The Montreal Canadiens will count on a very promising new forward in Alex Newhook.
The 22-year-old just signed a four-year, $2.9 million a year contract with the team that acquired him from the Colorado Avalanche on June 27.
Read also: Canadians: four years for Alex Newhook
Here’s what you need to know about the Saint John native:
AFP
– A first-round pick
The Avalanche selected Newhook with the 16th overall pick of the 2019 draft, one rank after a certain Cole Caufield. He was the second player chosen by the “Avs” in the first round that year, they who had set their sights on defender Bowen Byram with the fourth choice overall.
Newhook made the jump to the National Hockey League (NHL) less than two years later, in 2021-2022. He played in six regular season games and eight playoff games this campaign.
AFP
– Only the third
The following year, Newhook appeared in 12 games during the playoff run that allowed the Avalanche to lift the Stanley Cup. The forward thus became the third player from Newfoundland and Labrador in NHL history to experience this great happiness. The other two are Daniel Cleary (2008 with the Detroit Red Wings) and Michael Ryder (2011 with the Boston Bruins).
– Fast and agile
The new CH player has not yet exploded in the Bettman circuit, but he has the skills to get there. Its main strengths are its speed and agility. It is possible to witness it in this compilation of his goals in 2022-2023.
– Some honors
Newhook simply burned the BCHL in 2018-2019, he who amassed 102 points (38 goals and 64 assists) in 53 games in this junior league of British Columbia. At the end of the season, he was awarded the title of player par excellence of his circuit and of the Canadian Junior Hockey League.
The following year, he landed in the NCAA with the Boston College Eagles. The left-handed center player tallied 42 points, including 19 goals, in 34 games in his first run on the American college network. He won the rookie of the year award in his division. He is also the only player in Eagles history to have received this honor.
– A “better than him” sister
When asked by the NHL website, Newhook said he wasn’t the best hockey player in his family. According to him, it is his little sister Abby who is the most talented within the siblings.
The 20-year-old hockey player has followed in her brother’s footsteps and is playing for Boston College. In two NCAA seasons, the 5-foot-6 forward hit the target 36 times and provided 29 assists for 65 points in 70 games.