Blues players grateful, honored to be selected to play in another Winter Classic

"I was pumped to say the least," Neighbours said. "That's a dream as a kid, you watch it lots, especially a kid in Canada, a lot of outdoor hockey and stuff like that. It'll be pretty cool. Wrigley Field's a pretty legendary spot. It'll be fun for us.

"I can't even really process it. I'm kind of still trying to figure out how to play hockey again right now, but it's super cool. It's going to be an absolute treasure to be going to that. Just really excited."

It will be the third time since 2017 for the Blues in the NHL's signature outdoor event, to be played at a date and time to be announced yet but will be on or around New Year's Day, 2025 at the home of the Chicago Cubs.

The Blues defeated the Blackhawks 4-1 at Busch Stadium on Jan. 2, 2017, then downed the Minnesota Wild 6-4 on Jan. 1, 2022, a game in which Jordan Kyrou was the showcase player with two goals and two assists -- all in the second period -- of that game at the home of the Minnesota Twins, Target Field.

"It was an awesome time playing in it two years ago and it was one of my most fun experiences and just a great event all around," Kyrou said. "... We get to play against our rivals in Chicago there. That'll be super fun and I'm kind of excited to see the jerseys as well, see what they come up with. I really liked our last ones.

"It's just such a big stage. Everyone's watching. Big crowd, outdoor feel, outdoor game. Just a lot of excitement going into that game."

It went down as the coldest game on record in NHL history for an outdoor game, with a puck drop temperature of -6 degrees Fahrenheit, -21 degrees Celsius.

"It was cold, but it's a unique day," said Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, who made 29 saves that night. "That's the only one I've ever played my whole life. It was special. Nice to get a couple years in between and we'll hit it again next year.

"... It's a good rivalry (with Chicago). It's good to have that one back. They're getting better every year. They've got some talent. It'll be nice to go up there and show them what we've got."

For captain Brayden Schenn, he didn't get to play in Minnesota because of injury, so this one will have more meaning for him.

"Love it," said Schenn, who played in the 2012 Winter Classic -- and scored -- with the Philadelphia Flyers in a 3-2 loss against the New York Rangers at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies. "It's the cliche thing, but it really brings you back to the childhood of playing outdoors and obviously a lot bigger stage than that. You only get so many in your career and very fortunate, lucky that I've been on teams to be able to play in them."

The fact that the NHL has gone back to the Blues to play in the in this event for the third time in the nine games, second in four, speaks volumes of not only the respect they get around the league, but of the Blackhawks, who value the rivalry and from TNT, who all have a say in who the opponent would be once Chicago knew it would host the event again.

"Blues organization's been around forever, it's historic," Schenn said. "Blues fans are always great. They really love the Blues and when you combine that with a rival like Chicago, it's great. It's great for the organization, it's well-deserved, it's an organization that's come a long way in a lot of years. I think it's viewed as a sneaky, good one around the league. Obviously it's not the Original Six, but it's just kind of right there with it. Pretty lucky to be selected to play in a game like that, especially the history that Wrigley Field has."