The St. Louis Blues expected big things from top blueliner Colton Parayko. The 2012 third-round pick has always been an effective player, but he's faced his fair share of criticism since being leaned on to be the team's number one defenceman once Alex Pietrangelo left to go to the Vegas Golden Knights.
At 6′6″ and nearly 230 pounds, Parayko has an imposing frame, but he is often criticized for his physicality and for not unleashing his blistering slap shot as much as he should. Still, he put together one of his best campaigns this season, averaging 23:45 of ice time per game while posting some of his best offensive numbers. He also earned the honour of representing Canada at the Four Nations Face-off, helping his country to a gold medal.
Parayko was fantastic this season, setting career highs in goals and points while only playing 64 games because of a knee injury that sidelined him for the final six weeks. Before the injury, Parayko was near the top of the league in minutes played and shots blocked. He is just as solid and dependable as they come.
A Look at Colton Parayko's 2024-25 season
Parayko had to have a big year if the Blues wanted to be competitive this season, and he delivered. It is hard to imagine that with the type of shot Parayko possesses, he has never scored more than 10 goals in a season. That changed this season as he netted 16 goals in only 64 games. His shooting percentage skyrocketed this season, as he was scoring on 12.8 percent of his shots, which is nearly double his previous career high of 6.5. Parayko also set a career high in points with 36, which is impressive because he missed almost 20 games this season.
Parayko will not light up the scoresheet, but his reliability makes him one of the league's top blueliners. Before his injury, Parayko was ranked near the top of the league in minutes played and was in the top 10 in blocked shots. He finished the year with 149 blocked shots, which was good for first on the team and 27th in the NHL.
His well-rounded game is one of the reasons why he made the Team Canada roster for the Four Nations Face-off. Some guys were locks to make Team Canada's roster, and others had to play their way on. Parayko was the latter. Before the season, very few projections had Parayko making the roster, but his strong play and versatility got him a call to represent Canada at the Four Nations Face-off. Parayko's offensive numbers may not be what you want from a number one defenceman, but his defensive play and killer shot make him an integral part of the Blues' core.
Expect More of the Same from Parayko in 2025-26
Parayko's play dipped a bit once he got back from his knee injury, but with the offseason now to heal, expect more of what we saw from him in the regular season in 2025-26. It is hard to imagine that Parayko will be able to keep up the goalscoring pace from this season, as his shooting percentage seems like an outlier compared to the rest of his career. However, if he can be a 15-20 goal a season player to go along with his stellar defensive play, the Blues will be happy with it.
The Blues seemed to have found the perfect defenceman partner for Parayko with Cam Fowler, who joined the team in December following a trade with the Anaheim Ducks. Before the Fowler addition, it seemed to be a revolving door on who he played alongside on the top blueline pairing. Now that the pair is likely to stick together moving forward, it will be intriguing to see how their chemistry develops following a full training camp.