Jimmy Snuggerud shakes off slow start to become a Hobey contender

Gopher star reaches 20 goals for third straight season

by Robert Brent, Let’s Play Hockey

When the 2024-25 campaign began, the Minnesota Golden Gophers had to be on most people’s shortlist as the best team in the country. The Gophers returned much of their lineup from last season and feature a high-powered lineup with multiple NHL prospects. The team brought on Matthew Wood in a surprising transfer that gave the team four NHL first-round picks.

 Everything looked set for the Gophers to have a fantastic season. The team started well and has continued to play great hockey, but the season hasn’t been without its ups and downs. One notable plot line is that of Jimmy Snuggerud. Snuggerud, a St. Louis Blues first-round draft pick, was expected to dominate coming into the season. A junior forward with two 20-goal seasons under his belt seemed like a recipe for a memorable campaign. Snuggerud started the season playing well but seemed snakebitten at times. Fortunately, he’s since shaken off that bad luck and put himself into the conversation of being the best player in all of college hockey. 

Snuggerud Gets Off to Slow Start

While the Gophers started the season hot, a surprising storyline around the beginning of their season included Snuggerud’s slow start. Despite being Minnesota’s leading goal-scorer with 21 tallies in 2023-24, Snuggerud scored just one goal in the Gopher’s first six games of the 2024-25 campaign.

During those first six games, the Chaska native registered seven points, so it’s not like he wasn’t contributing; it was more a lack of goal-scoring that was cause for concern. Snuggerud’s scoring woes certainly weren’t due to a lack of effort, either. The junior forward was ripping off shots, registering 24 shots on goal during that drought.

The first sign of turning things around came in the seventh game of the season when Snuggerud scored twice in a Gophers 3-1 victory over Penn State. Snuggerud’s two goals represented a change in fortune, but things still weren’t easy. Snuggerud scored seven goals in the first 16 games of the season. While he was still playing great hockey, it was hard not to be a little disappointed, given he had scored nine goals as a sophomore in the first 16 games of the season last year. 

While some of his offensive output lagged behind expectations, Snuggerud still played great hockey. He regularly got his vaunted shot off and showed excellent playmaking ability. Another major factor in Snuggerud’s start to the season was that the Gophers lost a key piece early on. Snuggerud’s regular linemate, Erik Pahlsson, missed most of the first half of the season, and it certainly contributed to the offense not working as well as it should have. 

With Snuggerud playing great hockey and Pahlsson set to return, the Blues prospect was primed for a monster second half of the season. That potential has since been fully realized.

Snuggerud’s Second Half Earns Hobey Buzz 

While Snuggerud had a solid first half of the season, he’s been one of the best players in college hockey since the calendar turned to 2025. In the 10 games the Gophers have played in 2025, Snuggerud has scored 17 points, with 11 of those points being goals. Snuggerud’s rampage has vaulted him to the top scorer in the nation with 41 points in 30 games. His 20 goals make him the third most prolific goal-scorer in the NCAA.

Not only is Snuggerud tearing it up, but his best games have often come when Minnesota needs him most. He was dominant in a 5-2 victory over the rival Wisconsin Badgers on Jan. 31st with two goals and two assists. The game before that, he scored two of the Gophers’ three goals in a 3-3 tie with Michigan State. The star winger also leads all Big Ten scorers with 17 goals in 18 conference games. When Snuggerud scored his 20th goal of the season, he also became just the third Gopher (along with John Mayasich and Dick Dougherty) in history to score 20 goals in three consecutive seasons. Snuggerud has lived up to his captaincy by being a true leader on a 21-6-3 team with national title expectations.

Snuggerud’s efforts against Wisconsin earned him the Big Ten First Star of the Week honors, and it may not be the last award he has won this season. With one of the most impressive resumes in the country, the Gopher product is earning buzz surrounding college hockey’s most significant individual achievement – The Hobey Baker Award.

The Hobey Baker is awarded annually to the top player in the NCAA. Some of the most legendary figures in college hockey history have achieved this honor, including George McPhee, Paul Kariya, Johnny Gaudreau, and recent standouts Adam Fantilli and Macklin Celebrini. Four former Gophers have won the award: Jordan Leopold (2002), Brian Bonin (1996), Robb Stauber (1988) and Neal Broten (1981).

(NCAA.com)

Colleges with the most Hobey Baker Award winners

Information sourced from HobeyBaker.com.

Snuggerud is putting together an excellent case to join that pantheon of players, but he’ll have to contend with a competitive field. Ryan Leonard is putting together an outstanding season while leading top-ranked Boston College. Isaac Howard from Michigan State has also had an excellent campaign. Still, Snuggerud certainly belongs in the class of players and has catapulted himself into being a possible frontrunner.  

If Snuggerud were to hoist the Hobey Baker, he’d be the first Gopher to do so since Leopold in 2002. Still, there’s another accolade he’s probably more interested in, which was also last achieved by Minnesota in 2002 – Winning a National Championship.

Cementing a Legacy

Snuggerud has had an excellent season with the Gophers and an incredible career in Minneapolis thus far. He’ll undoubtedly go down as a player to remember when all is said and done. There was some traction that he may leave for the St. Louis Blues as early as last year after the Gophers were eliminated, so it’s certainly possible that this year is his last donning the Maroon and Gold. 

The Gophers have seen a lot of talent come through their program in recent years. Players like Logan Cooley, Brock Faber and Matthew Knies have done a lot to show that Gopher hockey is ready to reenter a golden age. Snuggerud is undoubtedly part of that group already. Still, if he ends this season winning the Hobey Baker and making a run at a national title, he could have the defining legacy of this era for Minnesota. 

Minnesota has famously (or perhaps infamously) come close to winning it all several times, the most heartbreaking of which was the overtime loss to Quinnipiac in 2023. Snuggerud was a freshman on that team, but now he and the team are primed to right that wrong. As of this writing, Minnesota is ranked third in the country and has spent nearly the entire year in the top five. 

Snuggerud and the talented Gophers have to believe they have a real shot this year. The Chaska native has created a lot of buzz with his outstanding season. With the campaign winding down, it’s time to see whether he can cement his legacy as a Gopher great with a Hobey Baker and National Championship run in hand.