Blues bring two players to Canada for the four-nation duel

Jordan Binnington and Colton Parayko will have some more hockey in the not too distant future.

The St. Louis Blues goalkeeper and defenseman were each selected to represent Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, a best-on-best tournament involving Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland. It will be played February 12-20 at the Bell Center in Montreal and the TD Garden in Boston.

Binnington was almost a backup player from the start, although a few Canadian goalies tried to make a name for themselves and make the decision difficult. But Binnington will be joined by Adin Hill (Vegas Golden Knights) and Sam Montembeault (Montreal Canadiens).

“I think it’s great that it’s back and there’s international competition,” Binnington told The Hockey News. “There is a lot of great talent in every country. This is something you’ve been imagining in your dreams your whole life.”

“It’s the same old story, just focus on my game and what I can control. Hopefully this will lead me to great success and playing for my country.”

Binnington, who won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019, is 7-9-2 this season with a respectable 2.87 goals-against average and .899 save percentage, but is 1-0-1 with a GAA of 1, 50 and a .952 save percentage since Jim Montgomery was named Blues coach on Nov. 24.

“He’s just a great player, that’s all. That’s why,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn told THN. “…He played great. I’m not the GM, but if it were my choice, definitely. He’s the stud that shows up in big games.”

Blues teammate Jordan Kyrou added: “He somehow managed everything. He’s won a Stanley Cup, he’s been in high-pressure situations, he’s competed against the best and he’s won against the best. He definitely knows how to win in situations like this.” . He is one of the best goalkeepers in the league. I think he would be great.

As for Parayko, it’s a testament to the incredible talent Canada has to choose from that he made the roster ahead of some really big names, including Evan Bouchard of the Edmonton Oilers, Noah Dobson of the New York Islanders and Morgan Rielly of the Toronto Maple Leafs, MacKenzie Weegar of the Calgary Flames, Dougie Hamilton of the New Jersey Devils, Owen Power of the Buffalo Sabres, and perhaps Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Angeles Kings, but Doughty did not play this season due to a broken ankle.

But when asked about Parayko when the Tampa Bay Lightning visited St. Louis in early November, Canada head coach and Lightning coach Jon Cooper gave all the right reasons why Parayko, a true shutdown defenseman, has the right credentials.

“I trained him. I know what he is,” Cooper said. “I had him at world championships, he’s a phenomenal guy. He has a bomb for the shot, he’s big, he’s strong, he can break out a puck, he does a lot of things that put him in the upper echelons.” The defenseman in this league is a man of high character and a Stanley -Cup champion.

Former Blue Alex Pietrangelo, who was captain of the Blues’ Stanley Cup-winning team and spent the first 12 years (ten full seasons) of his career in St. Louis, was also named to the Canada squad. Another former Florida Panthers Blue defenseman, Niko Mikkola, was named to Finland’s squad earlier in the day.

For the USA, the St. Louisan brothers Matthew Tkachuk (Panthers) and Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa Senators) were named to the squad, following in the footsteps of Blues Hall of Famer Keith Tkachuk, who played in St .Louis spent . Louis.

The first four games will be played in Montreal, then it’s off to Boston for three games, including the championship on February 20 at 8:00 p.m. ET.