Julia Snow has been named the assistant athletic trainer for the Springfield Thunderbirds – the St. Louis Blues’ American Hockey League affiliate – making her the third female hired to work as an athletic trainer the AHL.
Snow spent last season as head athletic trainer for the ECHL’s Worcester Railers and has previous experience in a variety of Division I sports, indoor arena football and amateur baseball.
“(She) was a huge help for us in Springfield last season as we got almost all of our (player) call-ups from Worcester,” said Thunderbirds Head Athletic Trainer Koryd Lavimoniere. “She is so passionate and detailed with her work that she really stood out to us during this hiring process.”
“I definitely trust in their process that I’ve been able to see firsthand,” Snow told stlouisblues.com of working with the Thunderbirds’ hockey staff. “They were so easy to work with – I was never worried I was doing something wrong, and I was never too stressed out working with them. They had the utmost faith in me… When (Lavimoniere) reached out to me about this job, I was all the more honored.”
Over the course of the year, Snow developed a close working relationship with the Thunderbirds. One of the players that Snow worked with was goaltender Colten Ellis, drafted by the Blues in the 2019 NHL Draft. The 21-year-old goalie played in 40 games last season between the two teams – 34 for Worcester and six for Springfield. As well as his physical health, Snow helped Ellis adjust mentally to a more full-time professional hockey lifestyle.
Snow embraces the challenge of the faster pace, harder hits and higher intensity that will come at the professional level. Being able to weather the physicality while also staying focused day-in and day-out is a major part of what has drawn her to working in hockey.
“One of the reasons that I fell in love with hockey was the ability to bring that mental component into the game – making sure that every shift is a new slate,” she said. “(I want to make sure) that the (players) won’t dwell on stuff they did poorly and that they can move on and show up the next day. Their ability to do that is insane to me.”
Last season, two women made their debuts as behind-the-bench training staff for regular-season NHL games following call ups from their AHL roles. Aisha Visram, called up as head trainer for the Los Angeles Kings; and Kedryn Orrison Pilgrim, called up as a member of the staff for the Buffalo Sabres, became just the second and third women to work behind the bench as trainers at the NHL level.
“It’s something that I’m going to celebrate all the time,” said Snow. “The fact that these women and their hard work and perseverance are finally getting recognized on a national scale is huge. Hopefully we can get more, where it’s not a surprise to see women behind the bench and in athletic training rooms.”
With a broad set of experiences and coming into a championship-level organization in Springfield, Snow is eager to make her mark on the Thunderbirds and continue building her career.
