ST. LOUIS — For the first time since kindergarten, Jimmy Snuggerud isn’t headed off to school this year.
After leaving the University of Minnesota in March and playing 14 games between the regular season and playoffs with the St. Louis Blues, Snuggerud will be attending his first training camp in a few weeks.
“It’s definitely a lot different,” he told The Athletic this week. “Your whole life, school is a big part of everything. Even playing at (the U.S. National Team Development Program), school was a big factor. College was kind of its own world, setting up your school schedule in June and July, going to class with some of your teammates and hanging out with those guys every day at the rink.
“It’s definitely something I’ll miss. But now it’s fully hockey, which is the best thing ever. It’s a change of scenery, but I’m looking forward to coming to St. Louis and just being there.”
Snuggerud, 21, snickered when asked how much he’ll truly miss class.
“Not a lot,” he said, laughing. “No, I was in business marketing, kind of the business side of the world and some finance stuff, and I was definitely interested in that. That was something I was definitely looking toward. I had a leadership class my freshman year that I really liked. Fortunately, I had hockey, but you never know when it can end.”
A moment he’ll never forget!
Jimmy Snuggerud is making his NHL debut with the @StLouisBlues! 🎶 pic.twitter.com/ZwP4dEl9Qm
— NHL (@NHL) April 1, 2025
It doesn’t appear Snuggerud’s NHL career will be ending any time soon based on his seven regular-season and seven playoff games last season. He had three goals and eight points in that span, with a lot of his production coming on the team’s top line with Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich.
“I was so impressed with the kid — his maturity level, his commitment to get better every single day and just absorbing the information,” Blues associate coach Steve Ott said recently. “Once we got him up and running in the practices, you could just see his detail within the game, and that made him an instant NHL player. And then from the detail was his skill level. He was making plays and passes and seeing guys that we just kind of started moving him up the lineup. The higher-end players that want to play the skill game, they started seeing his package, what he could bring toward them, and then you add in the shot.
“What’s his ceiling? I’ll wait and see, but he’s got tremendous work ethic, (high) hockey IQ, and all those areas to make him an exceptional player going forward.”
Last month, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler re-ranked the 2022 NHL draft, in which Snuggerud went No. 23 to the Blues. Wheeler projected Snuggerud to go No. 26 at the time, but with what’s transpired in the past three years, Wheeler bumped him up to No. 12 in his latest re-ranking.
With everyone excited about Snuggerud, we thought it would be a good time for a Q&A to see where his head’s at.
(Note: Some questions and answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.)
What was the one thing that worried you most about jumping to the NHL last season, but you overcame it and thought, “Whew, everything will be OK?”
There was definitely a lot of nerves coming to St. Louis because the NHL is the best league in the world, and there are so many things that you can be nervous about: your first practice, first game. They were the hottest team in the league and on a very long winning streak, and I didn’t want to mess it up. Fortunately, we won a couple of games, and it was really fun. I just used all those nerves for excitement and enjoyed the whole process. I just kind of realized that everyone messes up and makes mistakes, and it’s how you recover from those things.
You’ve already experienced a few difficult losses in your young career: Minnesota’s 3-2 overtime loss in the 2023 NCAA title game, Minnesota’s 5-4 overtime loss in the 2025 regional semifinals and the Blues’ loss to the Jets. How do you feel those lessons will help you grow?
Life is all about experiences. I’d say the national championship game is where it all started. That game was definitely tough, and then the regional semifinal last year, that goal UMass scored, was a tough ending. Then in St. Louis, the same thing, too. It stunk how we lost in Game 7. It was such a brutal game and a brutal finish. But things like that happen in hockey, and it’s all about how you recover and move forward.
There are a lot of moments that you wish you could have back, no doubt. But I was super fortunate to win World Juniors my second year, and that feeling, you use it for your future because you know what it feels like to win. So it doesn’t help in the moment when you lose, but just learning from the situation, life is all about those experiences.
You had to be happy with the way everything unfolded coming to the Blues, including the playoffs. What did you like about the 14 games, and where did you feel you need improvement?
The 14 games were such a good experience, and being there at the end of the year was huge for me. I’d say for the improvement, there were a few things. I feel like the biggest difference from college to the NHL is, No. 1, the rim play, and No. 2, net-drive. Then I’d say there’s a size factor, too. I was only 185 pounds at the end of the year. It was a physical playoff series, and you quickly realize that you can’t lay the body around like you want to. So those three things were super important for me to work on this summer: wall play, net-drive and size.
JIMMY SNUGGERUD BUZZER BEATER 🚨
He scores his first #StanleyCup Playoffs goal with 1.7 seconds remaining in the first!
🇺🇸: @espn 2 ➡️ https://t.co/m0LyTCHYnH
🇨🇦: CBC or stream on @Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/sTgoLINGY2
— NHL (@NHL) April 22, 2025
There’s been a lot of talk since you were drafted about having a great shot. How do you continue to work on it and refine and make it even better?
It’s never perfect. I shoot pucks daily and shoot from new places — don’t be a single-spot guy. You can’t be a one-dimensional shooter. It’s all about pushing and pulling and finding different areas of the net to shoot at. There are so many different ways to shoot a hockey puck, and you’ve got to find a way to be deceptive.
You hate saying it, but you’re also going to be snakebitten at some point throughout the year, and it’s all about the mental part of it. Don’t overlook things. Don’t be anxious. Don’t overthink. I always want to be working to the best of my ability to improve because I’m very far from perfect in any aspect of my game.
How much did you bulk up this offseason?
I ended up adding about 11 or 12 pounds this summer, so I’m up to 197. It takes time, but it’s super important. That extra 10 pounds helps because you’re harder to knock off the puck. It was a process of changing around my lifts a bit and eating a lot more food. You’ve got to eat till you’re full throughout the day, but it will help you maintain protein and gain weight. It’s going according to plan right now, but summer isn’t over, and I’ve got to maintain it until the season starts.
Going back home to Minnesota was the end of a long grind for you. What do you like to do to unwind?
The little things: just enjoying time with my family, my roommates, people in my life that I love being around the most. Honestly, it’s pretty easy going in Minnesota, whether it’s being on the lake, the golf course, a lot of walleye fishing. I caught a few jig fishing off the bottom with minnows, trolling with crankbaits, or bobber fishing with leeches. The small-mouth bass go for the leeches, too. But it’s so fun to reel in a nice walleye.
I’ve heard you’re back skating in Da Beauty League already. What’s that been like now that you’re in the NHL?
It’s definitely a little different. I’ve only played in one or two games this year, but it’s nice to go play against some other pro guys and college guys. You’re still a hockey player when you’re in the NHL, but now you’re wearing a visor instead of a cage. There were some guys that I haven’t seen in a while, and they complimented me about the end of the season with the Blues. It’s nice to hear that people saw that.
Jimmy Snuggerud has arrived 🤩#daBL2025 | @StLouisBlues pic.twitter.com/TNohIJonHQ
— Da Beauty League (@DaBeautyLeague) July 23, 2025
I don’t know if you saw what Ott said about you, but if so, what did you think?
It’s cool to hear. He obviously played too, and he gets it from that aspect. He’s such a great coach and a very detailed coach, and on top of it, he’s a really nice guy. I value people’s opinions — especially someone of his caliber — and that goes with all the coaching staff. That was me at the end of the season, and hopefully I can have an impact again this year, too.
You were on the top line last season, and you might start there again. But there will likely be times when you’re moved down. What’s the key to keeping your confidence as a young player when that happens?
I’d say nothing’s ever guaranteed in life, let alone in hockey. It’s a long season, and I haven’t experienced that yet, so I can’t sit here and say much because I haven’t done it. But from what I’ve heard, it’s about never getting too high or too low. There’s going to be changes in the lineup, whether you like it or not, and it’s just how things go. Throughout the year, it’s just staying level-headed and trying to enjoy it as much as you possibly can. Hockey is a fun sport, and you want to become the best version of yourself, but you can’t lean on it too much to where it’s taken on your emotions.
Finally, I conducted a survey with fans and asked them, “Which Blues prospect are you most looking forward to watching?” You got an overwhelming 82.4 percent of the vote. What does that support mean to you?
There are so many good prospects in St. Louis, and there are so many very, very good young players there, so that’s cool to hear. Obviously, you can’t let things like that go to your head. I just want to be there for my teammates whenever I can. I want to help them win hockey games, and I’ll do that any way I possibly can for anyone there. But that’s definitely a cool feeling.
(Top photo: Jeff Le / Imagn Images)