ST. LOUIS \u2014 For the first time since kindergarten, Jimmy Snuggerud isn\u2019t headed off to school this year.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a lot different,\u201d he told The Athletic this week. \u201cYour 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely something I\u2019ll miss. But now it\u2019s fully hockey, which is the best thing ever. It\u2019s a change of scenery, but I\u2019m looking forward to coming to St. Louis and just being there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Snuggerud, 21, snickered when asked how much he\u2019ll truly miss class.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot a lot,\u201d he said, laughing. \u201cNo, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
A moment he’ll never forget! <\/p>\n
Jimmy Snuggerud is making his NHL debut with the @StLouisBlues<\/a>! \ud83c\udfb6 pic.twitter.com\/ZwP4dEl9Qm<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NHL (@NHL) April 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t appear Snuggerud\u2019s 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\u2019s top line with Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich.<\/p>\n \u201cI was so impressed with the kid \u2014 his maturity level, his commitment to get better every single day and just absorbing the information,\u201d Blues associate coach Steve Ott said recently<\/a>. \u201cOnce 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s his ceiling? I\u2019ll wait and see, but he\u2019s got tremendous work ethic, (high) hockey IQ, and all those areas to make him an exceptional player going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Last month, The Athletic\u2019s Scott Wheeler re-ranked the 2022 NHL draft<\/a>, in which Snuggerud went No. 23 to the Blues. Wheeler projected Snuggerud to go No. 26 at the time, but with what\u2019s transpired in the past three years, Wheeler bumped him up to No. 12 in his latest re-ranking.<\/p>\n With everyone excited about Snuggerud, we thought it would be a good time for a Q&A to see where his head\u2019s at.<\/p>\n (Note: Some questions and answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.)<\/p>\n What was the one thing that worried you most about jumping to the NHL last season, but you overcame it and thought, \u201cWhew, everything will be OK?\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019t 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\u2019s how you recover from those things.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve already experienced a few difficult losses in your young career: Minnesota\u2019s 3-2 overtime loss in the 2023 NCAA title game, Minnesota\u2019s 5-4 overtime loss in the 2025 regional semifinals and the Blues\u2019 loss to the Jets. How do you feel those lessons will help you grow?<\/p>\n Life is all about experiences. I\u2019d 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\u2019s all about how you recover and move forward.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t help in the moment when you lose, but just learning from the situation, life is all about those experiences.<\/p>\n 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?<\/p>\n The 14 games were such a good experience, and being there at the end of the year was huge for me. I\u2019d 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\u2019d say there\u2019s 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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n JIMMY SNUGGERUD BUZZER BEATER \ud83d\udea8 <\/p>\n He scores his first #StanleyCup<\/a> Playoffs goal with 1.7 seconds remaining in the first! <\/p>\n \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8: @espn<\/a> 2 \u27a1\ufe0f https:\/\/t.co\/m0LyTCHYnH<\/a> \u2014 NHL (@NHL) April 22, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n There\u2019s 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?<\/p>\n It\u2019s never perfect. I shoot pucks daily and shoot from new places \u2014 don\u2019t be a single-spot guy. You can\u2019t be a one-dimensional shooter. It\u2019s 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\u2019ve got to find a way to be deceptive.<\/p>\n You hate saying it, but you\u2019re also going to be snakebitten at some point throughout the year, and it\u2019s all about the mental part of it. Don\u2019t overlook things. Don\u2019t be anxious. Don\u2019t overthink. I always want to be working to the best of my ability to improve because I\u2019m very far from perfect in any aspect of my game.<\/p>\n How much did you bulk up this offseason?\u00a0<\/p>\n I ended up adding about 11 or 12 pounds this summer, so I\u2019m up to 197. It takes time, but it\u2019s super important. That extra 10 pounds helps because you\u2019re harder to knock off the puck. It was a process of changing around my lifts a bit and eating a lot more food. You\u2019ve got to eat till you\u2019re full throughout the day, but it will help you maintain protein and gain weight. It\u2019s going according to plan right now, but summer isn\u2019t over, and I\u2019ve got to maintain it until the season starts.<\/p>\n Going back home to Minnesota was the end of a long grind for you. What do you like to do to unwind?\u00a0<\/p>\n The little things: just enjoying time with my family, my roommates, people in my life that I love being around the most. Honestly, it\u2019s pretty easy going in Minnesota, whether it\u2019s 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\u2019s so fun to reel in a nice walleye.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve heard you\u2019re back skating in Da Beauty League<\/a> already. What\u2019s that been like now that you\u2019re in the NHL?<\/p>\n It\u2019s definitely a little different. I\u2019ve only played in one or two games this year, but it\u2019s nice to go play against some other pro guys and college guys. You\u2019re still a hockey player when you\u2019re in the NHL, but now you\u2019re wearing a visor instead of a cage. There were some guys that I haven\u2019t seen in a while, and they complimented me about the end of the season with the Blues. It\u2019s nice to hear that people saw that.<\/p>\n Jimmy Snuggerud has arrived \ud83e\udd29#daBL2025<\/a> | @StLouisBlues<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/TNohIJonHQ<\/a><\/p>\n
\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6: CBC or stream on @Sportsnet<\/a>+ \u27a1\ufe0f https:\/\/t.co\/4KjbdjVctF<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/sTgoLINGY2<\/a><\/p>\n