Scott Perunovich
Hobey Baker Award winner and former St. Louis Blues defenseman.
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Scott Douglas Perunovich (born August 18, 1998) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Los Angeles Kings in the NHL. He was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the second round, 45th overall, in the 2018 NHL entry draft. During his college career at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Perunovich earned AHCA East First-Team All-American honors, was named to the NCHC First All-Conference Team, the All-Tournament Team, and the NCHC All-Rookie team. He also received the NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year award, NCHC Rookie of the Year, and the Hobey Baker Award.
International play
Internationally, Perunovich represented the United States at the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, where the team finished fifth, and at the 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, winning a bronze medal.
Personal life
Perunovich was born in Hibbing, Minnesota, to Jim and Susan Perunovich. He is of Montenegrin descent; his paternal great-grandparents, Nikola and Stana Perunović, immigrated to Hibbing from Montenegro.
Nikola was a descendant of the Pješivci tribe, and Perunovich’s ancestors fought against the Ottoman Empire. He began figure skating at age four before switching to hockey. His uncle, Doug Torrel, played for the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs from 1988 to 1992 and was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in 1987, but Perunovich was drawn to the school because of its team’s success.
Playing career
Perunovich attended Hibbing High School from 2014 to 2017, playing three seasons of prep hockey and tennis. In 2014, while playing for the Hibbing Bantam A team, he was drafted by the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the USHL but chose to stay at Hibbing, leading the team to a 37–10–5 record and becoming a finalist for Bantam Player of the Year. In 2015, he committed to play Division I hockey for the University of Minnesota Duluth starting in 2017–18.
Team USA head coach Derek Plante called him a “very crafty, a smart hockey player.” During the 2015–16 season, Perunovich and Jake Jolowsky won the Section 7A doubles title and qualified for the Minnesota high school boys tennis state tournament for a third straight year. He won 80 percent of his matches and was named Tennis Player of the Year by the Mesabi Daily News, Hibbing Daily Tribune, and Grand Rapids Herald Review. In January 2016, he played two games for the U.S. National Under-18 Team against St. Cloud State.
Lore & Background
Perunovich played prep hockey and tennis at Hibbing High School, winning a Section 7A doubles title with Jake Jolowsky. He committed to the University of Minnesota Duluth for the 2017–18 season. In his freshman year, he recorded 36 points, tying fourth nationally among defensemen, and helped the Bulldogs win the NCAA National Championship. He was named NCHC Rookie of the Year and Offensive Defenseman of the Year, and set a Bulldogs record for most points by a freshman defenseman.
He returned for his sophomore season, again winning NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year, and helped Duluth win a second consecutive NCAA title. In his junior season, he led the NCHA in assists with 34 and became the first defenseman to lead the conference in scoring. He won the 2020 Hobey Baker Award and was named NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year for the third straight season.
Reader's Guide
Perunovich's collegiate career was marked by exceptional offensive production from the blue line, culminating in the Hobey Baker Award as the top NCAA men's ice hockey player. He was the first Minnesota Duluth player to be named both NCHC Rookie of the Year and Offensive Defenseman of the Year, and he set a program record for points by a freshman defenseman. His three consecutive NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year awards underscored his consistent impact. After signing an entry-level contract with the St. Louis Blues in March 2020, he made his NHL debut on November 18, 2021, recording an assist.
He later signed a one-year contract extension with the Blues in June 2023. During the 2024–25 season, he registered 2 goals and 6 points in 24 appearances before being traded to the New York Islanders on January 27, 2025, in exchange for a conditional fifth-round pick in 2026. He subsequently signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Utah Mammoth on July 1, 2025, but left the club without playing for them, and later signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Los Angeles Kings.
Career statistics and honours
Medals
- Bronze 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2016–17 | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders | USHL | 56 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2017–18 | University of Minnesota–Duluth | NCHC | 42 | 11 | 25 | 36 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2018–19 | University of Minnesota–Duluth | NCHC | 39 | 3 | 26 | 29 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2019–20 | University of Minnesota–Duluth | NCHC | 34 | 6 | 34 | 40 | 64 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2021–22 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 19 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 2021–22 | Springfield Thunderbirds | AHL | 17 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2022–23 | Springfield Thunderbirds | AHL | 22 | 2 | 18 | 20 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023–24 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 54 | 0 | 17 | 17 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2024–25 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 24 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2024–25 | New York Islanders | NHL | 11 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2025–26 | Tucson Roadrunners | AHL | 64 | 9 | 40 | 49 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NHL totals | 108 | 2 | 30 | 32 | 30 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | ||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | United States | IH18 | 5th | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2018 | United States | WJC | Bronze | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 2023 | United States | WC | 4th | 10 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 0 |
| Junior totals | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| Senior totals | 10 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 0 | |||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| USHS | ||
| All-USA Hockey First Team | 2016 | |
| College | ||
| AHCA West First Team All–American | 2018, 2020 | |
| NCHC First All-Conference Team | 2018, 2019 | |
| All–Tournament Team | 2018 | |
| NCHC All–Rookie Team | 2018 | |
| NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year | 2018, 2019, 2020 | |
| NCHC Rookie of the Year | 2018 | |
| Tim Taylor Award | 2018 | |
| AHCA West Second Team All-American | 2019 | |
| Hobey Baker Award | 2020 | |
Tables copied from the source article, totals included as the source gives them: Wikipedia: Scott Perunovich (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wide tables scroll sideways.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Scott Perunovich (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Statistics, medals and awards: the tables of the source article.
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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