The most famous German still to have ever played for the Colorado Avalanche remains Uwe Krupp. The man won a Stanley Cup for the Avs with a goal in triple overtime, for chrissakes. You know what, though? Uwe Krupp is also the only other German to have ever played for the Avalanche besides Philipp Grubauer.

Grubauer wants to be the same kind of hockey inspiration to his countrymen that Krupp and other pioneering Germans were to him. To some extent, that has already happened. Only 38 players born in Germany have, to date, played in the NHL.

Grubauer knows the better he does with the Avs, the more attention he can bring to the sport of hockey back home. Which is why also knows how important this coming season is for him. For the first time in an NHL career that began in 2012, Grubauer is entering a season where he is the unquestioned, No. 1 goalie.

As Avs coach Jared Bednar said the other day, Grubauer “earned it” with his superb play down the stretch of a regular season in which the Avs went 8-1-2 in the final 11 games to barely sneak into the playoffs, then became the first Avalanche goalie since Jose Theodore in 2008 to win a playoff round, against Calgary.

Bednar’s mission for Grubauer, who has chosen to accept it: Play 55-60 games this season, and play well. His career-high in games, to this point, are the 37 he played in Colorado last season after coming over in a trade with the Washington Capitals.

Grubauer is very fit. Not much fat at all on his 6-foot-1, 190-pound-or-so frame. He looks a bit skinny, actually, without all the pads and uniform on. So, one of the first questions I had for Grubauer on Thursday, hanging around his locker on the morning of a preseason game against Dallas in which he was slated to start, was: have you had to change anything in connection with your calorie intake, rest/sleep habits, anything-at-all to prepare for a season in which you’re expected to play more than you ever have?

“No. I’m not gonna change anything,” Grubauer told Colorado Hockey Now. “I’ve played every game, pretty much, since February of (this) year. You prepare the same way, you recover the same way. You try to get as much sleep and hydrate as much as you can – get yourself ready for the next game. That was the approach the last couple years and it’s the same approach this year.”

A lot of people (hand raised here) have trouble sleeping eight hours. As someone who firmly believes that lack of sleep can start a cascade of issues if you’re not careful (hand raised here again), I asked Grooooob about his sleep habits. Is he a worrier, like me and many others, who has trouble sleeping?

“No, never. But, the only issue I have had is getting in at 2, 3, 4 in the morning. Your sleep cycle can get a little bit screwed up,” Grubauer said. “But last year was really good. I can get sleep on a plane.”

One of the big reasons why I asked Grubauer about sleep is: when he played with the Capitals, he often could be back in his own bed by midnight or so, even after road games. Most flights were an hour or so, to several frequent cities. Playing in a place like Denver means, at minimum usually, about two hours a flight, a long drive from the airport home and a two-hour time difference to from about half of the NHL. Many Avs players have told me, over the years, that it was a BIG adjustment for them when they first started playing with the team because of that.

“In Washington, you were always home after an hour, hour-and-a-half flight. So, over here, you spend a little bit more time on the plane,” Grubauer said. “It’s definitely an adjustment, sitting on the plane for that long, but you learn to adapt.”

Grubauer said the Avs have a good team-plane atmosphere, even after a loss.

“Even after games when you lose, you’ve got to be able to turn the page,” he said. “Everybody is in the same boat, coaches, players, management. Obviously, some losses sting a little bit more than the other ones. Obviously, it’s more fun when you win, for sure.”

Most Avs players, he said, are heavy Netflix watchers on their own personal screens on the plane. (The Avs team plane comes equipped with built-in WiFi, so they can do whatever they want on their screens, pretty much). But there are some book readers, he said, including himself. Grubauer said Gabe Landeskog is a big book reader, as is Erik Johnson.

“Some of us still like to read instead of watch videos,” he said.