Jimmy Snuggerud stands on the cusp of becoming the next cornerstone player for the St. Louis Blues.
First, however, he must navigate an untimely setback. The 2022 first-round selection left practice with a lower-body injury after a hard collision with the boards. Encouragingly, he was later seen in the locker room moving without significant difficulty, offering reassurance to both coaches and fans.
Blues head coach Jim Montgomery compared it to getting in a wreck on the road.
“He’s fine,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “Anything serious has been eliminated and he’s day to day right now. Think of it as getting in a bad car accident, hit from behind, something like that, because he went hard into the boards.
“I went over and he was really out of breath. I’m like, ‘Are you out of breath or are you really hurt?’ And he couldn’t answer because he was so out of breath. Fortunately, that seems like what it was. You go in, he just can’t breathe and you’re just trying to find your air and you can’t.”
A Car Accident!?
It was curious that head coach Montgomery chose to liken Snuggerud’s injury to a car accident—an analogy that, if taken literally, might suggest a more severe prognosis than the day-to-day designation he received. Still, the collision into the boards reverberated well beyond the ice, sending a jolt of anxiety through the Blues’ coaching staff and fanbase alike. For an organization that views Snuggerud as a foundational piece of its future, any scare is bound to stir unease.
The 21-year-old forward offered some reassurance afterward. Though visibly shaken by the incident, he was seen moving about the locker room in decent spirits. Snuggerud has already begun to taste life in the NHL, recording four points (one goal, three assists) in seven games with the Blues last season. His college résumé is equally promising: in 40 appearances for the University of Minnesota this past year, he tallied 51 points (24 goals, 27 assists), cementing his reputation as a dynamic offensive presence.
The broader context adds to the urgency. St. Louis is already contending with multiple preseason injuries, most notably to veteran Milan Lucic, who is sidelined with a groin strain. At 37 and playing on a professional tryout, Lucic’s situation is hardly surprising; age and circumstance make him more vulnerable to such setbacks. Snuggerud, however, represents something entirely different. He is the prized prospect, the organization’s investment in its future. His recovery is not just a matter of health—it is a matter of trajectory for a franchise intent on retooling around its next generation of talent.