St. Louis Blues right wing Jimmy Snuggerud (21) battles Detroit Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson (77) during the second period at Enterprise Center on Tuesday in Snuggerud's NHL debut. (Jeff Le-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/f7d084c6-57d0-49aa-828f-3f7f789ce7ae.jpeg] St. Louis Blues right wing Jimmy Snuggerud (21) battles Detroit Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson (77) during the second period at Enterprise Center on Tuesday in Snuggerud's NHL debut. (Jeff Le-Imagn Images) ST. LOUIS – For the second time in 10 days, the St. Louis Blues [http://thn.com/stlouis] 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 [http://thn.com/nashville] on March 23. On Tuesday in a 2-1 overtime win [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues/latest-news/three-takeaways-from-blues-2-1-ot-win-against-red-wings] against the Detroit Red Wings [http://thn.com/detroit], it was Jimmy Snuggerud, the No. 23 pick in the 2022 draft who signed his three-year, entry-level contract on Friday [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues/latest-news/breaking-blues-sign-top-prospect-jimmy-snuggerud], 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? “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.”
