A fourth round pick by the Vancouver Canucks at the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft, Harold Snepsts is one of just three from that draft year to play in more than 1,000 NHL regular season games. He is also the lowest picked of the three, behind Bryan Trottier and Bob Murray.
Not a goal scorer by any means, Snepsts netted just 38 in his career and only four over his final eight years in the league. Yet, everyone has a role and Harold’s was solid defense. That ability and his likable personality made him a legend in Vancouver. He does not have his number retired by the Canucks but is included in their ‘Ring of Honour’.
Junior and Minor Pro
NHL Career
Hockey Card Collection
Coaching Career
Rookie Card
Career Stats
Harold Snepsts – Junior and Minor Pro
Harold Snepsts played two years of major junior hockey in the WCHL (now WHL) with the Edmonton Oil Kings in 1972-73 and 1973-74. In his first season, the team was led in scoring by Darcy Rota and Doug Soetaert guarded between the pipes.
The Oil Kings finished first in the West Division in 1972-73, one point ahead of the Medicine Hat Tigers. They tied for second overall with the Flin Flon Bombers, behind the first place Saskatoon Blades. Edmonton reached the semi-finals before losing to the Tigers in six games. That Medicine Hat team was led by future NHL greats Tom Lysiak and Lanny McDonald.
In his second season, the Oil Kings tanked, finishing with just 57 points over the 68 game schedule. However, they did qualify for the post season. Edmonton lost to the Calgary Centennials in the quarter-finals. That Calgary team was led by the highly offensive duo of Mike Rogers and Danny Gare.
Time in the minors was very limited for Snepsts. He started his pro career in the Central Hockey League with the Orland Kurtenbach coached Seattle Totems in 1974-75. He played just 19 games with the club, contributing a goal and six assists. He then finished the season in the National Hockey League with the Canucks.
He would play in the minors just one other time during his career. In 1987-88, while with the Detroit Red Wings, Harold had a three game stint in the American Hockey League with the Adirondack Red Wings.
Harold Snepsts – NHL
Between 1974-75 and 1990-91, Harold Snepsts played in 1,033 regular season National Hockey League games. Over that time, he scored 38 and assisted on 195 for 233 points while sitting 2,009 penalty minutes. In 93 Stanley Cup playoff games, he added a goal and 14 assists.
Harold Snepsts Collection
Over his career, Snepsts played mostly for the Vancouver Canucks but also saw time with the Minnesota North Stars, Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues. Vancouver selected him in the fourth round of the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft, 59th overall. He was also taken by the Indianapolis Racers in the sixth round of the WHA Amateur Draft, 76th overall.
Never a Stanley Cup champion, Harold did help the Canucks to the finals in 1981-82 before being swept by the New York Islanders. Twice with Detroit, 1986-87 and 1987-88, he helped that club to the semi-finals. Both years, the Red Wings lost to the Edmonton Oilers in five games.
His top offensive season came in 1978-79 with the Canucks. That year, he scored seven goals and assisted on 24 for 31 points, all career highs. In 1984-85, Harold finished sixth in the NHL with 232 penalty minutes. His 2,009 career PIM place him 55th on the all-time list.
Snepsts still sits seventh all-time for most games played in a Vancouver Canucks jersey with 784. His 1,446 PIM with the Canucks places him fourth all-time. His 99 playoff PIM with Vancouver puts him seventh all-time with the team.
On March 14, 2011, Harold Snepsts was inducted into the Vancouver Canucks Ring of Honour.
Harold Snepsts – Coaching
Following his retirement from the game as a player following the 1990-91 season, Harold Snepsts remained in the St. Louis Blues organization, coaching the IHL affiliate in Peoria. The Rivermen finished second in the West Division, behind the Kansas City Blades and third overall in the league. Peoria then lost to the Blades in the semi-finals. Goaltender Guy Hebert was the most notable player on that Rivermen team.
The following year, he was promoted to the NHL as assistant coach for the Blues. Bob Plager started the season as head coach but was replaced by Bob Berry eleven games into the campaign. Guy Hebert also made the move and was backup to Curtis Joseph in 1992-93. The team was led by Craig Janney, Brett Hull and Brendan Shanahan. The Blues lost in the division finals to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It was back to the IHL for Harold in 1993-94, this time as head coach of the San Diego Gulls. That team finished second in the Pacific Division and was swept in the semi-finals by the Atlanta Knights. The IHL was full of well known head coaches that year, including: Ken Hitchcock, Bruce Boudreau, Paul MacLean, Duane Sutter, Butch Goring, Rick Dudley and Terry Murray.
In 1998-99, Snepsts returned to the junior league he played in back in 1972-73 and 1973-74. He took on the role of head coach with the Portland Winter Hawks of the WHL. The team finished fifth in the seven team West Division and was led by Brendan Morrow. He returned to the Winter Hawks for the start of 1999-00 but was replaced midseason by Mike Williamson.
Harold Snepsts – Rookie Card
The Harold Snepsts rookie card appears as number 396 in the 1975-76 O-Pee-Chee NHL hockey card set. He is shown with the Vancouver Canucks and has the distinction of being on the last card in the 396 card set. As per his 1975-76 OPC rookie card, Harold’s first NHL goal and his only goal of the 1974-75 season was shorthanded.
Harold’s final card is inluded in the 1990-91 ProSet hockey card collection as number 527. He is shown with the St. Louis Blues.
Harold Snepsts – Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1972-73 | Edmonton Oil Kings | WCHL | 68 | 2 | 24 | 26 | 155 |
| 1973-74 | Edmonton Oil Kings | WCHL | 68 | 8 | 41 | 49 | 239 |
| 1974-75 | Seattle Totems | CHL | 19 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 58 |
| 1974-75 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 27 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 30 |
| 1975-76 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 78 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 125 |
| 1976-77 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 79 | 4 | 18 | 22 | 149 |
| 1977-78 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 75 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 118 |
| 1978-79 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 76 | 7 | 24 | 31 | 130 |
| 1979-80 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 79 | 3 | 20 | 23 | 202 |
| 1980-81 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 76 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 212 |
| 1981-82 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 68 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 153 |
| 1982-83 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 46 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 80 |
| 1983-84 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 79 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 152 |
| 1984-85 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 71 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 232 |
| 1985-86 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 35 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 75 |
| 1986-87 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 54 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 129 |
| 1987-88 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| 1987-88 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 31 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 67 |
| 1988-89 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 59 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 69 |
| 1989-90 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 39 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 26 |
| 1989-90 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1990-91 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 54 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 50 |
| NHL Totals | 1033 | 38 | 195 | 233 | 2009 |