Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Jaromir Jagr: Winter Classic is bigger than playing Red Square

Philadelphia Flyers v Pittsburgh Penguins

PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 29: Jaromir Jagr #68 of the Philadelphia Flyers skates during warm ups before the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Consol Energy Center on December 29, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Flyers won 4-2. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Jaromir Jagr is no stranger to playing a big game outside.

While we’re going to see Jagr suiting up for the Flyers during the 2012 Winter Classic, he’s taken a few spins outside while in the KHL as well. Jagr captained one of the teams in the 2009 KHL All-Star Game that was played outside at Red Square in Moscow and while that provided an iconic moment for the Russian league, Jagr says this time it means more.

PHT asked Jagr to compare the two games and, like he’s been since returning to the NHL, he was honest.

“It was different. It was an all star game and it wasn’t good ice. This is going to be different. You know [the KHL game] it was only three thousand people and there were no seats,” Jagr said. “This is going to be special. This is going to be 50,000 people watching you play.”

Downtown Philadelphia better than Moscow? There’s a few people that might disagree with that, but it’s the experience that makes the difference. Of course, that doesn’t change the weather.

“Actually, I don’t like it much because you gotta play outside it’s gonna be cold, but just the fans... So many fans at the game make it special.”

With the way the crowd should be on Monday afternoon, he’s probably not even going to notice how cold it is.