Ryan Hartman excited to be in NHL outdoor game

Ryan Hartman said he vividly remembers the 2009 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic.
The Chicago Blackhawks rookie forward, who is from the Chicago suburb of Bartlett, Illinois, was at Wrigley Field with his family for the Detroit Red Wings' 6-4 defeat of the Blackhawks on a frozen day that was perfect for outdoor hockey. His family's seats were in the upper deck, which provided a great sight line.

"We were sitting along the first-base line in the 300 section but just a couple rows back," he said. "They were really good seats. You were almost overlooking the ice."
His view will be even better for the 2017 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Monday, when he takes the ice for the Blackhawks in a game against the St. Louis Blues (1 p.m. ET; NBC, SN, TVA Sports, NHL.TV).
It will be the first time Hartman plays outside since his days of pond hockey at an outdoor rink down the street from his childhood home. But he won't be the only Chicago player making his NHL outdoor debut.
The Blackhawks have played in four previous NHL outdoor games but have six players who never have played in one. Hartman is one of three rookies; the other two are 26-year-old first-year defenseman Michal Kempny and veteran forward Jordin Tootoo.
They have five more who have played in one NHL outdoor game, including four who made their NHL outdoor debut in the Blackhawks' 6-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild in a 2016 Coors Light Stadium Series game played at the TCF Bank Stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota on Feb. 21, 2016.
"It's always special," said defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk, who debuted outside last season for Chicago. "We have a few guys who've done this a lot, but any time you can play in a unique venue like a baseball field, out in the open air, it's definitely going to be an amazing experience. We're really looking forward to it. Hopefully this year we'll get the result we want."
It will be even more memorable for Hartman, who missed playing outdoor games twice before.

He was with the United States at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship when his junior team, the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League, played at Comerica Park in Detroit.
Last season he played three games early in the season for the Blackhawks but spent most of the season with Rockford of the American Hockey League.
When he made Chicago's opening-night roster and earned a regular role this season, Hartman began to let himself daydream about the playing in the Winter Classic.
"It's really exciting," he said. "I know last year I was kind of up and down. I was hoping to be up at the time of the [Stadium Series game], because I thought that would be fun, but I wasn't. So to have a chance to do it this year is going to be really cool, just to bring my family in and experience the whole thing."
It's an experience that Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville never tires of watching.
He's been around for the four previous outdoor games Chicago has played and has seen a lot of smiles and wide-eyed looks from first-timers.
"It's a privilege and a special feeling to be a part of them, especially for those new guys skating around," he said. "It will be something they've never experienced, with the crowd and the hoopla and the excitement. It's different playing in the game. It's a real game and you're playing for keeps. You [always] hope, as a player, you get that privilege to be a part of it."