In a recent article for The Hockey News' main site, Jared Clinton took a look at one breakout candidate from each Central Division team. For the St. Louis Blues, Clinton went with forward Jake Neighbours.
When looking at the way Neighbours has performed with the Blues, it is certainly fair to consider him a breakout candidate for this upcoming season. As Clinton noted in his piece, Neighbours has been trending in the right direction with his development in each of his NHL seasons. Now, he will be looking to take another big step forward with his play in 2025-26 from here.
In 82 games this past season with the Blues, Neighbours scored 22 goals and set new career highs with 24 assists, 46 points, and 173 hits. This was after the 2020 first-round pick scored a career-high 27 goals and recorded 38 points in 77 contests for the Blues during the 2023-24 season. Overall, Neighbours has shown that he can be a solid offensive contributor while providing grit for the Blues, and it will be fascinating to see if he can hit a new level next season because of it.
With Neighbours being only 23 years old, there is no question that he still has time to improve further. Thus, he will undoubtedly be a breakout candidate to keep an eye on next season for the Central Division club. The possibility of him hitting the 30-goal mark should not be ruled out.
Blues Top Defenseman Nearing Impressive Milestone
<a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues">St. Louis Blues</a> defenseman Colton Parayko was undoubtedly one of the Central Division club's biggest difference-makers during the 2024-25 season. This is because the right-shot blueliner thrived for the Blues during it, as he set new career highs with 16 goals and 36 points in 64 games. With numbers like these, he certainly played a role in the Blues getting back into the playoffs this spring.