from Dan O'Neill of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,

When Canada withstood a fierce comeback to defeat Russia 5-4 in the International Ice Hockey World Junior Championship final last January, 19,014 fans packed the Air Canada Centre in Toronto to witness.

The scene was breathtaking, featuring dramatic hockey, an electric atmosphere and the world’s best young players locked in an epic battle. If Canada is the birthplace of hockey, Toronto is the mother ship. The setting and the circumstances were made for each other.

That said, if you can embrace the Blues’ new marketing theme, if you will consider this to be a “Heartland of Hockey,” you might appreciate what it would be like for St. Louis to present such a compelling, international spectacle. Holy Ballpark Village!

The St. Louis Sports Commission and the Blues are trying to make it happen, partnering in the pursuit of the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship. Among the three cities under final consideration — with Buffalo, N.Y., and Pittsburgh — St. Louis representatives play host to the USA Hockey committee members over the next two days, making a final pitch. The award is expected to be announced in early December.

“It would have a scope and the ability to touch our city and region at a level we really haven’t done since the 1904 Olympics,” Blues president Chris Zimmerman said.

continued