Neighbours cheering section possible at Rogers Place

EDMONTON - If it sounds like there's a Jake Neighbours cheering section amongst the packed house at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Saturday, it's because there is.
Neighbours' parents are making the trip from Calgary, as well as a handful of brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles. In all, Neighbours estimates he will have 14 family members at the game, and luckily for him, he didn't have to buy the tickets.

"(My family) knows a lot of season ticket holders and stuff like that around here, and they have a lot of good friends from our days with the [Western Hockey League's Edmonton] Oil Kings," he said. "Most of them got hooked up pretty good. It'll be a big crowd for me again."
'Neighbours' is a household name around these parts after he spent four-plus seasons with the Oil Kings. Neighbours helped the team to four consecutive division titles, won a League championship in 2022 and competed for the Memorial Cup last season.

Although many of his teammates from last season's championship team have moved on, Neighbours still keeps in close contact with the players and coaches that remain. The entire Oil Kings team is expected to be at Saturday's game, too.
Because the Oil Kings play their home games at Rogers Place, Neighbours knows the rink well - but Saturday's matchup (3 p.m. CT, BSMW, 101 ESPN) against the Edmonton Oilers will be the first time he's played there while wearing a Blue Note.
"It's going to be really cool. I'm really excited for it," Neighbours said. "Being on the other side of the red line will be different. I played a lot of games in this rink as a junior player, and I think it will just be cool to see a full circle moment and play in the NHL."