Parayko growing into increased role with Blues

The student has graduated to a bigger role.
Defenseman Colton Parayko, in his third NHL season, has seen his minutes increase to 22:39 per game this season, second most on the St. Louis Blues behind captain Alex Pietrangelo (25:24).

During his rookie season in 2015-16, Parayko played 79 games, averaging 19:23 of ice time per game. Last season in 81 games, that jumped to 21:11 per game, and the mentorship from Pietrangelo and veteran Jay Bouwmeester clearly led to better grades and more trust.
"It's been awesome, playing with a good D corps," Parayko said. "I think it's something that, when I was coming in as a rookie two years ago, was really good for me. It's a very strong defense and having players around me that were leaders, I've been able to grow from that.
"I've learned a ton of different things from them so credit to them for putting me under their wing and allowing me to kind of do my thing. They've continued to show me the way and help me build my game."

Parayko and the Blues host the Pittsburgh Penguins in the "NHL on NBC Game of the Week" at Scottrade Center on Sunday (Noon ET; NBC, TVAS, NHL.TV).
The 24-year-old from St. Albert, Alberta, said his bigger role will never diminish his desire to continue learning.
"There are always different things to learn and to be done and I always want to be a student of the game and keep learning," he said. "This is a group where a lot of things can be learned, so it's awesome."
One of those priorities, he said, was adapting to the length of the NHL season.
In his three seasons at University of Alaska-Fairbanks from 2012-15, he played schedules of 33, 37 and 34 games.
"When you come to the NHL and an 82-game season, it's obviously a lot different," Parayko said. "The players are bigger, faster, stronger and I've had an opportunity to get better and you have to be ready each and every night to succeed."
Bigger, faster and stronger describes Parayko well.
Parayko (6-foot-6, 230 pounds), who's had Bouwmeester as his defense partner in recent games, is a superb skater with a heavy shot and a physical edge.

"I always call him the new version of Shea Weber," said NBC analyst Pierre McGuire, comparing Parayko to the veteran Montreal Canadiens defenseman. "He's Shea Weber, except he's probably bigger.
"He skates as well or better than any big man on defense in the League. He shoots the puck as hard as anybody in the League and what he's done over the course of time is really refined his recognition coming out of his own zone, rather than throw the puck around the boards. He makes more tape-to-tape passes now and he's not afraid to beat guys 1-on-1 with the puck on his stick. There's a lot of really good things that have evolved in his game."
McGuire said the reasons to like Parayko, selected by St. Louis in the third round (No. 86) of the 2012 NHL Draft, don't end there.
"I'm a huge fan of Colton Parayko, not just as a player but as a person," McGuire said. "This is a guy that's so unbelievably focused and disciplined, that during a (Stanley Cup) Playoff series, he was actually doing take-home exams from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks so that he could graduate.
"He's a phenomenal young man. And as good a player as he is, and he's really good, he's a better person."
Parayko finished three courses by taking online exams during the 2016 playoffs (when the Blues came within two games of advancing to the Stanley Cup Final). He finished his course load that summer, graduating with a degree in business administration.

"I went to school for three years and had seven courses left when I left," Parayko said. "So I did three then and two and two during the summer to finish it out.
"I wanted to stay on course and finish it up. I had spent the whole semester working toward it so I didn't want to let it drop."
Heading into the game Sunday, Parayko has 29 points (five goals, 24 assists) in 57 games and the offensive part of his game appears to be getting stronger.
He had 33 points (nine goals, 24 assists) as a rookie and 35 points (four goals, 31 assists) last season.
"I wouldn't say it's a priority," Parayko said. "The main goal is to play defense and make sure I get the puck into the forwards' hands.
"The guys around me have done most of the work. We have a really good team and they kind of take the load. I'm trying to do my part to help the team succeed and whenever I can get the puck to the forwards or do anything to help generate offense, that will be a bonus."