Alex Pietrangelo Alexander Pietrangelo ( born January 18 , 1990 ) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and alternate captain currently playing for the St . Louis Blues of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . As a junior , he played with the Niagara IceDogs and the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League ( OHL ) . Pietrangelo has competed in with Team Canada at the junior and senior level , including a gold medal win with Canada ' s under - 20 team at the 2009 World Junior Championships . Individually , he has been named Best Defenceman at the 2010 World Junior Championship and 2011 Men ' s World Championship . Hockey career . Minor . Pietrangelo played minor hockey in the Toronto area when he was growing up . He started to play hockey with the Richmond Hill Stars of the OMHA before playing three years with the Vaughan Kings of the GTHL . As a novice aged player ( nine and under ) , Pietrangelo and his Toronto Pro Hockey Development teammates participated in the 2000 Brick Super Novice Tournament in Edmonton , Alberta . His teammates included Steven Stamkos , Philip McRae , and Michael Del Zotto . Toronto was defeated in the tournament final by the Vancouver Pacific Vipers , on a goal by Jordan Eberle . . He was also a member of the All - Ontario Peewee AAA Champion Vaughan Kings in 2003 . Pietrangelo played three years in the Toronto Junior Canadiens AAA system . The Toronto Junior Canadiens won Ontario ' s bantam championship in 2005 , with Pietrangelo scoring the game winning goal in the final against the Markham Waxers . Junior . After his successful minor hockey career , Pietrangelo was drafted 3rd overall by the Mississauga IceDogs in the first round of the 2006 OHL Priority Selection . He scored at a near point - per - game pace in his rookie season with the IceDogs with 52 points in 59 games , then moved with the team to St . Catharines as the franchise relocated in 2007 . In September 2007 , he was named CHL Player of the Week after recording three goals and four assists in two games . In December 2007 , TSN ranked Pietrangelo third overall among eligible skaters for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft . International Scouting Services described Pietrangelo as a " tremendous specimen in terms of size and skills " and ranked him fifth among North American draft prospects at mid - season , then sixth in their final rankings leading up to the draft . After finishing his second OHL season with 53 points in 60 games , he was selected fourth overall by the St . Louis Blues in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft on June 20 , 2008 . Coming into training camp , the Blues signed him to an entry - level contract on September 4 , 2008 . Pietrangelo earned his way onto the team for opening night and played his first NHL game against the Nashville Predators on October 10 , 2008 . Three days later , however , he suffered a head injury on October 13 , in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs when Ryan Hollweg checked him from behind into the boards . Pietrangelo returned shortly , and after playing eight games total for the Blues , he was sent back to his junior team , the Niagara IceDogs . On April 10 , 2009 , he was assigned to the Blues ' top minor - league affiliate , the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League ( AHL ) , after his junior season had ended . Pietrangelo began the 2009 – 10 NHL season on the Blues ' roster for a second consecutive year , but played in only nine games by December 2009 . After the Blues lended him to the Canadian under - 20 team for the 2010 World Junior Championships , Pietrangelo was returned to the OHL . During the World Juniors , his OHL rights were traded from the IceDogs to the Barrie Colts . Playing half a season with Barrie , he recorded 29 points in 25 games , while adding 14 points in 17 playoff games . Due to his long playoff run with the Colts , he did not have the opportunity to play in the AHL as he did the previous season . Professional . In 2010 – 11 , Pietrangelo played his first full season with the Blues , leading all team defencemen with 43 points ( 11 goals and 32 assists ) over 79 games . He also led team defencemen in plus / minus ( + 18 ) , shots ( 161 ) , while ranking third in average ice time per game . Due to his previous eight - and nine - game seasons in the NHL , he did not qualify as a rookie . Comparatively , the league ' s leading scorer among rookie defencemen that season was teammate Kevin Shattenkirk , who was born a year earlier than Pietrangelo ; he also recorded 43 points . International play . Pietrangelo was picked to play for Team Canada ' s under - 18 team at the 2007 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament , where he served as an alternate captain . The team finished fourth . He played next for the Canadian National Junior Team at the 2009 World Junior Championships and won a gold medal . The following year , Pietrangelo was loaned by his NHL team , the St . Louis Blues , to play for Team Canada in his second World Junior Championships in 2010 . He was selected as an alternate captain to Patrice Cormier . In the final game of the round - robin , Pietrangeo scored a shorthanded game - tying goal against the United States to send the game to overtime . Canada eventually won in a shootout and earned a bye into the semi - final . Advancing to the gold medal game , Canada met the United States in a rematch , but lost 6 – 5 in overtime . Pietrangelo picked up several individual honours at the conclusion of the tournament . He was named a Tournament All - Star by the media , the Best Defenceman by the directorate and was selecetd by the coaching staff as one of Canada ' s top three players . As the St . Louis Blues failed to make the playoffs in Pietrangelo ' s first full season in the NHL , he was selected to Canada ' s men ' s team for the 2011 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia . With two goals and three assists for five points over seven games , he led Canada in defensive scoring , while tying for second overall among all tournament defencemen . Canada advanced to the quarterfinal as the top - ranked team in their pool , but lost 2 – 1 to Russia . At the end of the tournanment , Pietrangelo was chosen as the Best Defenceman by the directorate .