On Campus: Snuggerud among NCAA players with NHL alumni fathers

If you want to be a college hockey player, it doesn't hurt to have a father who played at the highest level.

This season, like in the past, several NCAA players have dads who made it to the NHL.
Jimmy Snuggerud of the University of Minnesota, ranked No. 1 this week, is the best current example of a top college player whose father skated in the NHL.
Hockey runs deep in Jimmy's family. Dave Snuggerud played at Minnesota and for the United States at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. He went on to play 265 NHL games for the Buffalo Sabres, San Jose Sharks and Philadelphia Flyers after the Sabres took the forward with the No. 2 pick in the 1987 NHL Supplemental Draft.
Jimmy's maternal grandfather, James Westby, was a defenseman at Minnesota and skated for the United States at the 1964 Innsbruck Olympics.
A freshman wing, Jimmy is seventh in the NCAA with 37 points (16 goals, 21 assists) in 28 games. His plus-22 rating is tied for third.
At the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, only Connor Bedard (23) and Logan Cooley (14) had more points than Snuggerud, who had 13 (five goals, eight assists) for the United States. It's easy to see why the St. Louis Blues selected him in the first round (No. 23) of the 2022 NHL Draft.
Here are some other college players with dads who played in the NHL.
Mike Benning
The junior defenseman at the University of Denver was named Most Outstanding Player in the 2022 Frozen Four and has 24 points (eight goals, 16 assists) in 28 games this season for the defending NCAA national champions. His father, Brian Benning, played 568 games as a defenseman for the Blues, Los Angeles Kings, Flyers, Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers.
Mike was selected by the Panthers in the fourth round (No. 95) of the 2020 NHL Draft.
Jackson Blake
The freshman forward at the University of North Dakota has 30 points (12 goals, 18 assists) in 27 games. He was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the fourth round (No. 109) of the 2021 NHL Draft.
Jackson's father, Jason Blake, played 871 games for the Kings, New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs and Anaheim Ducks.
Brett Chorske
The sophomore wing at Colorado College has three points (two goals, one assist) in 18 games. His father, Tom Chorske, was a forward at the University of Minnesota. He played 596 NHL games for seven different teams and won the Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 1995.
Marek Hejduk
The freshman forward at Harvard was the hero in the semifinals of the Beanpot tournament. He scored his second goal of the game with 1.5 seconds left in overtime for a 4-3 win against Boston College on Monday that sent Harvard to the championship game against Northeastern on Feb. 13.
Marek has six points (four goals, two assists) in 23 games. His father, Milan Hejduk, played 1,020 games for the Colorado Avalanche, winning the Stanley Cup in 2001 and the Rocket Richard Trophy after leading the NHL with 50 goals in 2002-03.
Josh Doan
The sophomore forward at Arizona State University is second on the Sun Devils with 24 points (eight goals, 16 assists) in 31 games. His father, Shane Doan, played 1,540 games -- his entire NHL career -- with the Arizona Coyotes and was captain for 13 seasons. Shane is Arizona's chief hockey development officer.
Ryan Johnson
The Sabres selected the senior defenseman in the first round (No. 31) of the 2019 NHL Draft and he has 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 28 games at Minnesota this season. His father, Craig Johnson, played 557 games for five NHL teams and is an assistant coach with the Ducks.
Mason Langenbrunner
The freshman defenseman at Harvard was selected by the Boston Bruins in the fifth round (No. 151) of the 2020 draft. He scored his first NCAA goal, his only point in 23 games, in a 3-2 win at Yale on Jan. 20.
Mason's father, Jamie Langenbrunner, played 1,109 NHL games for the Dallas Stars, Devils and Blues, winning the Stanley Cup with the Stars in 1999 and the Devils in 2003. He's assistant general manager-player personnel for the Bruins.
Chayse Primeau
After playing four years at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, Primeau is a graduate student at the University of Notre Dame, where the forward has 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in 30 games. His father, Keith Primeau, played 909 NHL games and was Flyers captain for four seasons and held the position for the Carolina Hurricanes in 1998-99. His brother, Cayden Primeau, is a goalie in the Montreal Canadiens organization.
Ryder Rolston
The junior forward at Notre Dame has 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 27 games this season. He was selected by the Avalanche in the fifth round (No. 139) of the 2020 draft and was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for Carl Soderberg on April 12, 2021. His father, Brian Rolston, played 1,256 games for six NHL teams and won the Stanley Cup with the Devils in 1995.
Jordan and Zackary Tonelli
Jordan, a freshman, and Zackary, a junior, are forwards at Brown University.
Jordan has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 16 games. Zackary has four assists in 18 games.
Their father is John Tonelli, who played for the Islanders' dynasty that won four straight Stanley Cup championships from 1980 to 1983. John assisted on Bobby Nystrom's overtime goal that lifted New York to its first title and played 1,028 NHL games for five teams.
Matt Vernon
The senior goalie at Colorado College is 4-4-0 with a 2.90 goals-against average and .895 save percentage in 12 games. His father, Mike Vernon, was also a goalie, and won the Cup with the Calgary Flames in 1989 and the Detroit Red Wings in 1997. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy voted as most valuable player of the 1997 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Danny Weight
The junior forward at Colorado College has four points (one goal, three assists) in 16 games this season. His father, Doug Weight, played 1,238 games for six NHL teams and was Islanders coach from 2016 to 2018.