“Papa,” as Max Lacroix calls him, had a glorious bag of pranks.

The French horn was his favorite.

The Lacroix family being a social family, it often invited friends of friends over for dinner. Prior to his steak dinners, Papa stuffed the horn with flour and handed it over to the unwitting guest.

Today, we have John Smith joining us for dinner. John, will you lead us in a big ol’ horn blast?

“POOF!” Max says, laughing as he recalls the scene. “Now he’s got flour all over his face.”

Papa was Pierre Lacroix, the relentless architect of the Stanley Cup-winning Avalanche of the 1990s and 2000s. Max is his 20-year-old grandson, a reserve goalie at Boston University.

No. 2 Boston plays No. 3 Denver in a Frozen Four national semifinal Thursday in St. Paul, Minn.

How about them apples?

Mention the name Pierre Lacroix in Colorado and visions of Super Joe, Foppa and Patrick Roy skate through our heads. Two Stanley Cups. Countless winter nights swearing the Red Wings.

“To me he was just my grandpa,” Max says.

Papa passed away at 72 in December 2020. It was his grandson, Max, who gave the speech when Lacroix was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame last November. Watch Max’s speech on YouTube, and you’ll see a teenager who sure looks and sounds like a future NHL executive. Composed, impressive. Don’t be surprised when Max Lacroix succeeds Gabriel Landeskog as general manager of the Avalanche in 2045. Let’s get ahead of ourselves.

Max refers to Pierre Lacroix as “my best friend.”

When Pierre retired as the Avalanche general manager, it was Max he held in his arms.

Max was 2 and held a stuffed animal.

“We had a very special bond,” Max tells me over the phone from Boston.

On the day of the speech, Max didn’t eat. Nerves had their way. He posted a photo of his grandad on the dais to calm him down. Papa had requested Max be involved in the ceremony.

“I’m sure most people in Colorado didn’t see that side of him, but he was the funniest guy I know. He had all of his pranks, jokes he’d like to play,” Max says. “It was devastating when he passed for sure. I got 17 years with him. So many memories. He was so full of life.”

Max is a freshman at BU. He arrived at the semester break after three years at The Governor’s Academy, a prep school located an hour north of Boston. Good timing, young man.

This edition of the Frozen Four is a dark shade of blue-blooded. Boston U, Boston College, Denver and Michigan show 96 Frozen Four berths and 28 national titles. Denver or Michigan would be the first program to win a 10th NCAA title, though both are betting underdogs.

Max’s heart is in Boston, his roots in Denver.

He grew up in Castle Pines and attended Stone Mountain Elementary in Highlands Ranch. His childhood best friend was Kieran Ciebran, a freshman forward for the Pioneers who committed to DU when they were teammates with Colorado Thunderbirds. DU’s goalie coach, Ryan Massa, was Max’s goalie coach. His dad, Eric Lacroix, played 170 games for the Avs.

“It’s so special for us to be playing DU because we have so many ties to Denver,” Max says.

They were ties forged by his beloved Papa.

Growing up with Pierre Lacroix meant knowing Joe Sakic as “Joe,” Peter Forsberg as “Foppa” (like you) and Patrick Roy as “Patty.” Max wears a No. 33 sweater to honor his favorite goalie.

“It’s been awesome to see the Avs bringing it back,” he says. “They’re incredible to watch.”

Oh, and it meant living with one Ray Bourque.

When his grandson’s prep school dorms in Massachusetts closed due to COVID restrictions, Pierre Lacroix made a call. He asked Bourque, the longtime Bruin and short-time Av, if he knew of any housing arrangements for Max in the Boston area. Bourque did him one better.

The Bourque family invited Max into their home.

“The first few days you go down for breakfast, and there’s one of the greatest defensemen of all time at the table,” says Max, who considers the Bourques “like a second family.”

With Papa as general manager, the Avalanche made the playoffs in all 11 seasons, won nine division titles, advanced to six conference finals and won the 1996 and 2001 Stanley Cups.

Better yet, Papa traded for his grandson’s future favorite player (Roy) and his future housemate (Bourque). Now that’s how you grandpa.

Next in the Frozen Four: Denver vs. Boston.

Papa’s grandson’s team vs. the city he made hockey famous. Pierre Lacroix would love it the most. He would bring his French horn.