Binnington, Parayko each named to Canadian side in best-on-best tournament that is slated Feb. 12-20 in Montreal, Boston; former Blue Alex Pietrangelo also named to Canada roster; St. Louisans Matthew, Brady Tkachuk to represent USA; former Blue Mikkola named to Finland roster

Jordan Binnington and Colton Parayko will have some extra hockey in their not-too-distant futures.

The St. Louis Blues goalie and defenseman, respectively, each was chosen to represent Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, a best-on-best tournament comprised of Canada, United States, Sweden and Finland. It will be played Feb. 12-20 at Bell Centre in Montreal and TD Garden in Boston.

Binnington was almost a shoe-in from the get-go, although some Canadian goalies tried to make their mark and make the decision tough. But Binnington will be joined by Adin Hill (Vegas Golden Knights) and Sam Montembeault (Montreal Canadiens).

"I think it's great that it's back and there's the international competition," Binnington told The Hockey News. "There's a lot of great talent out there for every country. That's something you've kind of visualized your whole life doing in your dreams.

"It's the same old story, just focus on my game and what I can control. Hopefully that will lead me to bright lights and playing for my country."

Binnington, who won a Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019, is 7-9-2 with a respectable 2.87 goals-against average and .899 save percentage this season but is 1-0-1 with a 1.50 GAA and .952 save percentage since Jim Montgomery was named Blues coach on Nov. 24.

"He's just a big-game player, that's all. That's why," Blues captain Brayden Schenn told THN. "... He's played great. I'm not the GM, but if it was my pick, absolutely. He's the stud that shows up in big games."

Blues teammate Jordan Kyrou added, "He's kind of done it all. He's won a Stanley Cup, he's been in those high-pressure situations, he's competed against the best and he's won against the best. He definitely knows how to win in those situations. He's one of the best goalies in the league. I think he's unbelievable. I think he'd be awesome there."

As for Parayko, it's a testament to the unbelievable talent Canada has to pick from that he made the squad over some really big names, including Evan Bouchard of the Edmonton Oilers, Noah Dobson of the New York Islanders, Morgan Rielly of the Toronto Maple Leafs, MacKenzie Weegar of the Calgary Flames, Dougie Hamilton of the New Jersey Devils, Owen Power of the Buffalo Sabres, and perhaps Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings, but Doughty has not played this season due to a broken ankle.

But when asked about Parayko when the Tampa Bay Lightning visited St. Louis early in November, Canada head coach and Lightning coach Jon Cooper offered all the right reasons why Parayko, a true shutdown defenseman, has the right credentials.

"I've coached him. I know what he is," Cooper said. "I've had him at World Championships, he's a phenomenal guy. He's got a bomb for a shot, he's big, he's strong, he can break a puck out, he does a lot of things that puts him in the upper echelon of defensemen in this league. And he's a high character guy. And a Stanley Cup champion. He checks a lot of boxes."

Former Blue Alex Pietrangelo, who captained the Blues' Stanley Cup-winning side and spent the first 12 years (10 full seasons) of his career in St. Louis, also was named to Canada's roster. Another former Blue, Florida Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola, was named earlier in the day to Finland's roster.

For USA, St. Louisan brothers, Matthew Tkachuk (Panthers) and Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa Senators), were named to the roster, following in the footsteps of Blues hall of famer Keith Tkachuk, who spent 2001-07 and 2007-2010 in St. Louis.

Canada also added Blues goalie coach David Alexander and video coordinator Elliott Mondou to its coaching staff.

The first four games will be played in Montreal, then head to Boston for three games, including the championship Feb. 20 at 8 p.m. (ET).