Snuggerud scouting report

[Frank Underwood]

I think he could be a huge addition to the powerplay, given his one timer. But I’ll throw out another possibility……it wouldn’t totally shock me if he ends up being trade bait at some point. I never would have considered that, but with the emergence of Holloway and Bolduc as scorers, maybe it becomes a possibility in a deal for a center or a right-handed defenseman. One step at a time, though. Let him get into a game next week at home and get a hat trick!

[bluebloodkc]

Anybody know what number Snuggerud is going to wear?
Holloway is not about to give up 81 and we already have an 18 that is not going anywhere

Real good interview with Snuggy with John Kelly. It was good because the players anxious to join the team and he’s friends with Bolduc and Dvorsky.

dang, I missed that interview. IDK if all teams do those development camps or not, but that seems to be a benefit of them for the Blues - guys like Bolduc, Dvorsky, and Snuggerud get a chance to get to know each other before they're playing with each other full time.

It’s on YouTube if you’re interested.

[DawgDad]

I think he could be a huge addition to the powerplay, given his one timer. But I’ll throw out another possibility……it wouldn’t totally shock me if he ends up being trade bait at some point. I never would have considered that, but with the emergence of Holloway and Bolduc as scorers, maybe it becomes a possibility in a deal for a center or a right-handed defenseman. One step at a time, though. Let him get into a game next week at home and get a hat trick!

Snuggerud has a world-class skill at shooting the puck. He's had great success in college and in international age group competition.

Dvorsky also has met or exceeded expectations at every level, expectations for a #10 overall.

Like Neighbours and Bolduc and Thomas and Kyrou before them the Blues are very likely to groom these guys into solid or star NHL forwards. If they do they will have a solid young core of forwards that could help keep the team competitive for a long time.

Right now I don't see anything motivating Army/Steen to trade one of these young players. If they feel they need another top-6 center, based on what I was reading today, keep the ammunition dry and offer sheet Bedard when his RFA comes up.

[STL fan in MN]

Like the best pure shooter we’ve had since Hull

How much sandpaper does he have in his game?

Is he willing to drop them like the Tkachuk boys?

Short answer: no.

Longer answer: there’s hardly any fighting in college hockey (would be lame with the full cages) so we don’t really know. But no, he doesn’t have Tkachuk level of sandpaper. That said, that’s like level 10 sandpaper. Snuggy isn’t afraid to use his body or take a check. And he has good size. But mixing it up like the Tkachuk brothers? No.

[DawgDad]

Like the best pure shooter we’ve had since Hull

How much sandpaper does he have in his game?

Is he willing to drop them like the Tkachuk boys?

Short answer: no.

Longer answer: there’s hardly any fighting in college hockey (would be lame with the full cages) so we don’t really know. But no, he doesn’t have Tkachuk level of sandpaper. That said, that’s like level 10 sandpaper. Snuggy isn’t afraid to use his body or take a check. And he has good size. But mixing it up like the Tkachuk brothers? No.

That wasn't really a fair or very relevant question. Snuggerud brings in his talent and accumulated experience. He will become what he and the Blues make of him. Like Bolduc (see other thread) it might be a bit more or different than what the scouting report says.

[Sweet Jones]

hey guys - I was going to post this in one of the other Snuggerud topics, but they seemed to have gone a little sideways. I was curious to hear from some of the board's gurus on the minor league / development / draft guys. I read the professional scouting report that says Snuggerud is a good forechecker and has a good shot. I'm just curious, what type of center do you think would best compliment his skills? For discussion's sake, which center in the Blues system would best compliment him?

I know Dvorsky is a rookie too, so a pairing of those two seems unlikely in the immediate future, but is that something that we may see down the road?

Thanks!
-E

As soon as Snuggerud enters the league his shot will be within the top 10-20% in the NHL. He has an absolute laser whether you’re talking a wrist shot, slapper or one-timer. And he has good accuracy too. But he still has plenty to work on to round out the rest of his game. He’s not a great skater and can lose coverage at times. Getting the coaches to trust him out there 5 on 5 will likely be his biggest hurdle. I’d like to see him play a game or two yet this season so he can experience the NHL pace so he truly knows what he needs to work on this summer to give himself a legit shot at making the team in camp next season.

As for the ideal C for him, it’s Thomas or that type of distributor. Dvorsky is more of a scoring center. Not that you can’t put two shooters together but generally a guy that tends to shoot meshes best with a guy that tends to set up plays. That and both Dvorsky and Snuggerud share the same main weakness, skating, so another reason why they’re likely not a great combo going forward.

But not everyone can play with Thomas. Snuggy is going to have to learn to be able to produce with lesser Cs to get an opportunity on the top line with Thomas.

For those of us who havent seen, any thoughts on how his wrister compares to Tarasenko’s?

[kimzey59]

hey guys - I was going to post this in one of the other Snuggerud topics, but they seemed to have gone a little sideways. I was curious to hear from some of the board's gurus on the minor league / development / draft guys. I read the professional scouting report that says Snuggerud is a good forechecker and has a good shot. I'm just curious, what type of center do you think would best compliment his skills? For discussion's sake, which center in the Blues system would best compliment him?

I know Dvorsky is a rookie too, so a pairing of those two seems unlikely in the immediate future, but is that something that we may see down the road?

Thanks!
-E

As soon as Snuggerud enters the league his shot will be within the top 10-20% in the NHL. He has an absolute laser whether you’re talking a wrist shot, slapper or one-timer. And he has good accuracy too. But he still has plenty to work on to round out the rest of his game. He’s not a great skater and can lose coverage at times. Getting the coaches to trust him out there 5 on 5 will likely be his biggest hurdle. I’d like to see him play a game or two yet this season so he can experience the NHL pace so he truly knows what he needs to work on this summer to give himself a legit shot at making the team in camp next season.

As for the ideal C for him, it’s Thomas or that type of distributor. Dvorsky is more of a scoring center. Not that you can’t put two shooters together but generally a guy that tends to shoot meshes best with a guy that tends to set up plays. That and both Dvorsky and Snuggerud share the same main weakness, skating, so another reason why they’re likely not a great combo going forward.

But not everyone can play with Thomas. Snuggy is going to have to learn to be able to produce with lesser Cs to get an opportunity on the top line with Thomas.

For those of us who havent seen, any thoughts on how his wrister compares to Tarasenko’s?

VERY similar.

About equal on the release.
Vladdy probably has a little more velo(simply because of his weight).
Snuggles might be more accurate.

Result's TBD.

[John Cocktoastin]

hey guys - I was going to post this in one of the other Snuggerud topics, but they seemed to have gone a little sideways. I was curious to hear from some of the board's gurus on the minor league / development / draft guys. I read the professional scouting report that says Snuggerud is a good forechecker and has a good shot. I'm just curious, what type of center do you think would best compliment his skills? For discussion's sake, which center in the Blues system would best compliment him?

I know Dvorsky is a rookie too, so a pairing of those two seems unlikely in the immediate future, but is that something that we may see down the road?

Thanks!
-E

As soon as Snuggerud enters the league his shot will be within the top 10-20% in the NHL. He has an absolute laser whether you’re talking a wrist shot, slapper or one-timer. And he has good accuracy too. But he still has plenty to work on to round out the rest of his game. He’s not a great skater and can lose coverage at times. Getting the coaches to trust him out there 5 on 5 will likely be his biggest hurdle. I’d like to see him play a game or two yet this season so he can experience the NHL pace so he truly knows what he needs to work on this summer to give himself a legit shot at making the team in camp next season.

As for the ideal C for him, it’s Thomas or that type of distributor. Dvorsky is more of a scoring center. Not that you can’t put two shooters together but generally a guy that tends to shoot meshes best with a guy that tends to set up plays. That and both Dvorsky and Snuggerud share the same main weakness, skating, so another reason why they’re likely not a great combo going forward.

But not everyone can play with Thomas. Snuggy is going to have to learn to be able to produce with lesser Cs to get an opportunity on the top line with Thomas.

For those of us who havent seen, any thoughts on how his wrister compares to Tarasenko’s?

Wrister
Link

Slapshot
Link

[STL fan in MN]

Like the best pure shooter we’ve had since Hull

How much sandpaper does he have in his game?

Is he willing to drop them like the Tkachuk boys?

Short answer: no.

Longer answer: there’s hardly any fighting in college hockey (would be lame with the full cages) so we don’t really know. But no, he doesn’t have Tkachuk level of sandpaper. That said, that’s like level 10 sandpaper. Snuggy isn’t afraid to use his body or take a check. And he has good size. But mixing it up like the Tkachuk brothers? No.

That wasn't really a fair or very relevant question. Snuggerud brings in his talent and accumulated experience. He will become what he and the Blues make of him. Like Bolduc (see other thread) it might be a bit more or different than what the scouting report says.

That’s fair. But I’d be quite surprised if he ever has a Tkachuk level of nasty. Not fair to expect something like that out of him either. Just isn’t his game.

[STL fan in MN]

hey guys - I was going to post this in one of the other Snuggerud topics, but they seemed to have gone a little sideways. I was curious to hear from some of the board's gurus on the minor league / development / draft guys. I read the professional scouting report that says Snuggerud is a good forechecker and has a good shot. I'm just curious, what type of center do you think would best compliment his skills? For discussion's sake, which center in the Blues system would best compliment him?

I know Dvorsky is a rookie too, so a pairing of those two seems unlikely in the immediate future, but is that something that we may see down the road?

Thanks!
-E

As soon as Snuggerud enters the league his shot will be within the top 10-20% in the NHL. He has an absolute laser whether you’re talking a wrist shot, slapper or one-timer. And he has good accuracy too. But he still has plenty to work on to round out the rest of his game. He’s not a great skater and can lose coverage at times. Getting the coaches to trust him out there 5 on 5 will likely be his biggest hurdle. I’d like to see him play a game or two yet this season so he can experience the NHL pace so he truly knows what he needs to work on this summer to give himself a legit shot at making the team in camp next season.

As for the ideal C for him, it’s Thomas or that type of distributor. Dvorsky is more of a scoring center. Not that you can’t put two shooters together but generally a guy that tends to shoot meshes best with a guy that tends to set up plays. That and both Dvorsky and Snuggerud share the same main weakness, skating, so another reason why they’re likely not a great combo going forward.

But not everyone can play with Thomas. Snuggy is going to have to learn to be able to produce with lesser Cs to get an opportunity on the top line with Thomas.

For those of us who havent seen, any thoughts on how his wrister compares to Tarasenko’s?

VERY similar.

About equal on the release.
Vladdy probably has a little more velo(simply because of his weight).
Snuggles might be more accurate.

Result's TBD.

Agreed. I hesitate to compare a prospect to a proven shooter like Tarasenko but in comparing him to the KHL version of Tarasenko, there’s sure a lot of similarities. I like, I may even give Snuggy the edge in accuracy. But the one thing Tarasenko had that made his shot so deadly was his deception. He had this ability to angle the blade of his stick in a way to not give away where he was aiming. Only a few players ever have I seen have that ability. Snuggy doesn’t have that but his shot is clearly elite.

[Sweet Jones]

For those of us who havent seen, any thoughts on how his wrister compares to Tarasenko’s?

VERY similar.

About equal on the release.
Vladdy probably has a little more velo(simply because of his weight).
Snuggles might be more accurate.

Result's TBD.

Thanks.

[Sweet Jones]

For those of us who havent seen, any thoughts on how his wrister compares to Tarasenko’s?

Wrister
Link

Slapshot
Link

That slapped is nasty. Thanks for posting.

[Sweet Jones]

For those of us who havent seen, any thoughts on how his wrister compares to Tarasenko’s?

VERY similar.

About equal on the release.
Vladdy probably has a little more velo(simply because of his weight).
Snuggles might be more accurate.

Result's TBD.

Agreed. I hesitate to compare a prospect to a proven shooter like Tarasenko but in comparing him to the KHL version of Tarasenko, there’s sure a lot of similarities. I like, I may even give Snuggy the edge in accuracy. But the one thing Tarasenko had that made his shot so deadly was his deception. He had this ability to angle the blade of his stick in a way to not give away where he was aiming. Only a few players ever have I seen have that ability. Snuggy doesn’t have that but his shot is clearly elite.

Thanks.

[Harry York 37]

It will be lovely to have three lethal right side snipers.

It is odd that, even though they are outnumbered at least two to one, a strangely high number of right shots are near the top of the baddest sniper lists every year.

Bossy, Brett Hull, Ovechkin… killer shooters. None better…ever.

[Old_Goat]

Next year...
Bolduc-Thomas-Buchnevich
Holloway-Schenn(?)-Kyrou
Neighbours-Dvorsky-Snuggerud

The left stick Dvorsky feeds the right shot Snuggerud more efficiently. And the right stick Thomas feeds the left shot Bolduc...as if that really matters for Thomas with his overall ability. And Neighbours provides a physical checking protection and net front distraction for the youngsters. Which line do you call your Top Line, or 2nd Line?...how about just top 3 scoring lines to be matched according to the opponent?

Regarding to other comments re Snuggerud has an All-Star shot, but what else...it kind of reminds me of a young known-name player out of the University of MN-Duluth almost 40 years ago with whom similar questions were brought up.

It's a fun time to be a Blues Fan.

[wiscrev]

Next year...
Bolduc-Thomas-Buchnevich
Holloway-Schenn(?)-Kyrou
Neighbours-Dvorsky-Snuggerud

The left stick Dvorsky feeds the right shot Snuggerud more efficiently. And the right stick Thomas feeds the left shot Bolduc...as if that really matters for Thomas with his overall ability. And Neighbours provides a physical checking protection and net front distraction for the youngsters. Which line do you call your Top Line, or 2nd Line?...how about just top 3 scoring lines to be matched according to the opponent?

Regarding to other comments re Snuggerud has an All-Star shot, but what else...it kind of reminds me of a young known-name player out of the University of MN-Duluth almost 40 years ago with whom similar questions were brought up.

It's a fun time to be a Blues Fan.

And to the UMD player, somewhere around the house I have a set of his college hockey cards.