Neighbours impresses at first Training Camp

Not long after being selected by the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the NHL Draft in October, Jake Neighbours decided he should probably step up his training if he wanted to put himself ahead of other NHL hopefuls he might see in prospect camps or training camps.
So he went to the gym in South Calgary where he lived to workout.
It was closed.
Then tried a few different ice rinks in town to go for a skate.
Closed.

Such was life in a pandemic, where everyday occurrences like working out and staying in shape is made more difficult than it usually is.
"All the junior teams were shutdown, too," Neighbours told stlouisblues.com. "I attempted to go play for the Brooks Bandits of the AJHL. I went there for about 10 days to quarantine and then found out I wasn't able to play because I signed (with St. Louis), so I went back home. There was no place to play."
With shortened NHL training camps - and a limited number of players allowed in camp to comply with health and safety protocols - the 18-year-old prospect wouldn't have been surprised if he didn't receive an invite to the Blues' training camp this season.
But he was certainly happy when he did.
"Obviously they've got a lot of good players here, so it was tough to jump into this camp," Neighbours said. "I was fortunate enough to get the call and I was super stoked. I had about five days to get ready and I was on a flight to St. Louis. It was a pretty cool experience."
Neighbours arrived in town in mid-December and moved in with Brayden Schenn. He was able to meet the team and spend the holidays getting to know them before training camp began in January.
"The first couple of days, you just soak everything in, not step on anyone's toes," Neighbours said. "I've been here for almost a month now and it's still kind of surreal to be out there with Ryan O'Reilly and Schenner and all those guys. You see (Vladimir) Tarasenko around the rink, (Torey) Krug or (Colton) Parayko, you can go on and on. It's an NHL atmosphere, these guys carry themselves like professionals so I've been very fortunate to see it first hand."
Neighbours expects to play in the Western Hockey League this season, but that will be decided if and when the WHL gets its season up and running. On Tuesday, he was assigned to the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League along with 15 other players in the Blues system.
"So far, he's been very impressive at training camp," Blues Head Coach Craig Berube said after the team's first camp scrimmage. "For a young kid like that to come in, he doesn't look out of place at all. He's got hockey sense which is very important. He's got grit and he skates well so he's looked really good."
The Blues liked Neighbours for a lot of reasons. In his sophomore season with the WHL's Edmonton Oil Kings, he netted 70 points (23 goals, 47 assists) and ranked second on the team in scoring. He finished in the league's Top-20 in scoring and helped the Oil Kings to a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference.
He's got a great shot, a strong playmaking ability and is often tenacious in his play. Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong compared him to Brenden Morrow after the Draft, while Neighbours says he aims to emulate Matthew Tkachuk.
Right now, he's still soaking in everything he learned during his training camp with St. Louis.
"When I first got here, camp hadn't begun and I thought (the informal skates) were high-paced when I first showed up," Neighbours said. "Then, Schenner said on the first day of camp, you'll notice it will ramp up, and it did. That first practice was pretty tough and the pace was pretty high. It's definitely been an adjustment for me, but I think I've done a good job of trying to keep up and fit in.
"It's been very humbling getting out here and learning from all these guys, seeing how they do it every year," he added. "Getting to compete against them and see how they're prepping for a season is something that's pretty cool. For an 18-year-old kid to get that experience and go through all this, it's surreal. There are a lot of things I can learn and I'm just continuing to soak everything in. It's definitely something I'm very grateful for and I'm glad I got to do it."