Natalie Snodgrass
Natalie Claire Snodgrass is an American professional ice hockey forward for the Seattle Torrent of the Professional Women's Hockey League. She previously played for the Ottawa Charge of the PWHL and Minnesota Whitecaps of the Premier Hockey Federation. She played college ice hockey at UConn where she was a two-year captain and finished as the program's all-time leading goal scorer with 70 goals.
Internationally, Snodgrass represented the United States at the 2015 and 2016 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship, winning gold medals both times. At the 2016 tournament in St. Catharines, she scored both the game-tying goal in the third period and the overtime game-winner as the United States came from behind to defeat Canada 3–2 in the gold medal game. She was named the U.S. Player of the Game and led Team USA in tournament scoring. Snodgrass made her senior national team debut in February 2023 during the Rivalry Series against Canada. She has been described as a power forward with deceptive speed.
Early life
Born to Nancy and Joe Snodgrass in Eagan, Minnesota, Snodgrass is the youngest of three kids including sister Emily and brother John. Hockey runs in the Snodgrass family; her father Joe played college hockey, while both of her siblings also played at the collegiate level. Her sister also played professionally in the European Women's Hockey League with the EV Bozen EaglesSnodgrass began skating on her family's backyard pond in Eagan, surrounded by her hockey-playing family members. Snodgrass attended Eastview High School in Eagan, where she played for the Eastview Lightning girls' hockey team. She was a four-time team MVP, two-time team captain, and four-time all-conference selection. Over six seasons at Eastview, she scored 141 goals, finishing as the school's all-time leading scorer. Her sister Emily had previously held Eastview's all-time scoring record with 97 goals and 91 assists.
During her junior year in 2015–16, Snodgrass had what she described at the time as "the best year of my hockey career." She delivered dramatic late-game heroics in the Class 2A, Section 3 final against rival Eagan, scoring three goals including the game-tying goal with less than 10 seconds remaining in regulation and the overtime winner to send Eastview to the state tournament. For her performance during the season, she was named the 2016 Pioneer Press Metro Player of the Year and a 2016 USA Today First Team All-American. She also earned Minneapolis Star Tribune All-Metro First Team honors and was an All-State selection. Eastview reached the state tournament in her sophomore, junior, and senior years.
Snodgrass was a National Honor Society member and honor roll student-athlete throughout her high school career. She committed to the University of Connecticut to play college hockey, following in her sister Emily's footsteps. According to Darwitz, Snodgrass told her, "I'm going to go put women's hockey on the map at UConn," crediting her for taking an unconventional route and paving her own path.
Playing career
Collegiate
In 2017, Snodgrass began attending the University of Connecticut and played college ice hockey for the Huskies. She chose UConn in part because she had visited her sister Emily, who played for the Huskies from 2011 to 2015 and scored 70 goals for the program, giving head coach Chris MacKenzie the opportunity to recruit her as his most highly touted recruit in six seasons. According to her mentor Natalie Darwitz, Snodgrass told her, "I'm going to go put women's hockey on the map at UConn," crediting her for taking an unconventional route and paving her own path.Snodgrass made an immediate impact in her debut season, scoring the game-winning goal in overtime in the season opener at St. Cloud State on September 29, 2017. During the 2017–18 season, she scored 21 goals and 17 assists in 38 games in her rookie NCAA season, leading Connecticut in points and becoming the first freshman to do so since her sister Emily in the 2011–12 season. Her 38 points ranked eighth in Hockey East and were the second-most among all freshmen in the conference. She also led the team in shots on goal, plus-minus rating, and power play goals, while recording 12 multi-point games and five multi-goal games. In the Hockey East playoffs, Snodgrass scored two goals in the last 10 minutes to lift UConn to a win over Providence in the quarterfinals on February 25, and two more in a 4–2 victory over No. 3 Boston College in the semifinals on March 3. The Huskies, who had been in last place in Hockey East on January 26, completed an improbable run to the Hockey East championship game before losing 2–1 to Northeastern.For her performance, Snodgrass was named to the Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team and earned Hockey East All-Star Honorable Mention. She was also a four-time selection as the Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week.
During the 2018–19 season, in her sophomore year, she scored 12 goals and 17 assists in 36 games, once again leading Connecticut in scoring for the second consecutive season. Between December 30 and January 12, she scored nine goals in five games, all UConn wins. In 34 regular season games, she took 169 shots, 64 more than anyone else on the team. Reflecting on her development, Snodgrass said, "Looking back, I see how mature I've grown as a hockey player. You look at the freshmen now, and you see that there's a learning curve. You don't really realize it... but I used be that player, that inexperienced hockey player, even though I thought I was as talented as the other girls."
Snodgrass was named an assistant captain for the team ahead of the 2019–20 season. She led Connecticut in scoring for the third consecutive season, finishing with 16 goals and 17 assists in 39 games, which ranked tied for seventh in goals and 10th in points in Hockey East. Her season included a career-high five points in a 7–0 shutout of Brown on November 5, seven multi-point games, four multi-assist games, and two multi-goal games. She accumulated two separate five-game point streaks during the season. Snodgrass notched her 100th career collegiate point with a game-winning goal in Game 3 of the Hockey East Quarterfinals on March 1, 2020, becoming the fifth player in Connecticut history to reach the mark. She was named a Hockey East Second Team All-Star and Hockey East Player of the Week on November 18, 2019. The Huskies finished with 19 wins, tying for third-most in program history, and reached the Hockey East championship game.
Snodgrass was named team captain for the 2020–21 season. In October 2020, she was one of 53 players invited to the U.S. Women's National Team Evaluation Camp held at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minnesota. The camp was part of the selection process for the 2021 IIHF Women's World Championship and preparation for the 2022 Olympics. Reflecting on the camp experience, Snodgrass said, "I think the feedback I received at the end of the camp was positive, and I know what to work towards for this season. At the end of the day, the World Championships are after the Hockey East playoffs, which is my first concern." During the COVID-19-shortened season, Snodgrass played in all 20 games, recording six goals and four assists. She led the team with 101 shots and totaled 11 games with five shots or more. She was named a Hockey East Third Team All-Star.
Snodgrass returned for a fifth season as a graduate student, utilizing the extra year of NCAA eligibility granted due to COVID-19 disruptions. She continued as team captain for her final season. During the 2021–22 season, she played in all 37 games, and scored 12 goals and 17 assists. With her 12 goals on the season, she officially became the program's all-time leading goal scorer with 70 career goals, surpassing her sister Emily's previous program record. The 2021–22 season was the most successful in program history, as the Huskies racked up 24 wins and advanced to the Hockey East Championship for the third time in five years. She was named Hockey East All-Star Honorable Mention for the 2021–22 season.
Snodgrass finished her collegiate career with 139 points in 170 games, tied for the most games played in program history. She left UConn as the program's all-time leading goal scorer, second in career points, and second in career assists.
Professional
Minnesota Whitecaps (2022–23)
Following her collegiate career, Snodgrass signed a one-year contract with the Minnesota Whitecaps of the Premier Hockey Federation on July 15, 2022. "The opportunity to come back to Minnesota after playing five years out east with the UConn Huskies is what ultimately attracted me to the Whitecaps," Snodgrass said. "Getting the chance to play for my home team in front of my friends and family is what's going to make this year a special one for me, and I can't wait to get started." Whitecaps head coach Ronda Engelhardt said, "We are very excited to have Natalie back playing in Minnesota. Natalie has a strong presence on the ice and will bring offensive power for us."Snodgrass made an immediate impact in her professional debut, quickly becoming one of the Whitecaps' best players. Through 14 games by early February, Snodgrass led the team with 16 points. She finished the regular season with 20 points in 22 games, tying veteran Jonna Albers for the team lead in scoring. Her 10 goals tied her for third-most game-winning goals in the regular season. On her 24th birthday, December 17, she scored a hat trick, a moment she described as one of the best of her season, which coincidentally occurred the same day as the Minnesota Vikings' historic comeback victory. For the weekend of December 16–18, 2022, she was named PHF First Star of the Week. The Whitecaps started the season slowly, losing their first four games including two overtime defeats. They subsequently won eight of 10 games, rising to third in the league standings and taking a four-game winning streak into the all-star break. The team finished fourth in the standings with a 12–12 record, however they had lost eight consecutive games entering the playoffs.
In February 2023, Snodgrass was selected as one of six Whitecaps players to participate in the PHF All-Star Tournament in Toronto, where she played for Team USA. She assisted on a goal by team captain Sydney Brodt during the tournament. Reflecting on the experience, Snodgrass said, "Honestly, I haven't really expected any of these honors. I just kind of go out and play my best, give it my best shot, have some fun with it. So to get these opportunities have been really fulfilling for me and it's just been a reminder that I made the right choice of coming here." Despite entering the playoffs on an eight-game losing streak and being the fourth seed, the Whitecaps shocked the hockey world by sweeping the two-time defending champion Boston Pride in the semifinals. Minnesota had been 0–4 in their previous meetings against the Pride during the regular season. "I think there's still a lot of people doubting us," Snodgrass said before the final. "I'm not sure anyone thought we were going to make it this far. Why not go win it all?" In Game 2 of the semifinals on March 18, Snodgrass scored her first professional playoff goal at 12:45 of the third period, assisted by Liz Schepers, to put Minnesota ahead 4–1 and effectively seal the victory. She led the Whitecaps with seven shots on goal in the game. ESPN noted that Snodgrass "tied for the third-most regular season game-winning goals and notched another marker in Game 2 against Boston." The Whitecaps advanced to the Isobel Cup Final against the Toronto Six on March 26, 2023, at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona. In the championship game, Snodgrass assisted on goals by Brooke Madsen in the second period and Jonna Albers in the third period. In the second period, Snodgrass made a "sensational pass in front to Brooke Madsen, and Madsen had only to reach out and redirect the puck" to tie the game 2–2. Despite the Whitecaps' efforts, Toronto's Tereza Vanišová scored at 4:19 of overtime to give the Six a 4–3 victory. For her performance in her rookie season, Snodgrass was named a Rookie of the Year finalist and earned PHF All-Star honors. On June 27, 2023, Snodgrass signed a two-year contract extension with the Whitecaps. However, following the signing, the PHF ceased operations and was acquired to form the Professional Women's Hockey League, nullifying the contract.