The St. Louis Blues are going to be in trouble if they don't get their act together quickly. Sure, they're a younger team, so they will have stretches when fans wonder where arguably the league's most exciting scoring unit toward the back half of the season disappeared to.
But one player has been ultra-consistent so far through the first four games. Jake Neighbours has five points and four goals, leading the team in both categories. What's even more amazing is that Neighbours is currently shooting at a whopping 66.7 percent in the season's early going.
That number won't last, but Neighbours, despite his inconsistency at times, has always been a good scorer when he gets a shot on net. Over the past two seasons, he's snagged an 18.6 and 18.0 shooting percentage, respectively, and now, he's showing signs of being the Blues' next great pure scorer.
Neighbours has also logged 49 goals between 2023-24 and 2024-25, putting up 27 in 2023-24 before swinging back around in 2024-25 and finding the net 22 times. Not bad numbers, but the Blues needed more high-octane play from a forward who put up just 38 and 46 points across those last two seasons, and they're getting it now.
How good can Jake Neighbours be for the St. Louis Blues?
It's becoming evident that Neighbours isn't a playmaker, with just 41 assists compared to 60 goals in 215 career games. But if he's good for 35-40 goals a season, something he's well on pace for in the early going of 2025-26, then he doesn't need to put up a ton of assists to make his play stand out and shine.
It's realistic to think he will snag the 40-goal threshold. He has a proven track record of getting pucks past opposing goaltenders in just under one out of every five shots on goal he gets to the net. And if he supplements that with just 20 assists, the Blues will have yet another 60-plus-point player in their arsenal.
And remember, Neighbours isn't purely an offensive powerhouse. He is roughly a middle-six forward known for landing body checks. He landed 173 hits in 2024-25, and he could end up going well past that this season, with 14 already in the first four contests.
With his scoring up yet another notch and his physicality picking up, Neighbours can transform into one of the most complete players in Arch City. And for a team that needs another game-changer at the moment, Neighbours is picking the right time to embark on a breakout season.
Keep tabs on him, because if his points production is a sign of things to come, then he's going to be fun to watch. We'll see if Neighbours ends up as the Blues' leading goal scorer, and if the early going is anything to go by, there is a good chance he will be.