Blues deliver hockey cards to St. Louis Police Officers

ST. LOUIS - Colton Parayko and St. Louis Blues representatives delivered more than 16,000 hockey cards to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the St. Louis County Police Department this week.
The cards, which feature Vladimir Tarasenko, Brayden Schenn, Jaden Schwartz, Jake Allen, Alex Pietrangelo and Parayko will be distributed to police officers who will pass them out to children they meet throughout the community.

"These guys are heroes in the neighborhood, and just the idea that kids could have a (hockey) card and (learn) a player's name, I think it's going to all work out well," said St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief John Hayden, who accepted delivery of the trading cards from the Blues on Monday. "We'll have several community engagement opportunities to pass these cards out to youth… It means a lot to me that the Blues organization would support the St. Louis Police Department in this way. I consider them a great partner and I'm thankful they're willing to do something like this."

"Everyone thinks officers are nonstop going to calls and emergencies, but there's a lot of downtime as a policeman," added Sergeant Shawn McGuire of the St. Louis County Police Department. "When you drive around the streets and you see a lot of kids outside playing sports and stuff like that, this is a great entrance to a conversation. Handing them cards, it's a great partnership with the Blues… When a uniformed officer gives you something like these (hockey) cards, it represents a great organization like the St. Louis Blues - it's a win-win for everybody."
As with other community initiatives throughout the season, the Blues are always looking for additional ways to give back to the St. Louis community.
"It's obviously very special to come today, to meet some of the officers," Parayko said. "This partnership is going to go a long way. (The kids) get the opportunity to engage with police officers, and it's a huge partnership."