2025 NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field
The St. Louis Blues are playing outdoor hockey once again, according to reports. The Blues will travel up to Chicago to take on the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2025 NHL Winter Classic (first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times). The location of the event will be Wrigley Field, the first Winter Classic on the historic baseball field since 2009. A date has not yet been announced, but the Winter Classic is typically played around New Year’s Day. The first installment of the Winter Classic was played in 2003 and has been an annual event since 2008.
If the reports are true and the Blackhawks play in the event, they will pass the Philadelphia Flyers for most appearances in the Winter Classic with seven. Chicago first hosted the Winter Classic when they played the Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley Field in 2009, followed up by hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins at Soldier Field in 2014. In 2019, the Blackhawks played home team at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana against the Boston Bruins. The Chicago Blackhawks have an overall record of 1-5 in Winter Classic games.
For the St. Louis Blues, the 2025 installment of the Winter Classic will be their third-ever outdoor game, all being via the Winter Classic. Their first game was at Busch Stadium in 2017, where they defeated the Blackhawks 4-1. They also defeated the Minnesota Wild at Target Field in 2022 in a 6-4 shootout. Colton Parayko of the Blues was the only Blues skater to play in the 2017 installment and is the only player in Blues’ hockey history to be active for all three outdoor games.
The game would feature young star Robert Thomas and potentially 2022 first-round pick Jimmy Snuggerud from the Blues, and 2023 number one overall pick and young stallion Connor Bedard of the Blackhawks. Three skaters who have the potential to be the future of the NHL on the biggest stage excluding the Stanley Cup Playoffs? Good job NHL, excellent decision. The NHL could make an official statement as early as Wednesday.
