Ryan O’Reilly returns to Pepsi Center a champion; “I can’t regret anything I’ve done.”

This story was written by Reagan Smith, a journalism student at the Cronkite School at Arizona State. He has been an occasional contributor before.

By Reagan Smith. for Colorado Hockey Now

They say all new things will eventually lose their luster. Cars, houses and even feelings all dull with time.

For St. Louis Blues centerman Ryan O’Reilly, the return to Pepsi Center has become nothing more than just another day at the office—at another rink, in another city, in another time zone.

It wasn’t always that way, though.

After spending his first six years of his NHL career with the Colorado Avalanche (33rd overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft), and racking up 246 points in the process, his tenure in the Mile High City came to an end.  O’Reilly was on his way to upper New York with the Buffalo Sabres, while a handful of players and prospects were on their way to Denver. Nikita Zadorov or J.T. Compher ring a bell?

For those first few seasons after leaving, the Canadian admitted that it is, in fact, a very odd feeling to be in the away locker room just feet away from where it all started.

“The first couple of years [after leaving] was very weird after spending a lot of time here,” O’Reilly said. “Now, it’s just a road city… so it’s not as weird as it was.”