"This is obviously great for the city," said Blues forward Brayden Schenn, who played in his first NHL All-Star Game in 2018. "St. Louis has hosted big events before, whether it's baseball or the Winter Classic. We know how to handle big events, and the All-Star Game is one of the biggest ones in the NHL. You get the red carpet, the players interact with the fans, the skills competition, stuff like that, and they make the game competitive now with the 3-on-3 and stuff like that.
"It will showcase the city a little bit, and it's good for the fans. They deserve it."
Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo, who has practically grown up in St. Louis after being drafted by the club in 2008, said he's excited to the see the city he loves be chosen to host another one of the League's premier events.
"It's a great opportunity for us to showcase what we have here," Pietrangelo told stlouisblues.com. "It's not only great for us as an organization to show what's been done to the rink with the renovations, but also for the city in general, it's going to be good economically… There's no question that we're going to be a good host."
Pietrangelo made his NHL All-Star debut in 2018 and won the passing competition in the All-Star Skills competition in Tampa Bay. For him, being surrounded by the best players the game has to offer was one of the most memorable moments of the weekend.
"I think it's the camaraderie of being with the other players in the League that get voted for," he said. "Some guys you've played with, some guys you haven't played with. It puts everybody on the same stage and makes you feel like part of an elite group."
