Joe Snively: 2023 Annual Review And Forecast

Posted on June 27, 2023 by Jon Sorensen


Next up in our annual prospect review and forecast series is Joe Snively, forward for the Hershey Bears and Washington Capitals. (You can access all of our Capitals Prospect Reports and player analysis on our “Prospects” page or right here.)

VITALS

Snively is a 27-year-old left-handed winger who played for Yale prior to graduating in the spring of 2019. The Herndon, Virginia native was never drafted but signed a two-year contract with the Capitals in 2019 for $925,000 per year on March 18, 2019. The Capitals re-signed Snively to a one-year, two-way contract extension on June 3, 2021 and re-signed him to a two-year deal on March 16, 2022. He will be a restricted free agent in 2024-25.

CAREER SUMMARY

Snively played three seasons (2012-15) for the Sioux City Muskateers in the United States Hockey League (USHL), improving in goals and assists each season.

Snively then played four seasons at Yale University. During the 2015-16 season, he scored 10 goals and had 18 assists and was the Ivy League Rookie of the Year. During the 2016-17 season, Snively scored 14 goals and had 25 assists. He received Honorable Mention in each of his first two seasons at Yale.

During his junior year, 2017-18, Snively posted 19 goals, had 17 assists and was First Team All-Ivy Selection and a Second Team All-ECAC Selection. During the 2018-19 season, his senior year, he recorded 15 goals, had 21 assists and was a Hobey Baker Award nomination. He was also a First Team All-ECAC, First Team All-Ivy, and First-Team All-New England selections.

After signing with the Capitals, Snively signed a Player Tryout (PTO) Contract with the Hershey Bears after his college season was over. Snively played in nine games for the Bears near the end of the 2018-19 season, and in his short time there, scored two goals and had five assists.

The 2019-2020 season was a breakout season for Snively. He recorded 12 goals and 12 assists in just 45 games played, finishing with a shooting percentage of 15.0% for the season. He also recorded his first professional hat trick on February 25th against the defending champion Charlotte Checkers. Snively finished the COVID-abbreviated season first in goals and second in points among all Bears rookies. He had 14 goals and 17 assists in just 54 AHL games.

The 2020-21 season was relatively quiet for Snively. He recorded six goals and 11 assists in 30 games played, which is not bad, but there was no significant step forward during the abbreviated season, which is understandable, considering the pandemic.

Snively’s 2021-22 season was another break-out campaign. After a relatively quiet first month of the season, Snively caught fire in November recording 14 points. He continued his excellent play until he was recalled by the Capitals at the end of January. He would not return to the Bears the rest of the season, however, his body of work through January was enough for him to be awarded team co-MVP. Snively scored four goals and three assists in just 12 games with the Capitals but unfortunately suffered a wrist injury at the beginning of March, which ended his season.

Snively began the 2022-23 season with the Capitals, but spent most of his time in the press box during games. His time would have been better spent in Hershey, but he was not waivers-exempt, and the Capitals did not want to risk waiving to re-assign to Hershey. The Capitals ultimately risked it and waived Snively. He cleared and was re-assigned to Hershey on January 8. Snively did well with the Bears, posting nine goals and 18 assists in 32 regular season games, and added two goals and 13 assists in the postseason. His 15 playoff points led all Bears in scoring.

2022-2023 MONTH-BY-MONTH RECAP AND TREND ANALYSIS

The following is a compilation of our month-by-month prospect reports for Joe Snively during the 2022-2023 season. Also included are his monthly scores (0-5, with 2.5 being average). You can find all of our monthly prospect reports on our “Prospects” page in the top menu.

OCTOBER

Snively began the 2022-23 campaign in Washington but played in just two games for the Capitals in the month of October. He had no points in those two games. Snively was essentially the Capitals 13th forward in Octo

Monthly Score: 2.5

NOVEMBER

Snively’s time as the Capitals 13th forward continued for the most part in November. He played in three games and recorded an assist.

Monthly Score: 2.5

DECEMBER

Snively played in just one game in December, as forward began returning from injury. This would ultimately lead to the Capitals risking placing him on waivers in order to re-assign to Hershey in early January. Snively had played in just six games in the first three months of the season.

Monthly Score: 2.5

JANUARY

After spending a lot of time on press box duty in Washington, the Capitals ultimately put Snively on waivers when Tom Wilson and Nicklas Backstrom returned from long-term injuries. Once he cleared, the Herndon, Virginia native joined the Bears.

Snively picked up right where he left off last season when he was summoned to the NHL. He had the secondary assist on Mike Sgarbossa tying goal against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in his first game back on January 11.

The Yale University alum then went on a three-game goal-scoring streak. He opened the scoring in the first period versus Springfield on January 13 when he burst down the left wing and snapped a shot by Joel Hofer.

The next night, he potted Hershey’s fifth goal in a 6-2 win over Springfield. Then, Snively gave Hershey a 1-0 lead in the first period with a power play goal in Laval on January 20.

After failing to score in Belleville, Snively posted his first multi-point game of the season on January 25 on the road against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He started by earning a secondary helper on Connor McMichael’s first period goal. Snively then put the Bears in front with a power play marker in the second. With the game tied after two, he gave the lead for good a minute into the third period. Snively stole the puck from Kevin Connauton and cruised into the right circle. He snapped a shot past the blocker of Samuel Ersson for the eventual game winner in a 5-2 Hershey win.

Snively scored five goals and added two assists in eight games in January. The addition of Snively makes the Bears a deeper team offensively.

Monthly Score: 3.5

FEBRUARY

Snively split the month between Hershey and Washington. He compiled three assists in seven games in February for the Bears. He picked up the secondary helper on Connor McMichael’s game-winning goal in Bridgeport on February 3.

The Yale University product suited up for a pair of games for the Capitals. Snively netted a goal and added an assist against Carolina on February 14.

Monthly Score: 3.5

MARCH

Snively amassed a team-leading 12 points in March. He opened the month with his first three-point game of the campaign. He gave the Bears a 3-1 lead over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the second period.

The Herndon, Virginia native pulled the puck to his backhand in front of Dustin Tokarski’s goal and elevated his over the glove. After the Penguins rallied to tie the game in the third, Snively put the chocolate and white back in front with 4:05 remaining in regulation by snapping a shot of the skate of Tokarski and in. It was the game-winning tally. He completed his three point effort with an assist on Mike Vecchione’sempty netter.

The two goals against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton were his only markers of the month, but Snively contributed eight assists the rest of the month.

He registered two assists against Providence on March 11 and versus Rochester on March 24. The Virginian has 21 points in 26 games this season.

Monthly Score: 4.0

POSTSEASON

Snively’s goal scoring dried up in the postseason, but his points production did not. He recorded just two goals in 20 games but added 13 assists.

His 15 points led all Bears in postseason scoring.

Monthly Score: 4.0

MONTHLY SCORE SUMMARY

PLAYER FORECAST

Snively’s 2022-23 season was a tale of two seasons. The first half was spent in the Capitals press box while the second half of the season he was a key ingredient in the Bears run for a 12th Calder Cup.

Snively will be just one of a few prospects who has an honest shot at making the Capitals lineup this fall (along with McMichael, Malenstyn, Protas and Frank). However, at 27, Snively’s window of opportunity for a full time role on the team is beginning to draw to a close. He needs to lock it down this fall.

By Jon Sorensen

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2022-2023 Prospect Reviews And Forecasts

Connor McMichael 
Hendrix Lapierre
Beck Malenstyn
Hunter Shepard
Ivan Miroshnichenko
Ryan Chesley
Joaquim Lemay
Mitchell Gibson
Chase Clark
Brent Johnson
David Gucciardi
Oskar Magnusson
Jake Karabela
Ludwig Persson
Clay Stevenson
Bear Hughes
Haakon Hanelt
Benton Maass
Martin Has
Henrik Rybinski
Bogdan Trineyev
Alexander Suzdalev
Ryan Hofer
Dru Krebs

About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.
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