Jimmy Snuggerud is ready for the St. Louis Blues right now

The St. Louis Blues have a gem in Jimmy Snuggerud.

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IHOCKEY-JUNIOR-USA-NOR | ADAM IHSE/TT/GettyImages

The St. Louis Blues are a "middle of the pack" NHL team this season. At 18-15-1, they have 31 standings points which is only good for sixth place in the Central Division.

They are very much in the Wild Card race but they are surrounded by a lot of teams in the standings. Both the Central and Pacific Division have a few teams in that mix that the Blues would have to overcome to make it.

They do have some good young players to be excited about though and not all of them are currently in the NHL or AHL. Jimmy Snuggerud is at (or near) the top of that list right now.

The Blues drafted Snuggerud in the first round (22nd overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft. He currently plays for the University of Minnesota but he is making a major impact at the World Junior championships taking place in Sweden.

The St. Louis Blues have a future star in USA forward Jimmy Snuggerud.

Jimmy Snuggerud had a goal in Team USA's opener a couple of days ago against Norway to get going on the right foot. Well, in their game on Thursday against Switzerland, he took his game to another level.

Snuggerud had a hat trick in the 11-3 win over the Swiss. He also added an assist on a goal scored by Zeev Biuim. It was an incredible game for him as he clearly loves playing in this tournament. He had five goals and eight assists for 13 points last year playing for Team USA in this event.

In 18 games with Minnesota so far this season, Snuggerud has 11 goals and five assists for 16 points. They will have a chance to be a Frozen Four team later this year if all goes well. Snuggerud will be one of the leaders of that quest.

This is a player ready for the NHL right now. He'd be able to step into the St. Louis Blues lineup and produce. He has a great shot and he knows how to get to the good scoring areas. It should be so fun to see him on the power play with a guy like Robert Thomas.