Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Jake Neighbours

Jake Neighbours Assigned To WHL

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

In the first of what will soon be a cascade of moves, Jake Neighbours has been assigned to the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL. With the junior league being granted approval to play in the province of Alberta yesterday, things are moving forward on a season that starts in just under a month. Neighbours, like many top prospects, was caught in limbo somewhere between junior and the minor leagues. The 18-year-old first-round pick likely needs more time before joining the AHL and playing against professionals on a regular basis, but didn’t have a junior league to go back to until the WHL started up again.

Of course, that doesn’t mean all prospects will be going back. Only the five WHL clubs in Alberta have announced their restart plans as the league continues to work on approval in the other provinces and states that house teams. It also doesn’t have anything to do with the OHL, which is still in a holding pattern waiting for the Ontario government to loosen restrictions. The Toronto Marlies and Belleville Senators don’t even have official approval yet, let alone a junior hockey league spread out across the entire province (and some of the bordering states).

For Neighbours in particular though, this is good news. The young winger scored 23 goals and 70 points in 64 games last season and likely would have been in over his head in the AHL. Now, the Calgary native can remain in Alberta and continue his development against players his own age, at least for the 24-game schedule they have planned. After the WHL season is over, Neighbours and any other prospects will be able to assigned to the minor leagues again (should there still be games to play).

His entry-level contract, which was signed in October, will slide forward for this season and could again next year should he not be in the NHL.

Training Camp Cuts: 01/12/21

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It’s the last day before NHL hockey returns, so teams will have to finalize their rosters and get ready for action. Though most of the heavy lifting was done yesterday, there will still be some cuts made today. We’ll keep track of them right here. This page will be updated throughout the day as more releases come in.

Buffalo Sabres (via team release):

F Andrew Oglevie (to Rochester, AHL)
F Arttu Ruotsalainen (to Rochester, AHL)
D Jacob Bryson (to Rochester, AHL)
D Mattias Samuelsson (to Rochester, AHL)

Carolina Hurricanes (via team release):

F Jeremy Bracco (to Chicago, AHL)
F David Cotton (to Chicago, AHL)
F Jason Cotton (to Chicago, AHL)
F Seth Jarvis (to Chicago, AHL)
F Stelio Mattheos (to Chicago, AHL)
F Jamieson Rees (to Chicago, AHL)
F Sheldon Rempal (to Chicago, AHL)
F Drew Shore (to Chicago, AHL)
F Spencer Smallman (to Chicago, AHL)
F Ryan Suzuki (to Chicago, AHL)
D Joey Keane (to Chicago, AHL)
D Maxime Lajoie (to Chicago, AHL)
G Antoine Bibeau (to Chicago, AHL)

Chicago Blackhawks (via team release):

F John Quenneville (to Rockford, AHL)
D Anton Lindholm (to Rockford, AHL)
D Nick Seeler (to Rockford, AHL)
G Matt Tomkins (to Rockford, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (via team release):

F Riley Barber (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Kyle Criscuolo (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Turner Elson (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Taro Hirose (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Chase Pearson (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Evgeny Svechnikov (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Dominic Turgeon (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Joe Hicketts (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Brian Lashoff (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Dylan McIlrath (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Kaden Fulcher (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Pat Nagle (released)

Montreal Canadiens (via team release):

F Brandon Baddock (to Laval, AHL)
F Alex Belzile (to Laval, AHL)
F Joseph Blandisi (to Laval, AHL)
F Laurent Dauphin (to Laval, AHL)
F Jacob Lucchini (to Laval, AHL)
F Joel Teasdale (to Laval, AHL)
F Lukas Vejdemo (to Laval, AHL)
F Jordan Weal (to Laval, AHL)
D Otto Leskinen (to Laval, AHL)
D Gustav Olofsson (to Laval, AHL)
D Xavier Ouellet (to Laval, AHL)
G Vasili Demchenko (to Laval, AHL)
G Michael McNiven (to Laval, AHL)
G Cayden Primeau (to Laval, AHL)
F Kevin Lynch (to Laval, AHL)

 

Philadelphia Flyers (via team release):

F Pascal Laberge (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Zayde Wisdom (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Linus Sandin (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Tyson Foerster (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Matthew Strome (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Tyler Wotherspoon (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Mason Millman (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Chris Bigras (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Derrick Pouliot (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Egor Zamula (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Wyatte Wylie (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
G Felix Sandstrom (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Max Willman (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
G Roddy Ross (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)

San Jose Sharks (via team release):

F Kurtis Gabriel (to San Jose, AHL)
F Antti Suomela (to San Jose, AHL)
D Trevor Carrick (to San Jose, AHL)
D Nick DeSimone (to San Jose, AHL)
D Fredrik Claesson (to San Jose, AHL)

St. Louis Blues (via team release):

F Sam Anas (to Utica, AHL)
F Dakota Joshua (to Utica, AHL)
F Tanner Kaspick (to Utica, AHL)
F Hugh McGing (to Utica, AHL)
F Curtis McKenzie (to Utica, AHL)
F Jake Neighbours (to Utica, AHL)
F Evan Polei (to Utica, AHL)
F Nolan Stevens (to Utica, AHL)
F Nathan Walker (to Utica, AHL)
D Scott Perunovich (to Utica, AHL)
D Mitch Reinke (to Utica, AHL)
D Steven Santini (to Utica, AHL)
D Tyler Tucker (to Utica, AHL)
D Jake Walman (to Utica, AHL)
G Evan Fitzpatrick (to Utica, AHL)
G Jon Gillies (to Utica, AHL)
F Matthias Laferriere (to Blainville-Boisbriand, QMJHL)

Vancouver Canucks (via team release):

F Jonah Gadjovich (to Utica, AHL)
F Lukas Jasek (to Utica, AHL)
F Kole Lind (to Utica, AHL)
F Will Lockwood (to Utica, AHL)
D Josh Teves (to Utica, AHL)
D Jett Woo (to Utica, AHL)
G Jake Kielly (to Utica, AHL)

Washington Capitals (via team release):

F Shane Gersich (to Hershey, AHL)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to Hershey, AHL)
F Phillippe Maillet (to Hershey, AHL)
D Lucas Johansen (to Hershey, AHL)
D Paul Ladue (to Hershey, AHL)
D Cameron Schilling (to Hershey, AHL)

Prospect Notes: Wiesblatt, Neighbours, Groshev, Stillman

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The St. Louis Blues’ and San Jose Sharks’ recent first round picks are on the move, at least for the time being. Jake Neighbours and Ozzy Wiesblatt have been loaned by their WHL teams, Edmonton and Prince Albert respectively, to the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits, the team announced. The loans carry a pre-determined end date of December 20, allowing Neighbours and Wiesblatt to get a head start on the coming season. The WHL announced in October that they had postponed the start of the 2020-21 season to January 8, while the AJHL is set to kick off their season on November 13. Neighbours and Wiesblatt will have more than a month of game action with the Bandits before heading to training camp with the Oil Kings and Raiders. The top prospects, who have both already signed their entry-level contracts, have landed in one of the best possible spots when it comes to being loaned to an inferior league. Brooks is a powerhouse program, whose current roster includes a 2021 first round hopeful in Corson Ceulemans and a number of NCAA commitments. The team just got much more dangerous with the addition of these two elite young forwards, at least for the next month.

  • Another recent draft selection has also been moved, but in a more permanent fashion. Tampa Bay Lightning third-rounder Maxim Groshev has been traded in the KHL, though “sold” is the more accurate verb. Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk has dealt their homegrown product to SKA St. Petersburg, per a team release. The return is merely “monetary compensation” but it is believed the young forward cost 40 million rubles. A big winger who was deemed ready for KHL last season at 17, Groshev recorded seven points in 36 games last year and has two points in 17 games thus far in 2020-21. SKA is an elite KHL team and not exactly known to spend time developing young players when they can attract prime talent, so the team must see considerable potential in Groshev as well as feel he has several years left in the KHL before taking his talents to North America.
  • The OHL’s postponement of their 2020-21 start to February, as well as questions about the quality of the competition once play resumes, is going to result in considerable player movement, which has already begun. In the latest notable move, potential 2021 first-round pick Chase Stillman has been loaned to Demark by his club, the Sudbury Wolves, until the OHL season begins. The Sudbury Star’s Ben Leeson reports that Stillman has already departed, and is set to join the Esbjerg Engery. Stillman, the son of former NHLer Cory Stillman, should find Denmark to be an interesting developmental adventure; it is his first pro experience but also not considered a top tier pro league by any means. If Stillman dominates in Denmark, he may have to make a difficult decision about returning for a shortened OHL season that may not include checking versus seeing his pro season through. For a highly regarded draft-eligible prospect, it’s a call that could impact his draft stock.

 

Blues Sign Jake Neighbours To An Entry-Level Deal

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Blues haven’t wasted any time getting pen put to paper on a deal with their top pick from last week’s draft as they announced the signing of winger Jake Neighbours to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Financial terms were not disclosed.

The 19-year-old was selected with the 26th pick of the first round following a strong season with Edmonton of the WHL.  After being a role player in his first couple of years with the Oil Kings, Neighbours broke out offensively, potting 23 goals and 47 assists in 63 games to finish second on the team in scoring.

While he may get an opportunity to participate in training camp with St. Louis, it’s likely that Neighbours will be heading back to junior hockey for next season; the WHL is targeting a start date of January 8th to kick off their 2020-21 campaign.  If that happens, Neighbours’ deal will slide which would mean that he’d still have three years on his contract after next season at a slightly lower cap hit.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top