St. Louis Blues end of season Q & A with Jake Neighbours

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Jake Neighbours would be the first to admit that he didn't see it coming.

After all, the 2020 first-round pick by the St. Louis Blues (26th overall) only reached 20 or more goals just once in his four seasons with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League.

So to think the 21-year-old would reach 27 goals, let alone 20, was a pleasant surprise.

But in doing so, Neighbours put the work into being a net front presence, scoring 20 of his 27 goals in and around the crease.

He's the perfect example of what the Blues, who were 43-33-6, are trying to do moving forward: develop young talent and hope they pan out to be bonafide NHL players. Going from a fourth-line winger to start the season to being a mainstay in the top six is proof how working hard to persevere can lead to great things.

Unfortunately, Neighbours had his season cut short by missing the final five games with a head injury that derailed his chance at playing all 82 games.

Neighbours, who finished with 38 points in 77 games, spoke at the end-of-season media session about his season, why the Blues just missed out on the postseason, the future of the Blues and more:

How are you feeling (after the injury that forced you to miss final five games)?

I feel pretty good. I think I was in a situation where if the games meant more, I probably could have played, but just being safe and cautious and not risking anything further.

If you were told you would have scored that amount of goals (27), would you have believed it?

Uh, no, definitely not, but I think it's just a product of hard work, commitment to getting better every day and also being put in a really good position by my coaching staff, the guys around me, the guys I was playing with. A lot of my goals were products of other guys doing pretty incredible things. I'm just the benefactor on the other side of it.

When so many guys put up good numbers, what do you think and why are you not in the playoffs?

That's kind of the burning question, right? I think we showed a lot of positive things this year and a lot of progress. We know we have a good team in this locker room and we know we're capable of more than what we're at right now. We showed that playing against top teams this year and obviously getting points and getting wins against them, but it's more about getting wins you're so-called supposed to win. We didn't do that enough this year. Like you said, we have a lot of really good pieces in this room, we have two really good goaltenders, a solid core of d-men and forwards that have a lot of talent. We have a lot of belief in this group still. I'm already looking forward to another opportunity next year.

When you have that kind of season personally, how excited do you get when thinking of what your next level is?

Yeah for sure. It's all about progress, right? I'm still young and still finding my way. I think I'd be silly to be satisfied with where I'm at right now. I just have to continue to progress. It does bring a little bit of belief to yourself that you are capable of producing and performing in this league. I just want to continue to build upon that and keep moving forward.

What were the biggest areas of growth for you this season?

I think just confidence and belief in myself that I am capable of being somewhat of an offensive player in this league and helping my team win games. I think I found a good role on this team this year, a role for myself and I need to build upon that. Like I said, just continue to move in an upward trajectory and continue to get better and try and improve my game.

When you are this close and you are on the outside looking in, from your perspective, what kept you guys out?

Just not getting points against teams that you expect to get points against. It's the National Hockey League. Anybody can beat anybody and you can't take any game for granted against any team. For us, it's about coming in next year and taking it game by game and trying to get ahead of the curve and putting ourselves in good positions so when we're coming down the stretch, we're not chasing and fighting to try and slip in, but more in a position to hold our spot and be a little more comfortable this time of year. I think for us, like I said, we have a lot of belief in this group. We've got a lot of good pieces. It's just about regrouping and continuing to move forward. We had a great season compared to last year and just need to keep moving in that direction.

How was Drew Bannister for you?

He was great. He came in, it's obviously a tough situation. We weren't in a great spot at the time we made the coaching change obviously. He came inn, he held guys accountable and pushed us in a great direction. I thought the players did a good job of accepting of what was going on and embracing a new coach and kind of a new way of doing things. He did a great job. He was awesome for us and we enjoyed playing for him. He was great (for me). I had him in the minors in Springfield there and I thought he handled me very well down there and did the same here. He put me in every position be could for me to succeed and I'm very grateful for that.

What was the difference in the feeling from the team from last year to this year?

We were really disappointed with last season and we obviously knew we were capable of a lot more. I think the belief of playing as a team and we're not a team that exactly has a ton of superstars, but we do believe we're deep and have players that can produce at this level and win hockey games. I think if we showed a little bit of that this year and want to continue to move in that direction.

When you were hurt, did you reflect on the kind of season you had maybe what you learned throughout the last season?

Not really, no. I was doing my best to try and get back and was kind of focused on that. Obviously over the next couple days or weeks or whatever, I'll look back on it and I'm obviously happy with my season and the way I progressed from last year to this year. I haven't really thought about it too much but just continue to move forward. I don't want to get stagnant or stay with where I'm at. I want to continue to develop and to be more of an effective player.

You became a fan favorite this year, was it harder to go around St. Louis than in the past?

I mean maybe a little bit, yeah. I appreciate all the support by the fans. It's super-cool to hear the cheers and all the things they say about you and what not. I think I'm just an honest player. I try to work hard and put my best foot forward every night and play an honest game. I think they appreciate that. I thank them for that.

What did you see in the young guys, who were once where you were, as a whole this year?

It's nice to see, right? When you get some young guys that come up in the lineup and show that they can be effective and get themselves some confidence and bring some energy to the team as well. Having some young guys that can contribute and fill roles is awesome. I thought those guys did a great job, 'Kess,' 'Boldy,' Dean, they were all great on their callups and played some real good minutes and good hockey for us. It's nice to see them translating well to the NHL level and like I said, I was in their shoes not too long ago. It's a process and they're going to continue to work at it. They're all good kids that work extremely hard. Only expect more from them moving forward.