ST. LOUIS — In 2020, The Athletic conducted a St. Louis Blues player poll in which we revealed that Ryan O’Reilly used Vaseline as hair product and Jaden Schwartz was notorious for avoiding the dinner bill.
What about the 2024-25 Blues? What can we learn about them by asking around the room?
With a different roster and 10 new questions, we’ve brought back the player poll.
A special thanks to Robert Thomas, Colton Parayko, Ryan Suter, Cam Fowler, Justin Faulk, Oskar Sundqvist, Jordan Binnington, Brayden Schenn, Alexey Toropchenko, Zack Bolduc, Jake Neighbours, Dylan Holloway, Radek Faksa, Nathan Walker, Nick Leddy, Philip Broberg, Joel Hofer, Pavel Buchnevich, Mathieu Joseph and Tyler Tucker for participating.
Enjoy!
Who’s the most punctual player?
Parayko: I’ll say Ryan Suter. He’s always on time.
Fowler: Even when I think I’m early, Suts is already here.
Faulk: He’s got nothing else going on.
Sundqvist: He’s at that age where he wakes up before dawn and he gets bored so he comes here.
Binnington: He does laps around the locker room drinking his coffee.
Schenn: Suts is just a pro. He’s old school. Be early. That’s him.
Suter: When you have kids, you’re not used to sleeping, and I just like being here early and saying hi to everyone.
Toropchenko: Neighbours or Holloway. I come two hours before practice and I always see their cars here. One day I saw Jakey’s car, but Holly was behind me, so I beat him.
Bolduc: Jakey and Holly are early guys at the rink. I’m usually the third or fourth guy here and I’m always saying hi to them. They’re both sitting in their stall and taping their stick.
Neighbours: What does punctual mean?
Holloway: He doesn’t know what punctual means? That’s a major junior (hockey) guy who didn’t go to school!
Neighbours: On time? Oh, it could be me, for sure. But I’ll say Holly. We’re the same.
Holloway: I’m not trying to be the first one. I just like to prepare. I just have a specific time I get here, and I get here every day at that time.
Faksa: Even on days off, Holly comes in. He’s well known for that.
And the winner is … Suter (six votes).
Who’s got the best shoe game?
Broberg: I’ll go with Jordan Kyrou. I’m not too big of a sneaker guy, but Rouzy has good style.
Hofer: He’s got some Jordans that are nice, some off-whites.
Walker: They’re high-end Nikes.
Buchnevich: White Pradas, he wears all the f—ing time!
Kyrou: I’ll take it, but I probably have to go with Matty Jo. He’s got a bunch of shoes.
Bolduc: I mean, every day Matty Jo shows up with different shoes.
Joseph: I just try to match my fit, but half of my shoes are at home in Montreal and half of them here, so they’re kind of repetitive here.
Parayko: You know who I’ve been seeing? Fowls has some nice kicks. He’s got some nice Travis Scott Air Jordans.
Leddy: I’d probably have to say Fowls, too, from what I’ve seen.
Fowler: Oh, thank you!
Thomas: I’d go Faksa. He’s got some sick shoes.
Schenn: I’m not very good with brands, but Faksa has flashy shoes.
Toropchenko: Faksa. He has (Alexander) McQueens and (Louis) Vuittons. If he reads this, he will know who said it.
Faksa: Who say that? Probably the Russians? Toropchenko? I like to have nice shoes. Everyone is looking at the shoes first, so if you have good shoes, you look good.
Binnington: He’s spending way too much money on his shoes.
Buchnevich: Faksa is terrible. He’s worse than Rouzy … f—ing McQueens! He’s terrible, in my opinion.
Suter: Sorry, I don’t look at guys’ shoes. They all think they’re cooler than they are. It’s the same with their clothes. They’re tighter than they should be. They do that because they don’t like to spend time in the weight room.
And the winner is … Faksa (seven votes).
Blues forward Radek Faksa is known for wearing nice shoes. (Photo courtesy Radek Faksa).
Who looks in the mirror the most?
Bolduc: Matty Jo, for sure. He just loves it.
Thomas: Matty Jo.
Faksa: He pretends that he doesn’t care how he looks, but he cares a lot.
Joseph: Fair enough.
Sundqvist: It’s got to be Rouzy. Every time he walks by a mirror, he has to stop and fix something. I honestly don’t think he can walk past a mirror and not stop.
Fowler: I caught him yesterday doing a little flex in front of the mirror.
Buchnevich: There’s nothing to flex.
Binnington: He’s working out in the sink area. He has this look, like this “Night at the Roxbury” kind of thing where he’s checking himself out.
Parayko: The only mirrors around here are in the bathroom, so whoever goes to the bathroom the most … and it’s Rouzy.
Kyrou: I’m in the bathroom because I’m trying to stay hydrated. OK, yeah maybe. I can vote myself for that.
Tucker: I’ll give this one to Walks.
Suter: I was just telling Walks the other day, “You look in the mirror more than anybody I know.” If I looked like him, I don’t know if I’d be doing that.
Walker: He’s just jealous that a 30-year-old looks as good as I do.
Leddy: I don’t see Walks looking in the mirror, but he’s always talking about himself. I’ll say Rouzy. That was an easy one.
And the winner is … Kyrou (11 votes).
Who has the most obnoxious pregame routine?
Parayko: The handshakes are all pretty funny.
Neighbours: I do a different handshake with each guy. We just came up with them randomly, and I try to do them before every game.
Tucker: My handshake with Jakey is fist bump and then make a horse sound.
Sundqvist: I think it just comes naturally and then it sticks, like, “Oh that’s sick.”
Suter: I’ll stand there and they all give me a little something, but I’m so out of touch with it.
Walker: Broberg. He does some writing on his sticks.
Broberg: I just write some mental things on my stick that I want to think about during the game.
Neighbours: Probably Rouzy. He’s listening to the same songs in a row, same food.
Thomas: He sprints down the hallway and then through the locker room. I don’t have a clue what he’s doing.
Fowler: I’m still trying to understand that one, too.
Binnington: I’d say Matty Jo jumping around with his headphones on. He’s in his own world.
Joseph: I don’t have a plan. I put some music on and, yeah, I’m just dialed into my own world.
Suter: They’re all sweating before we even go out for warmups. I’m like, “You guys are wasting all of your energy.”
Toropchenko: Boldy flips his helmet upside down in his locker stall. He does it every time before the game.
Bolduc: I started doing that a couple weeks ago. The trainers flip it the other way, and I flip it back. There’s no crazy reason. I just keep doing it.
And the winner is … Broberg and Kyrou (tied at five votes).
Blues forward Zack Bolduc flips his helmet upside down before every game. (Jeremy Rutherford / The Athletic)
Whose comeback chirps take the longest and aren’t funny?
Parayko: Let’s go with Leddy. He’s just quiet. He probably wants to say something, but he’s so quiet.
Leddy: I’m not usually running my mouth, but if I had to say someone, I’d say Sunny. We’ve been going at it, and he’s my target.
Binnington: Faulker. He’s not too loud of a talker, and the delivery can sometimes waver.
Neighbours: Me! I can’t think of anything. I’ll be driving home and say to myself, “I should’ve said this!”
Holloway: Hofer takes a while.
Hofer: Holly doesn’t really have much. Tucks, too. He’ll listen, then be the third party and get in the mix.
Toropchenko: Buchy doesn’t know how to chirp back in English.
Kyrou: Buchy has good comebacks, but he just can’t speak it.
Schenn: Then if Buchy can’t think of it, he will just get aggressive on you.
Thomas: Suts. He’s got an old sense of humor.
Joseph: Suts takes a while and then when he chirps you back, it doesn’t hurt that much.
Suter: But when I give them a jab, there’s kind of a little truth to it. They don’t know what to think about it.
Schenn: Broby is a little delayed in his chirps, but I’m just getting to know him a bit, so maybe there’s more there.
Tucker: It takes Broby a little while to process everything and then he just mumbles.
Faksa: Walks. He talks about the same stuff every time.
Fowler: Walks isn’t afraid to dish it out — he’s always yapping — but it doesn’t land.
Walker: Fowls gives me a look like he wants me to shut up, but he doesn’t have much to say back.
And the winner is … Walker (four votes).
Who listens to the coach the most?
Toropchenko: Everybody.
Kyrou: Everyone locks in when Monty’s speaking.
Faulk: I hope everybody.
Faksa: Probably some nerd!
Bolduc: A guy like myself, I listen to the coach a lot.
Fowler: The young guys are trying to take in as much info as they can. It’s not a bad thing.
Parayko: Broby is dialed in. He’s always learning.
Suter: He’s like a bobblehead in the corner: “Yes, yes, yes.”
Buchnevich: Yes! I sit next to him in the meetings and his head is always nodding.
Faksa: He listens, doesn’t say much … that’s a good pick.
Broberg: I guess I’ll take this as a compliment?
Walker: Jakey is another bobblehead.
Binnington: Jakey is always front and center. He’s not over the top, though. He’s doing just the right amount.
Neighbours: Torpo. Because he said me for the most punctual, I’m saying him for this one.
And the winner is … Broberg (six votes).
Who gives the best media interviews?
Kyrou: I’ll say Schenner. He’s just really good at speaking. He’s our captain, so he’s got that leader voice.
Fowler: He’s got to answer some hard questions, and every time I’ve heard him, it’s come from the heart.
Walker: He knows what to say and when to say it.
Schenn: Experience, I guess.
Suter: I don’t really pay attention, but probably me. I’m pretty level-headed and I know what not to say. I don’t give away the secrets.
Leddy: I would say me because I just give the cliche answers all the time.
Neighbours: I’ll go with Binner. I just like how he’s different in media scrums than when you talk to him normally. He changes his voice a little bit and acts serious.
Joseph: Binner has a comforting voice and it fits well when you speak to media. He’s a smart guy with a nice vocabulary.
Schenn: Binner is honest, he’s funny, he’s sarcastic, he’s serious. You never know what you’re going to get from him.
Binnington: I mean, I’m being professional, right?
Bolduc: I would say Thomer. Whether it’s a good or bad game, he’s always there talking to the media. Sometimes it’s hard, but he’s doing a great job.
Thomas: It’s nice to get a vote, but I’d say Buchy. He says what he thinks and he’s got no filter. It must be nice. And anytime you get in trouble, you just say, “Language barrier.”
Sundqvist: I feel like Buchy can say whatever.
Hofer: He says it like it is. I like it.
Buchnevich: I don’t think. I just say whatever I feel like.
Toropchenko: Monty. When I scroll social media, like in pregame one time, he said, “We’re going to be rocking like ‘Jukebox Hero’.” It was funny.
Montgomery: Is Torpo looking for more ice time? He’s a smart kid.
And the winner is … Schenn (six votes).
🎶 juke box herooo 🎶 pic.twitter.com/U7kgbx4YtO
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) January 11, 2025
Who’s the most indecisive ordering at dinner?
Broberg: Holly because he orders everything.
Parayko: Sunny picks one thing and then goes to something else.
Sundqvist: Parayko should be saying himself. Trying to find a dinner spot with that guy is impossible. It’s a nightmare!
Binnington: You can talk Parayko out of what he wants to eat.
Joseph: Rouzy. He’s like, “Have you tried this restaurant?” He needs answers.
Bolduc: I go with Texier and he’s so confused. He’s always like, “Um, I don’t know, chicken, steak, pasta.”
Faulk: Binner. We just wait for him to make a decision every time.
Suter: In Utah, Binner got two lobster tails — that’s it. I’m like, “Are you going to get any beef with that, bud?”
Fowler: I’ll go with Walks. He takes his food very seriously, so those decisions mean a lot to him.
Walker: I don’t go out for dinner with people who are indecisive. The people I go out with, we know exactly what we want. I eat a lot, but I know what I want.
Schenn: I love going to dinner with Walks.
Hofer: I’m probably up there. I have a lot of panic orders.
Tucker: I could put myself in that category. I let the other guys do family style and then we share. Jakey is good at ordering.
Thomas: I don’t know anyone other than my wife. She’s the worst!
And the winner is … Binnington (three votes).
Who’s the worst texter?
Kyrou: Hofer. He’s just bad at texting. Either he doesn’t see it and that’s why he doesn’t respond, or he’s just bad at texting.
Hofer: I see Rouzy’s texts. I’m just busy at the time, so I can’t get to it. But I’ve told him later that I couldn’t play (video games).
Joseph: Binner is never on his phone. I’ve sent him memes that he answers four or five days later.
Fowler: I’m going with Jakey. I tried to make a few plans with him and every couple of hours I’d get a response back.
Thomas: I’m horrible. Half the time I don’t even see the group chat. I don’t even think I have the notifications on.
Suter: I hate texting. I hate group texts. Anytime there’s a group text, I don’t actually leave it, but I silence it so they don’t know I left. Now I’m giving away my secrets.
Sundqvist: I think I had over 100 unanswered messages on my phone. I think it’s good now — it’s like 95.
Binnington: In the summer, I don’t think Buchy turns his phone on.
Buchnevich: I shut down my (U.S.) phone in the summer, but some guys know my Russian number. I got a message from (Blues general manager) Doug Armstrong, but my phone was shut down. I saw it two weeks later, but I was like, “There’s no point to respond.” I’m the worst texter. Sometimes I send a message and I don’t even understand what I say!
Neighbours: I’ll go with Faulker. He just never answers. He just doesn’t like his phone.
Walker: He probably reads the text and realizes he’s got nothing.
Schenn: But if you call Faulker, he always picks up.
Faulk: I would assume some guys have said me? I’m not a huge fan of sitting on that thing and texting all day. But yeah, if you call, that means it’s probably urgent.
Leddy: But he’s only on it at specific times during the day.
And the winner is … Faulk (four votes).
Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist’s phone shows 95 unanswered text messages. (Screenshot courtesy of Sundqvist)
Who gets recognized the most and who wants to be?
Kyrou: Binner for sure.
Schenn: Around the city, Binner. He’d be our guy now.
Binnington: It’s pretty frequent here, but it’s a lot of fun.
Bolduc: I had dinner with Binner in Vegas and two fans showed up and were like, “Can we take a picture?” Most of the time he’s saying yes because he’s a nice guy.
Neighbours: Parayko probably because he’s so big.
Thomas: I’ve actually had a lot of people thinking I was Parayko, which is weird. I don’t understand that because I go up to his belly. I usually just say “wrong guy.” But it’s happened like four or five times, so more than a fluke.
Fowler: I’d say Schenner. He has a lot of connections, and he gets recognized a lot. I’ll say Rouzy wants to be noticed.
Faulk: Schenner for most recognized, Jakey wishes.
Hofer: Jakey, for sure, hopes he does. But he usually does, so I’ll give him that.
Neighbours: I want to be recognized? Maybe last year, ha!
Buchnevich: That’s Boldy.
Joseph: Yeah, Boldy is a young guy that enjoys the NHL.
Tucker: You can put Boldy in there!
And the winner is … Binnington for most recognized (nine votes) and Bolduc for wants to be (three votes).
(Top photo: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images)
