ST.
LOUIS – For the second time in 10 days, the St. Louis Blues were
implementing a part of their future right smack, dab in the middle of
a playoff race.
And
a winning streak.
First,
it was Dalibor Dvorsky, the No. 10 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft making
his debut in a 4-1 win against the Nashville Predators on March 23.
On Tuesday in a 2-1 overtime win against the Detroit Red Wings, it
was Jimmy Snuggerud, the No. 23 pick in the 2022 draft who signed his
three-year, entry-level contract on Friday, had one practice on
Monday and was thrown right into the fire, and enjoyed every bit of
it.
“It
was fun. So exciting,” Snuggerud said. “The rink was so
energetic. Everything about the game, the comeback at the end, it was
an awesome game.
“I
felt like we snuck one out there at there at the end, and it was fun
to be a part of.”
Snuggerud,
who played 10:43 and was a minus-1, didn’t factor in the scoring by
Jordan Kyrou in the final 30 seconds of regulation and by Cam Fowler
in overtime, looks like he belongs.
The
20-year-old wasn’t overwhelmed by jumping into the middle of a
nine-game winning streak that turned to 10 with the dramatic win.
Snuggerud
had two shots on goal, including one in the first period from the
right circle trying to beat Red Wings goalie Cam Talbot on the short
side, but it was created by his awareness in the neutral zone to
knock a puck down, push it into the zone before getting it back for
the opportunity.
It
was a subtle, little play that turned into multiple plays of the kind
in which the forward did what he was supposed to do in a team concept
of working off the puck to create opportunities.
“You’re
simulating what you think it’s going to be and then you actually get
out there and it’s a whole different level of hockey,” Snuggerud
said.
“It’s honestly fun to get that first game in and see the pace. It
was nice to win with the guys.”
Snuggerud
played on a line with Oskar Sundqvist and Zack Bolduc, who eventually
flipped spots with Jake Neighbours.
“I
thought he was really good,” Montgomery said. “I thought he
made smart plays. I didn’t think he over-complicated the game and he
made plays on first-touch. That’s a real good sign of a hockey player
with really good hockey sense. I thought he acquitted himself well in
his first game in the NHL and I was very confident putting him over
the boards.”
Snuggerud
played 15 shifts, which included 1:49 of power play time. There was
one giveaway in the game, but that’s OK, all things considered.
“I
think he did a really nice job,” Fowler
said.
“Coming in at this point in the season, fresh out of college,
that’s not an easy thing for anybody to do. But he stepped in, you
could see his poise with the puck and how strong he was in the
corners. So I thought he did a nice job and he’ll only get better
with time and he’ll only get more comfortable, and I think you’ll see
a lot more out of him.”
Montgomery
was confident enough to use Snuggerud late in the game down a goal,
and had there been another shift in OT, guess who was going over the
boards?
Jimmy Snuggerud takes his rookie lap #stlblues … pic.twitter.com/ES4UVsxgK1
— Lou Korac (@lkorac10) April 1, 2025
“I
think if we were going to make another change, it was going to be
Neighbours and Snuggerud going over,” Montgomery said. “[Snuggerud]
was making things happen. He drove that puck wide and he went back
post and we just missed the tap-in. That’s not the only clever play
he made, and I thought he was responsible defensively.”
If
the University of Minnesota product is going to fit into the fabric
of how the Blues want to play, small details will matter. But they
will want him to be at his best, and that’s being a threat
offensively.
“I
thought he was good,” Kyrou
said.
“You could see his skill and speed and smarts. The first game is
always tough coming in, right, especially a playoff atmosphere like
that. But I thought he did a great job.
“His
first game, obviously jitters and nerves come in. I just try to let
him enjoy that and let him experience that.”
Snuggerud
walked into the rink on Tuesday at Enterprise Center for the first
time, likely sooner than he had hoped since the Frozen Four will be
played here April 10-12 and wanting to be part of it with the
University of Minnesota. But he got a taste of what hockey is like at
the pro level and at a level where Blues fans will come to appreciate
him if he keeps with the mindset of how he attacked his first pro
game.
“The
first game was really fun, but it’s also the most nerves,”
Snuggerud
said.
“It was a nervous game, but it was fun to play with so many good
players.
“I
mean honestly just seeing Patrick Kane from the bench tonight was a
pretty weird moment. Then I kind of got buried by [Vladimir]
Tarasenko
in the first on the boards. I was like, ‘All right, got to get into
it.’”
Get
into it, he did.
“Just
coming to the rink, ‘Boldy’ picked me up with ‘Tucks’. It was
actually my first time seeing the rink, so it was really cool coming
into this locker room and getting here for the pre-game stuff. The
game starts and it’s just such a whole different feel. It’s so much
more pro and it’s really fun to be a part of.
“It’s
energetic. (3M Arena at) Mariucci is a really fun rink (on the campus
of Minnesota), it’s really loud in there,” Snuggerud said. “Then
come to this rink and there’s more people and it’s more loud. I
thought the energy in this rink was unbelievable. When we scored that
game-tying goal, it was so loud in here and then the overtime winner
was twice as loud. It’s really fun to be here and see that.”
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