Wrigley Field the star of the show for Blackhawks, Blues on eve of Winter Classic: 'It's super cool'

Hockey moms are revered by players for all the work they do behind the scenes on the long path to the NHL early-morning drives to the rink, lacing up the skates tight and snug, pep talks, tough love and footing the bill on all those sticks and skates and gloves and pads.

On the ice, it can be a different story.

That was clear during Mondays family skate at Wrigley Field.

Advertisement My mom came out she hasnt skated in a long time, since we were kids, Seth Jones said.

So she was holding on to me around the ice a few times.

Amy Jones wasnt the only mom struggling a bit.

Melanie Bedard wasnt exactly tearing through the neutral zone, either.

My parents and sister were (here), Connor Bedard said.

Its their first time skating in a while, so its funny to watch.

My mom was struggling a little bit out there.

Shes got an ugly stride.

But they had a good time.

Its fun that our family gets to be a part of it.

There were plenty of little ones on the ice, too, as a handful of Blackhawks babies have been born since the season started.

And as always, Nick Foligno s kids were everywhere.

And this time, they were wearing their dads No.

17 instead of Bedards No.

98.

They probably would have thats nothing new, Im not surprised, Foligno said with a laugh.

They wear everyones jersey but mine.

But Im forcing it on them for the game tomorrow.

So theyll either be really upset or happy.

Id better score a goal.

brb crying pic.twitter.com/EdzWkGpJxb Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 31, 2024 The Blues wont have to deal with the minus-9 temperatures they endured in the 2022 Winter Classic at Minnesotas Target Field.

Its expected to be in the high 30s with some precipitation early in the day Tuesday.

But theres always something ...

weve got 80 stairs to climb up (to the locker room), Blues goalie Jordan Binnington joked.

When Binnington walked inside the locker room for the first time, he savored the moment.

Seeing it all come together has definitely been cool, all the work our equipment staff has been doing setting up for this day, he said.

Were here now and its time to enjoy the moment.

In the 2022 Winter Classic, Binnington had an image of former Blues goalie Mike Liut, who is also his agent, on his mask.

This time the goalie is paying tribute to St.

Louis Cardinals greats Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright and Albert Pujols.

They are legendary Cardinal players and its a baseball stadium, so it just felt like a good time to honor them, he said.

Ive gotten a chance to meet Pujols and Waino and theyre super cool dudes.

Yeah, so I was very happy and honored to put them on there.

Jordan Binnington's #WinterClassic mask features a few @Cardinals legends.

#stlblues https://t.co/NqpaMBA7ho St.

Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) December 30, 2024 The Blackhawks are mired in a four-game losing streak, coming off two of their worst performances of the season in a 6-2 loss in Buffalo and a 5-1 loss at home to Dallas.

Does that mean the Winter Classic is coming at just the right time or just the wrong time? The hope is itll serve as a bit of a mental reset, the fun subsuming the misery and allowing them to play free and easy.

Advertisement We havent liked the result of the last two games (and with) the way weve played, we didnt really deserve a different result than we got, Jones said.

But I think we take it one day at a time and we can really take a step back and enjoy this moment families in town, friends are in town.

These games are obviously a whole lot better when you win.

For all the hoopla around the game and the strangeness of the setting, there still are two points on the line.

Its still a game, Jason Dickinson said.

Its still a game that matters in the standings.

We are where we are, but you got to put together wins.

In my mind, as cool of an event as it is, this is a game, and Im showing up to work.

Its not something Im just out here to play shinny hockey.

Im going to come here ready to play as if it were any other game.

The coaching attire is typically of interest at the Winter Classic.

Remember that fedora former Blues coach Ken Hitchcock wore behind the bench at the 2017 Winter Classic? So ahead of the game, current Blues coach Jim Montgomery was asked what hed be wearing at the outdoor game.

I havent (decided), Montgomery said recently.

The NHL does a great job of giving us a gift bag and theres all kinds of goodies in there.

They give us something thats going to work.

This will be Montgomerys second Winter Classic as a head coach after he led the Boston Bruins to a victory at Fenway Park in 2023.

With another win Tuesday, he would become the seventh coach in NHL history to go 2-0 in his first two outdoor appearances.

Not every kid in Canada grew up playing on frozen lakes.

It doesnt really get that cold in Vancouver, so aside from a couple trips into the mountains to Whistler, Bedard really doesnt have a lot of experience with outdoor hockey.

So the novelty wasnt lost on him.

Its super cool, he said, wearing eyeblack and sitting at his locker stall in the Cubs clubhouse.

Its something that not everyone gets to experience.

Were grateful to be chosen to play in this game.

This is one of the coolest experiences of my life so far, and the game hasnt even started yet.

Advertisement Of course, Bedard is the primary reason the Blackhawks were chosen to play in this game.

Whether this is the biggest stage hes ever played on or not is up for debate he pointed to the World Juniors as the biggest so far but the spotlight is nothing new to Bedard.

Does he enjoy the attention? Not really the attention, that doesnt change anything, he said.

I had a lot of attention when I came into the league.

But just playing on a bigger stage and knowing theres more eyeballs.

But when youre playing the game, youre not thinking about that.

For me, its just a cool part of playing outside, playing at Wrigley here, and getting that different experience thats what excites me.

Its not really about more people tuning in, (though) thats great for us to have more people in the crowd.

Its going to be an exciting atmosphere.

Bedard has seven goals and 10 assists in 16 games since snapping his 12-game goal drought, so hes coming into the game pretty hot.

Or, as he put it, decent.

This is more what I am as a player, he said.

Its about how much Im creating and how many plays Im making, and I feel Ive been doing that pretty well.

Obviously, you want the points to come they dont always come, but hopefully they do.

Before every NHL game, many teams get warmed up by playing a game of sewer ball or two touch, as its also known.

They stand in a circle and kick a soccer ball around, trying to keep it in the air.

Normally fans dont get to see this game because its played in the lower bowels of most rinks around the league.

But for those inside the friendly confines of Wrigley Field on Monday, they watched the Blues kicking it around in the area of the field where the batters box would be.

The fact that they were in plain sight meant that everyone could see who literally dropped the ball.

It wouldnt be hockey if there wasnt a sewer game, or two touch, beforehand.

Heres the Blues ahead of their 5:30 pm practice at the Winter Classic.

#stlblues pic.twitter.com/awYBk1SdsN Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) December 30, 2024 Watching the replay video to find out who lost it, Robert Thomas said, I think thats ( Alexey Toropchenko ).

Go ask Torpo, and if he says it was ( Pavel Buchnevich ), then it was definitely Torpo.

Its me, its me, Toropchenko admitted.

But its not real sewer.

It doesnt count because it wasnt a game day.

Tomorrow before the game will be real sewer.

Tomorrow will be a serious game.

The Blues and Blackhawks were taking mental notes of how everything felt while practicing Monday, but there was also an understanding that all could change come Tuesday.

They told us last time in Dallas that they know (the ices) going to be bad the day before and we need to carve it up so that it will settle for the next day, Dickinson said.

They know its not going to be perfect today.

Even Nick (Foligno) and I were talking on the ice, everything feels a certain way out here right now.

Like the boards are bouncing a certain way, the ice is a little bit slow, whatever.

Its going to feel totally different tomorrow, and then the first period, its going to feel totally different from the warmup, the second period from the first.

Its kind of what happens with the weather.

It is what it is.

Advertisement Jones said that players were kicking up more snow than usual, so a simple north-south game would be key.

Talking to ( Alec Martinez ), I think hes played in quite a few (outdoor games), he said there are going to be bad bounces out there, Jones said.

Theres going to be times in the game where it seems like its just super sloppy.

But the team that can kind of get through that and stay as sharp as possible usually wins.

Before Mondays practice, the Blues Oskar Sundqvist was in the Cubs broadcast booth, wearing Harry Carays famous black glasses and singing Take Me Out To The Ball Game.

Does Sundqvist, who is Swedish, even know who Caray is? I did know today after I sang that ballgame song, Sundqvist said.

I will say that the English version, we nailed it one try.

The Swedish version was harder.

It didnt really connect in the Swedish words.

It took a couple of tries, but me and (Philip) Broberg, we figured it out.

Sundqvist and Broberg got to keep the glasses.

Theyre really good at fogging up, Sundqvist said.

There was a sliver of doubt whether Blackhawks forward Tyler Bertuzzi would be able to play in the Winter Classic after receiving a five-minute major and game misconduct for elbowing during Sundays game, but he was never concerned.

No, because to be honest, I was surprised I even got kicked out, Bertuzzi said.

I didnt even know why they were looking at the iPads.

Obviously I didnt get suspended or fined.

All is good.

The Athletic reported recently that longtime Chicago Blackhawks play-by-play announcer Pat Foley asked ex-Blues tough guy Kelly Chase to be his color analyst for a broadcast of the game that will air on the Sports USA radio network and its affiliates.

Chase is battling leukemia and recently had a bone-marrow transplant that caused some uncertainty about whether hed be healthy enough to fulfill the assignment.

Advertisement Its a goal of mine, but I dont really know if Ill be able to make it, Chase said earlier this month.

I called Pat back and said, I dont want to let you down, and he said, Nope, if you can make it, youre my guy.

Its going to be a tough one, but look, I just want to be around the game.

I love the game.

Unfortunately, Chase will not be able to attend the game and thus wont be in the booth.

Foleys backup plan was Hall of Famer Bernie Federko, so itll be the Blues franchise points leader working as his analyst.

(Top photo of Connor Bedard: Michael Reaves / Getty Images).

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