Blues sign 2020 first round pick
The St. Louis Blues have announced they've signed their 2020 first round pick, Jake Neighbours, to a three-year entry-level contract. Financial details of the contract were not released.
Jake Neighbours, the Blues' first-round 2020 #NHLDraft pick, has agreed to terms on a three-year entry-level deal. https://t.co/msEP98sbzm #stlblues— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) October 17, 2020
"Obviously I know the NHL is a jump for sure and it's a process. This is one step in it and we've just got to continue from here, I'm ready for whatever amount of work I need to put in or however long this is going to take because at the end of the day, to pull over that Blues jersey will be insane and to play an NHL game with them would be absolutely crazy. I'm ready for whatever it takes," Neighbours said.
Neighbours, 18, as mentioned was drafted by St. Louis in the first round, 26th overall on October 6th. He has spent the last few seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Edmonton Oil Kings. In 122 career WHL games, he's put up 98 points (34 G, 64 A), 70 penalty minutes, and is a +18.
Internationally, Neighbours has represented Canada on a couple occasions, most recently at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup where he was named an alternate captain. In 5 games, he had no points, 4 penalty minutes, and was a +4 as Canada won silver after losing to Russia in the gold medal game.
Neighbours was ranked 26th among North American skaters in the final rankings from NHL central scouting, following a strong year with the Oil Kings. On top of being skilled offensively, he plays a physical style of game, which he has developed over the last year or so, and he isn't afraid to go into the corners to battle for the puck. Neighbours' hockey IQ and vision are two of his strong suits that will help him transition to the NHL in the next few years.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Tom Wilson | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Alexander Ovechkin | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Brendan Gallagher | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Josh Doan | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Pierre-Luc Dubois | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dylan Guenther | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Victor Hedman | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jack McBain | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dylan Strome | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jake Guentzel | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Michael Carcone | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Christian Dvorak | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Zemgus Girgensons | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nick Paul | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Brayden Point | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Cam Atkinson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| John Carlson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nick Desimone | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 56 | 39 | 14 | 3 | 81 | |
Capitals | 55 | 36 | 11 | 8 | 80 | |
Oilers | 55 | 34 | 17 | 4 | 72 | |
Stars | 55 | 35 | 18 | 2 | 72 | |
Golden Knights | 56 | 33 | 17 | 6 | 72 | |
Panthers | 57 | 34 | 20 | 3 | 71 | |
Hurricanes | 56 | 33 | 19 | 4 | 70 | |
Wild | 56 | 33 | 19 | 4 | 70 | |
Maple Leafs | 55 | 33 | 20 | 2 | 68 | |
Avalanche | 57 | 33 | 22 | 2 | 68 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||