26th Overall Jake Neighbours

[LastWordArmy]

The fourth overall pick in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft, Jake Neighbours scored 23 goals and 47 assists for 70 points in 64 games played with the Edmonton Oil Kings this year. Neighbours also played for Team Red at the CHL Top Prospects Game. This was a big improvement over his rookie season when Neighbours put up 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points in 47 games played. His maturation really started in the 2019 WHL playoffs when he put up four goals and eight assists for 12 points in 16 games. Neighbours also had a limited taste of WHL action in 2017-18, playing 11 games and scoring four assists.

Neighbours has also had the opportunity to play for Team Canada on the international stage. He was an alternate captain at last summer’s Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, helping the team to a silver medal. He also played for Team Canada Red at the 2018 Under-17 World Hockey Challenge. Neighbours scored three goals and three assists in five tournament games.

Neighbours developed in the AMHL where he scored the most goals and points in 2017-18 and was also named the league’s MVP. He also led Team Alberta to second place in the WHL Cup.

Jake Neighbours Scouting Report: 2020 NHL Draft #48

Click to read more...

 

[jbron]

Typical Blues pick. Jake had a big breakout year, 200 foot game player , tough to play against. I have seen him a few times in the WHL and it will be interesting to watch if he continues to improve. Would have gone in a different direction, but welcome him to the Blues.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Who?

 

[Spektre]

Who?

Would you be? Could you be? Won’t you be, my Neighbors??

 

[Spear]

 

[tfriede2]

Highly recommend reading the thread on him here with comments from folks who have seen him play a lot - liking the pick more and more. Comparable seems to be Landeskog-lite.
LW Jake Neighbours - Edmonton Oil Kings, WHL (2020, 26th, STL)

 

[Blueline2757]

I've seen Jake Neighbours play in person several times, I like him. Just a complete dick to play against to put it nicely, Doesn't have high end skill, but has decent skill nonetheless. If he can improve his skating he can be a second line plyer at best. But i see him as a third line energy guy. Just my thoughts and opinions.

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

Future potential lineup of

Schwartz-Thomas-Tarasenko
Schenn-O’Reilly-Kyrou
Neighbours-Alexandrov-Kostin
Barbashev-Sundqvist-Blais/Poganski


I like it


Also, this kid screams fan favorite that other teams hate.

 

[mk80]

Not bad.

 

[Brockon]

If you put any stock into the opinion of , he's put the Blues squarely in the "Losers" category with this pick.

22. St. Louis Blues
Pick: 26. Jake Neighbours
My ranking: No. 51 (change: +25)
I like the way Jake Neighbours plays. He can do a little bit of everything. He comes at you in waves in an effort to push pace, attack, and win races. He’s physical off the puck. There’s just a versatility to his game that’s easy to appreciate and convinced many scouts that he didn’t have the top-six or bust that some first rounders often do. I settled a little lower on him than most, though, largely because I worry that his above-average skill across the board may not be enough to slot him in the top of your lineup. He could end up as a fan-favourite third-line contributor. And while that would be a good outcome for a 26th-overall selection, there were higher-skill players available. Several of them.

Don't have an athletic sub, but out of curiosity, whose piece is this?

 

[Frenzy31]

This reminds me of when we took Oshie. I didn't know much about him and was pretty unhappy with the pick. This is kind of a what??? pick.

 

[Stealth JD]

If you put any stock into the opinion of Scott Wheeler of the Athletic, he's got the Blues squarely in the "Losers" category of the draft.

22. St. Louis Blues
Pick: 26. Jake Neighbours
My ranking: No. 51 (change: +25)
I like the way Jake Neighbours plays. He can do a little bit of everything. He comes at you in waves in an effort to push pace, attack, and win races. He’s physical off the puck. There’s just a versatility to his game that’s easy to appreciate and convinced many scouts that he didn’t have the top-six or bust that some first rounders often do. I settled a little lower on him than most, though, largely because I worry that his above-average skill across the board may not be enough to slot him in the top of your lineup. He could end up as a fan-favourite third-line contributor. And while that would be a good outcome for a 26th-overall selection, there were higher-skill players available. Several of them.

 

[Stealth JD]

Don't have an athletic sub, but out of curiosity, whose piece is this?

sorry...was working out formatting issues. This is from Scott Wheeler.

Scott Wheeler covers the NHL draft and prospects nationally for The Athletic. Scott has written for the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, The Toronto Sun, the National Post, SB Nation, the PGA TOUR, McKeen’s Hockey, Future Considerations and The Hockey News. Follow Scott on Twitter @scottcwheeler .

 

[DatDude44]

I don’t mind Neighbours, but considering Gunler, Robbins, Khusnutdinov, brisson, O’rourke we’re all still on the board I’m a bit unhappy.
But Neighbours is a rare breed and fits our team composition down the line so I get it, just not a highvupside pick

 

[542365]

Seems like we went safe here. Feels like he’s a good bet to make the NHL in some capacity, but probably won’t be a high end player. Sounds competitive, engaged in the game, and competent defensively with a dash of skill. I didn’t follow prospects this year at all so I don’t really know who we missed out on, but I’m fine with it.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

I saw a Blackhawks hockey website that advocated for drafting him. I suppose he was on a couple radars.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

After looking more and more into this kid I'm getting more and more happy with it. The complete opposite of how I felt with Tage where I just got more and more baffled. If he can fix his skating im 100% happy with this pick.

 

[execwrite1]

From Draft Analysts - they had him at #39

A difficult opponent to match up against, Neighbours has been known to drop the gloves when necessary. He brings a lot of energy, physicality, and enthusiasm into every shift, and seems to always make his presence felt whether he’s scoring or not. Neighbours can create momentum-changing plays on his own, to include big hits in open ice or a sequence of shot blocks.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

The little blurb on the draft coverage Neighbors said he tries to model his game after Matthew Tkachuk. I like that part.

 

[Majorityof1]

From my viewpoint, it seems easier to take a high-skill player and teach him to buy in to the organizational philosophy and play style than it would be to raise the skill of a player that already plays our style. The Blues seem more interested in play style than skill at times. Its not something that has worked out for us from an amateur scouting perspective. Trust your coaches to groom high-skill players to play right, because then the sky is the limit. We seem more concerned with the floor. I'm afraid that will lead to another 50 years of near constant contending without winning.

With that said, I am not a big fan of this pick. I haven't done much of any personal scouting this year. I am just going off of other's reports. Time will tell. It's just disheartening to hear our only choice in the top 80+ being described as, at best, "safe".

 

[bradrich99]

The Blues seem more interested in play style than skill at times. Its not something that has worked out for us from an amateur scouting perspective.

With that said, I am not a big fan of this pick. I haven't done much of any personal scouting this year.

I don't understand your points. First, the Blues did recently win the Stanley Cup with a team consisting of a majority of homegrown players drafted by our amateur scouting staff. Secondly, why be critical of a pick when you admit you haven't done the homework? Are you just being contrary?

 

[Majorityof1]

I don't understand your points. First, the Blues did recently win the Stanley Cup with a team consisting of a majority of homegrown players drafted by our amateur scouting staff. Secondly, why be critical of a pick when you admit you haven't done the homework? Are you just being contrary?

I'm not saying we always draft based on floor, but that we default to it too often for my liking. We have the best luck when we draft based on ceiling. The players that contributed to the cup win if anything are proof of that. Parayko's skating, Pie's all around skill, Tarasenko's shot, Thomas's skating, vision and puck skill, etc. Schwartz was praised for his tenacity, so he may be the closest thing to being drafted for style; however, he was far from a safe pick due to size andhis stock rising relatively late. Barbashev is probably the closest to a floor player that actively contributed. Plus we had guys we traded for/signed UFA: ROR, Bouwmeester, Schenn, Sunny, Sanford, Bozak, Perron( ).

As for your second point, I am discussing an organizational philosophy, not the pick specifically. However, having read several post-pick analysis and back-tracking and reading scouting reports after that fact, the safeness of the pick is very, very apparent. If it turns out that he has far more skill than reported, my point is moot. But a lot of people paid to scout players will also have egg on their face. i'll be in good company.

 

[Novacain]

From my viewpoint, it seems easier to take a high-skill player and teach him to buy in to the organizational philosophy and play style than it would be to raise the skill of a player that already plays our style. The Blues seem more interested in play style than skill at times. Its not something that has worked out for us from an amateur scouting perspective.

Controversial take time: This is a load of bollocks. The idea the Blues have taken “safe” picks in recent drafts is an awful take. Fabbri, Kostin, Bokk, and Thompson have all been “home run swings” betting on potential instead of fit. The only “safe” pick the Blues have made in the first outside of Schmaltz (which was in such a bad draft it doesn’t bug me) since we took Jaden Schwartz was Robert Thomas who, go figure, was the best pick of the bunch.



This mindset

 

[Prosaic]

I really disagree with this drafting philosophy...it would've been significantly better to take a number of other guys.

Perrault, for example, has a very good shot and the potential to be a goal scorer. Even if his game isn't well rounded, its better to take the guy with a high end attribute and trust in your development system to round out the other parts around his game.

Other guys I would've liked were Brisson, Wallinder, Khusnutdinov, Mysak, Gunler.

Neighbours will probably make the team when he's 22/23 but he isn't a guy with high end offensive skill. The reality is, you need high end offensive talent to win in the NHL. Neighbours projects as a middle six winger, who offensive game is insignificant. This would be a fine pick for later in the draft, but 26th in a draft this deep? Not a fan at all.

People point out to Tampa finding so many guys in later rounds...Kucherov, Point, Cirelli, Palat. They took high end talent with a level of risk and it paid off. Of course, I'm not saying anyone I mentioned will be as good as those guys, but you aren't going to find the steals of the draft by taking low-end skill guys that 'fit the system.'

I expect Neighbours resembles something between Barbashev to Blais for his career arc. Which, is fairly disappointing. Taking a higher 'risk' player that could pan into a legitimate top six forward or top four defensemen, would've been a better selection.

I've attached a screenshot of Neighbours NHLe. His closest comparables are Brendan Gaunce and Auston Watson. He projects to have a 10% probability of developing into a star producing player, and 45% chance of becoming a regular NHL player.

For context, Brisson has a 27% star probability (55% odds to play regularly in the NHL). Now, Hockey Prospecting's model does have some flaws, but historical comparisons of Neighbours really don't excite me.

The concept of drafting a player that fits your coaches scheme is also just a bad philosophy because odds are Berube won't even be the head coach in three years.

 

[ort]

I dunno, the Blues have done such a good job with their late 1st rounders over the last decade or whatever that I'll just have some faith that they know better then we do.