“It was a great moment for all of us” – Paula Newhook on son Alex’s first goal

ST. LOUIS – A few minutes on the phone with Paula Newhook, and you quickly get a good idea of where her son, Alex, gets a lot of his energy and enthusiasm from.

The mom of Colorado Avalanche rookie Alex Newhook has run the Boston Marathon three times and has worked as a personal trainer. She speaks in a rapid-fire fashion, with verve and vigor. This, despite having stayed up until 3 or 4 in the morning Saturday, watching an Avs-Blues Game 3 that started at 11:30 Newfoundland time.

How could Mrs. Newhook not be still full of excitement, though, after having watched Alex score his first NHL goal in Colorado’s 5-1 Game 3 victory?

“I’ll never get that vision out of my mind, his smile after the game,” she said from her and her husband’s home in Newfoundland. “He FaceTimed us after the game. He’s so communicative and it was a great moment for all of us. Obviously, we could not be more excited.”

Alex Newhook joined the Avs from the Colorado Eagles earlier this month and hasn’t been out of the lineup since. The 2019 first-round pick of the Avs (16th overall) scored in the second period of the game, and it proved to be the game-winning goal.

“Time stood still for a moment there,” Paula Newhook said. “We were watching with friends and they have a big projector screen on their deck. It was So, it was great to be with them when it happened too. It was a late night, but so worth it.”

Avs coach Jared Bednar has praised Newhook’s play in the postseason, even though his playing time has been fairly sparse (he only played 8:32 in Game 3). Bednar said Newhook “did all the right things” on the goal, which came off a 2-on-1 with Valeri Nichushkin.

So far, Newhook hasn’t seem overwhelmed by the bright lights and added pressure that NHL playoff hockey brings. That fits his personality, his mom said.

“He’s a no-drama guy. Everything is always just ‘OK’,” she said. “From the get-go, he was a very determined person. Early on, he had a goal and he pursued it with passion. At times, we’ve asked ourselves ‘is this going to be too much pressure for him’ with things, but he just was always a happy kid, full of energy.”

Like mom.