Airdronian Jake Neighbours, the 26th overall draft pick in the 2020 NHL draft by the St. Louis Blues, spoke to DiscoverAirdrie about how this season went, the upcoming season, the World Juniors, and fellow Airdronian Josh Davies being drafted in the NHL. 

Neighbours says one of the highlights from this previous season was the first NHL goal he scored. 

“Playing my first NHL game and scoring my first NHL goal, those are kind of two things that you'll never really forget. Playing in the World Juniors, even though we didn't get to finish the tournament, was obviously a dream come true. Maybe the biggest part of the year was winning the WHL Championship with the Edmonton Oil Kings.” 

With the 2021-2022 season behind us, Neighbours is excited to see what the future holds. 

“I'll go down to St. Louis in late August and I'll start camp in the middle of September with hopes to make the St. Louis Blues. Being a 20-year-old this year, if I don't make the team, there's also the AHL.” 

Neighbours says he will not be attending the rescheduled World Juniors this summer, saying his own health takes priority. 

“It's just strictly about my body and what's best for me. At this point in time, I don't think I'm 100 per cent, definitely not close to it yet. I have to take this time in the offseason to get stronger and get my body healthy. That's the main goal going into camp for St. Louis.” 

Just recently, in the NHL Draft, a fellow Airdronian Josh Davies was selected 186th overall by the Florida Panthers. Neighbours is happy to see another Airdronian get a shot in the NHL. 

“I love to see guys from Airdrie have success in hockey especially. Josh works out at my gym; I see a lot of the effort he puts into his game and his craft so I know he works extremely hard. I played against them in the WHL, and he's a good player as well. It's very deserving and I wasn't surprised when I saw he got drafted.” 

Neighbours finished off last season by playing in the Memorial Cup. 

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