Alex Newhook, a “Newfie”, has a newfound lease on life with Avalanche

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – Entering this NHL Draft, just one player from Newfoundland had been drafted in the first round since 1997 – Dan Cleary with Chicago, at No. 13. Now, there are two.

His name is Alex Newhook, and he’s now a draftee of the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs took him at No. 16 Friday night here at Rogers Arena, and here is the reception he got from his teammates of the Victoria Grizzlies or the British Columbia Hockey League after his name was announced by B.C. legend Joe Sakic:

It doesn’t get better.

What a moment. #NHLDraft #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/KjWdHbcvCI

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) June 22, 2019

So, not a bad night for Mr. Newhook, right? What kind of a player is Alex Newhook? Draft guru Craig Button says this:

Craig Button’s Analysis

“Very good offensive mind who can make plays that creates offense. Has playmaking sense, but is a sneaky good goal scorer too.”

Projection: No. 2 Offensive Centre/Winger
Comparable: Rickard Rakell

Did somebody say 2C? There is an Avalanche need all right. He won’t be ready for probably a couple years, though. He might take a similar career path to Cale Makar, who spurned major Canadian junior to play hockey back east. Newhook will enroll at Boston College this fall, and play at least one year. Makar played two at UMass.

Either way, the Avs appear to have a good one coming their way at some point soon, and Newhook is pretty pumped about that prospect.

“To be drafted by a great organization like Colorado, it’s amazing,” said Newhook, who led the BCHL in scoring last season, with 38 goals and 102 points in 53 games for the Grizzlies. “My approach is just to take it year-by-year and learn as much as I can, be the best I can for that time and be ready to step into pro with the Avs at the right time.

Newhook chose Boston College over Harvard and Michigan. Two other first-rounders take Friday night – Spencer Knight (Florida) and Mathew Boldy (Minnesota) – will be incoming freshman teammates with the Eagles this fall. (Bet on Boston College to win the Frozen Four now).

“I’m definitely looking forward to that a lot. It’s great to see those guys picked there,” Newhook said. “I’m really happy to be a part of that. We’ve got a lot of talent coming in next year, with a lot of returning guys. We’re gonna have a strong team next year.”

Here’s a good local story on Newhook, from Victoria, B.C. Sakic had this to say about Newhook:

“He can skate, a complete player,” Sakic said. “Unbelievable character. He can score, he can set guys up. He’s all over the ice.”

Newhook will be introduced further to the media on Tuesday at the Pepsi Center, along with Bowen Byram and the rest of the Avs’ picks.

Here’s a highlight reel of Newhook: