The 28-year-old goalie from Richmond Hill, Ontario said he has no idea what to expect when the Blues face the Minnesota Wild in the 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic at Target Field in Minneapolis on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; TNT, SN1, TVAS, ESPN+, ESPN LIVE).
"I've never played outside, actually," Binnington said. "First timer here, but excited. It should be fun. It's a lot of people in one place. I'm looking forward to the experience of being out there with the guys for a couple days."
Binnington, along with Blues forwards Brayden Schenn, Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Logan Brown, Klim Kostin, Oskar Sundqvist and Nathan Walker; defensemen Justin Faulk, Niko Mikkola, Scott Perunovich and Jake Walman; and goalies Ville Husso and Charlie Lindgren could each make his outdoor debut.
Forwards Vladimir Tarasenko, Ryan O'Reilly, David Perron, Brandon Saad, Pavel Buchnevich and Tyler Bozak, and defensemen Colton Parayko, Torey Krug and Marco Scandella have played in at least one outdoor game.
It is expected to be one of the coldest NHL outdoor games, with temperatures forecasted to dip below zero.
"Just trying to take a couple cold tubs leading up to the game, hopefully it will build that up a little bit," Binnington said. "It's going to be interesting. I don't know what to expect. I see how cold it's going to be, but I don't know how cold it will feel. We're going to do our part gearing up and do the best we can to be ready for it.
"It's going to be a fun experience and a competitive game. It's a big game against a team we're competing with in the standings. It should be fun."
The greatest challenge for a goalie, especially in a night game outdoors, will be depth perception, and St. Louis will practice at 7 p.m. ET on Friday to get a better feel for what to expect 24 hours later.
"I can't really comment on that. I've never experienced it," Binnington said. "We'll know more after the practice day. 'O'Ry' was just telling me, even sometimes in just long shots because of the wind, the puck can get to moving around a little bit. That will be new, kind of like ball hockey, I guess. A new experience and we'll just adapt."
Binnington, who is 9-6-3 with a 2.83 goals-against average and .911 save percentage in 18 games this season after a 4-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday, is eager to debut his goalie-inspired mask featuring two former Blues: Glenn Hall and Mike Liut.
"Well, Mike is my agent and he's played a key role in my career really," Binnington said. "Not even on the agent side, but [with] advice and [at] different points in my professional career and sharing his wisdom. So I wanted to show some appreciation there. And Mr. Hall, first goalie to suit up in a Blues uniform. Obviously a legend in the game.
"Any time you can find opportunity to pay some respects to the guys who have given themselves to the game before you, I'm all for it."
