Jake Neighbours

Jake Neighbours (born March 29, 2002) is a Canadian junior ice hockey left winger who currently plays for the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL) as a prospect to the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Blues in the 1st round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft with the 26th overall pick.

Jake Neighbours
Born (2002-03-29) March 29, 2002
Airdrie, Alberta, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shoots Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team
St. Louis Blues
Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
NHL Draft 26th overall, 2020
St. Louis Blues
Playing career TBDpresent

Early life

Neighbours was born on March 29, 2002, in Airdrie, Alberta, Canada.[1] When praised for his maturity, he cites the wide age gap between his half and step-siblings as the reason. In an interview, he said "once you get to the age of 10 or 11 and your brothers are 14 years older than you, your brothers don't want to hang out with you anymore if you're going to be an annoying kid. So I've learned from a young age to be mature and relaxed so my brothers would want me around."[2]

Playing career

Growing up in Alberta, Neighbours competed with the Calgary Midget AAA Buffaloes of the Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League[3] and Airdrie Xtreme in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League. He transferred from the Xtreme to the Kelowna Pursuit of Excellence Bantam Prep team before being drafted fourth overall pick in the 2017 Western Hockey League (WHL) bantam draft by the Edmonton Oil Kings. During his draft-eligible year, Neighbours recorded 68 points in 30 regular-season games and 11 points in the playoffs.[4]

Neighbours joined the Oil Kings for their 2018–19 season, recording 24 points in 47 regular-season games and earning two WHL Rookie of the Month awards. His play helped push the Oil Kings into the post-season, where he was the team's only rookie to score during the playoffs.[5] After returning from a loss with Canada White, Neighbours suffered an upper-body injury during a fight against a Red Deer Rebels player and was forced to sit out for 12 games. Upon returning to the lineup in February, he was given a five-minute major for boarding and game misconduct, followed by a four-game suspension.[6] In his sophomore season with the Oil Kings, Neighbours averaged more than one point per game, tallying 70 points in 64 regular-season games before the WHL season was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] Prior to the pause in the season, he was invited to participate at the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game[7] and was ranked 30th amongst all North American Skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's Midterm Draft Rankings.[8] He was also the recipient of teams' Most Improved Player Award and Scholastic Award,[9] having previously named to the league's named to WHL Academic Spotlight for December as a student at Salisbury Composite High School.[10]

Leading up to the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Neighbours was ranked 26th among North American skaters, a boost from his previous rank of 30.[11] He was eventually drafted in the first round, 26th overall, of the 2020 NHL Draft by the St. Louis Blues.[5] Neighbours began the 2020–21 season with signing a three-year entry-level contract with the Blues on October 17, 2020.[12] He attended the Blues' training camp but was re-assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Utica Comets, to begin the season as he is eligible to be on the AHL roster until his junior season starts.[13]

International play

On October 16, 2018, Neighbours and Oil Kings teammate Sebastian Cossa were two of 66 players selected to represent Canada at the 2018 World U-17 Hockey Challenge.[14] Prior to the start of the tournament, Neighbours named captain of Canada White while Kaiden Guhle of the Prince Albert Raiders was selected to lead Canada Red.[15] The following year, Neighbours was named to the Canada men's national junior ice hockey team for the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup,[16] where he helped them win a silver medal.[17]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2017–18 Calgary Buffaloes AMHL 3326315712 513412
2017–18 Edmonton Oil Kings WHL 110446
2018–19 Edmonton Oil Kings WHL 4711132425 16481210
2019–20 Edmonton Oil Kings WHL 6423477039
WHL totals 12234649870 16481210

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2018 Canada White U17 6th 53362
2019 Canada HG18 50004
Junior totals 103366

References

  1. "Jake Neighbours". eliteprospects.com. Elite Prospects. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  2. McCarthy, Dave (April 23, 2020). "2020 Draft: Neighbours' maturity part of what makes him top prospect". nhl.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  3. Warner, Alyscia (January 31, 2020). "2020 NHL Draft Profile: Jake Neighbours, Edmonton Oil Kings". oilkings.ca. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  4. Van Diest, Derek (May 26, 2017). "Jake Neighbours happy to join Edmonton Oil Kings". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  5. Strasser, Scott (October 7, 2020). "Jake Neighbours selected by St. Louis Blues in NHL Draft". airdrietoday.com. Airdrie Local News. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  6. Warner, Alyscia (June 12, 2019). "SPOTLIGHT: The wild rookie ride of Jake Neighbours". oilkings.ca. Oil Kings. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  7. Warner, Alyscia (January 16, 2020). "Jake Neighbours and Team Red searching for a win in tonight's Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game". oilkings.ca. Oil Kings. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  8. Warner, Alyscia (January 13, 2020). "Three Oil Kings listed on Central Scouting Midterm NHL Draft Rankings". oilkings.ca. Oil Kings. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  9. "Oil Kings Awards". oilkings.ca. Oil Kings. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  10. Warner, Alyscia (January 17, 2020). "Jake Neighbours named to WHL Academic Spotlight for December". oilkings.ca. Oil Kings. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  11. Warner, Alyscia (April 8, 2020). "Neighbours, Williams listed on NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings". oilkings.ca. Oil Kings. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  12. Pinkert, Chris (October 27, 2020). "Neighbours agrees to 3-year entry-level deal". nhl.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  13. Birnell, Ben (January 12, 2021). "Utica Comets' roster grows with players from Canucks, Blues". Observer-Dispatch. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  14. Warner, Alyscia (October 16, 2018). "Neighbours and Cossa selected to represent Canada at World U17 Hockey Challenge". oilkings.ca. Oil Kings. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  15. "Neighbours named captain of Canada White at World Under-17 Hockey Challenge". oilkings.ca. Oil Kings. November 5, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  16. Warner, Alyscia (July 30, 2019). "Neighbours named to Team Canada for 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup". oilkings.ca. Oil Kings. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  17. Warner, Alyscia (August 10, 2019). "Neighbours, Canada claim silver at Hlinka Gretzky Cup". oilkings.ca. Oil Kings. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
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