ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - St. Louis Blues fans have been waiting for the day when 2022 first-round draft pick Jimmy Snuggerud turns pro and joins the club, that day won't until 2025 at least.
On Tuesday, three days after the University of Minnesota lost to Boston University in the Sioux Falls regionals, Snuggerud announced that he will return to the Golden Gophers for his junior season of collegiate hockey.
"It was a tough ending to this season, and I feel like we have some unfinished business to accomplish. I am committed to this team and excited for the opportunity next year with the Gophers," said Snuggerud in a statement provided by the University. "I watched (Minnesota Wild forward) Brock Faber come back for his junior year and I feel like I can take the same path as Brock to the NHL, and help the Gophers win a national championship."
The St. Louis Blues released a statement minutes after the announcement with General Manager Doug Armstrong saying the team fully supports the decision.
"We look forward to watching his continued development towards becoming a solid contributor for the St. Louis Blues in the future by playing a lead role for the Golden Gophers against top college competition next year." said Armstrong in a statement.
Snuggerud has posted 84 points with 42 goals and 42 assists in 79 games, outings for the Gophers. While Snuggerud lead the Gophers in goals this season with his second-consecutive 21-goal season, his overall point output dropped from 50 to 34 this past season. Most of the point decline can be traced to Snugerud's line mates Logan Cooley and Matthew Knies both leaving the school and head to the NHL to join their clubs the Arizona Coyotes and Toronto Maple Leafs repectively.
Snuggerud's highlighting Faber as an inspiration to return back to school is admiring. Faber was the Golden Gopher's captain during Snuggerud's freshman year and the three-year stay at Minnesota has seem to paid off for Faber with the current Minnesota Wild defenseman being seen as a contender for the Calder Trophy, with 21-year-old posting 41 points in 73 games this season, with seven of those points being goals and posting a good 6.5 point shares.
Snuggerud has only seen his hype go up after another stellar outing at the 2024 World Juniors in Finland, where he had five goals, including a hat trick, and eight points in six games at the tournament, helping the U.S. win gold at the World Juniors.
