.

“It hasn’t been easy for Bob, the road he’s been on with the injury last year,” Carle said. “Sometimes when that happens in your first year, you get pushed to the side a little bit, (which) is human nature, not physically but just mentally. He had to come into (training) camp and reassert himself and I think remind everyone of who he was.

“Really happy for him that he was able to do that, have a great camp and make the team. (He’s) having a very productive and successful beginning to what I think will be a very long NHL career for him.”

Brink has become the perfect example of what makes the program at DU so special.

“It’s what we talk about in the recruiting process,” Carle said. “We want you to come here, learn how to be a part of a team-first culture, win championships and ultimately then move on and do that at the pro level.

“He was a joy to coach.”

Flyers 5, Avalanche 2

What happened: The Avalanche dropped their fifth game in their last six contests as a young Flyers team came in and outplayed one of the league’s top teams. Philadelphia’s Travis Konecny had two goals to bring his total up to 16 this season. Former DU standout Bobby Brink had a pair of assists for the Flyers. 

What went right: Nathan MacKinnon extended his point streak to 11 games with his first period goal. He skated right past Philadelphia defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen and beat goaltender Carter Hart for his 11th tally of the season. Ryan Johansen also registered his second assist of the season on Josh Manson’s second period goal on a night he was moved down to the Avs’ fourth line. 

What went wrong: Turnovers by some of Colorado’s best players led to several big chances. A Cale Makar turnover led to a 2-on-0 breakaway for the Flyers that didn’t result in a goal, while a turnover just a few minutes later by Val Nichuskin led to another breakaway, this time resulting in a penalty shot for Konecny after Nathan MacKinnon took him down in front of the net. Konecny finished off the penalty shot to put the Avs away. 

Between the pipes: Despite seeing five goals go past him, Avs backup goaltender Ivan Prosvetov was far from the biggest reason his team lost on Saturday night. He was consistently hung out to dry by his defense and was tasked with several odd-man rushes, many of which he saved. He ended up with 29 saves in what coach Jared Bednar said was a scheduled start to give Alexandar Georgiev a night off. 

Injury update: A few days after saying there was no timeline for return for Arturri Lehknonen (neck), Bednar said prior to Saturday’s game that Lehkonen is doing well and is about four weeks into what he described as a 10-12 week injury, with hopes that he could return even sooner. 

What’s next: The Avs welcome Nazem Kadri and the Calgary Flames to Ball Arena on Monday at 7:30 p.m.