It hasn't taken long for the Blues to experience their first run of injuries for the 2025-26 season--and we're still in preseason! Here's hoping they get this out of their system before the games actually start to matter, and they have a long, healthy regular season and playoff run.
Per The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford, prospect Jimmy Snuggerud--a favorite to make the team--left practice early after slamming hard into the boards.
Snuggerud left practice early today after crashing into the boards.
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) September 24, 2025
Monty: "He's fine. Anything serious has been eliminated. He's day-to-day right now. Think of it as a bad car accident, hit from behind, something like that, because he went hard into the boards. (1/2) #stlblues
Head coach Jim Montgomery went on to say that Snuggerud essentially had the wind knocked out of him and that he should be fine in a day or two. Since it's the preseason, there's no reason to run a young player ragged and risk exacerbating what seems to be a mild injury. While Snuggerud is still technically a prospect, his roster spot seems fairly safe, and it's unlikely anyone behind him on the depth chart would take his place if he misses a couple of days.
Milan Lucic's injury, however, could derail his chances of making the team--and potentially end his hopes of returning to the NHL. According to Montgomery, it isn't serious, but at Lucic's age (and with his contract status up in the air), setbacks like this could jeopardize his NHL opportunity.
Lucic (groin) did not practice today.
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) September 24, 2025
Monty: "He's day-to-day. He's walking around fine. It's just a matter of being able to push out there. It's unfortunate timing for him and us for the evaluation process to see if he can make the club. (1/2)
Montgomery goes on to say that, if Lucic is truly just day-to-day, he'll get some games next week as a last-ditch effort to earn a spot on the Blues' roster. Whether he's the best choice over some of the Blues' prospects and younger players pushing for ice time is another discussion entirely, but the Blues seem determined to give Lucic a fair shake--so long as he can stay healthy, that is.