From Samuel Girard to Bowen Byram, via Mikko Rantanen, the Colorado Avalanche has demonstrated over the years an ability to develop young talent. However, it worked less with Alex Newhook, to the point where Joe Sakic resolved to trade him to the Canadian.
Was Newhook “lost” in the Avalanche system, or is it his potential that isn’t what was anticipated when he was drafted 16th overall in 2019? This is what we will discover in the coming years in the entourage of the Canadian.
He will have time to prove himself, since on Tuesday, the Habs announced that they had concluded a 4-year agreement, good for 11.6 million dollars (annual average of 2.9 million) with the Newfoundland forward .
“I’m happy with the contract, the length,” Newhook said in his first – virtual – meeting with Montreal media. It’s good to arrive in a team that wants you for at least four years. Money gives security, I have time before negotiating my next deal and I can become comfortable in the city. »
Newhook is the latest project from Kent Hughes and Martin St-Louis, in their hockey version of the Renovation Angels.
They started with Justin Barron, a project that would last a few more years. It started off on the right foot with Kirby Dach, while the Denis Gurianov shipyard received the same treatment as the Voyageur island; his hiring by the Nashville Predators on Tuesday confirms that the case is dropped.
All have in common with Newhook being former first-round picks and therefore have great potential. Newhook brought out his own in 2021-22, his first full NHL season. With 33 points in 71 games, he ranked 12th among league rookies in what was a banner year for rookies.
Except he plateaued last season, amassing 30 points in 82 games.
Its usage time is noted in the table above. Caught with a panoply of injuries at the start of the season, the Avalanche then acquired forwards in the second half of the campaign, including Matthew Nieto and Lars Eller. Has Newhook played less due to new depth in the squad or underperforming?
“It’s hard to say,” the young man replies. I wanted to contribute to playoff success and it’s hard to do that when you play six or seven minutes in the most important games. I am a competitor, I want to play in these situations. It was frustrating. Part of it was because of my game, but we also added guys that took me down the pecking order.
“It may have taken my minutes down, but I could have done more with my minutes. I could have had better opportunities, but I could have done more with the ones I was given. »
Newhook hasn’t passed through Montreal since the Canadiens acquired him on June 27. The day after the trade, he left Newfoundland for Boston, where he played and studied for two years and where he trains part of the summer. He also had to return to Denver to collect personal effects. He plans to arrive in town “at the end of August”.
However, he already has a good network of contacts in the organization, starting with Hughes, who once ran the Quartexx agency, the one that represents the player.
Besides, he knew Justin Barron with the Avalanche and at Hockey Canada. Kirby Dach and Kaiden Guhle are also former national teammates. Not to mention Cole Caufield, drafted one spot ahead of him in 2019. “I know him through mutual friends and we’ve played each other a few times,” he said.
What all these beautiful people told him? Newhook does not testify under oath by videoconference, but his answer is interesting nonetheless.
“They only spoke well of Martin [St-Louis]. Many of them, the offensive guys, at least, were happy to say that they can play in the offensive zone, that they are encouraged to make plays, to be creative. It fits well with my style and it’s good to have that confidence. Martin brings that and he’s on solid ground (hands on). He can analyze the game of the players and knows where we stand, since he himself lived through everything. »
That said, Newhook wasn’t in bad hands in Colorado. To the Girard, Byram and Rantanen mentioned at the start of the text, we could add Andre Burakovsky and Valeri Nichushkin, who have become much more fulfilled offensively under Jared Bednar. The latter, failing to have won the Jack-Adams trophy, is the only head coach in history to have won the Stanley (NHL), Calder (AHL) and Kelly (ECHL) cups. He obviously knows what he’s doing.
Except these players, with the exception of Byram, arrived at a time when the Avalanche weren’t under pressure to lift the big trophy. This is Newhook’s chance: to relaunch his career in a context where a mistake will not risk costing an elimination. This period of grace will not be eternal, however, because we guess that the plan of the CH is not to languish in the cellar for another three years.
In a draft press briefing, Kent Hughes submitted the example of Chandler Stephenson to illustrate what the Habs will be aiming for with Alex Newhook. Stephenson was indeed forced into a limited role with the Washington Capitals, playing a dozen minutes per game. Traded to Vegas at age 25, he immediately got an upgraded role, and in the past two seasons he’s been used more than 19 minutes per game and hit the 60-point mark each time. “I hadn’t heard his comment, but it makes sense,” Newhook said. Kent wants me on the team, he sees that maybe I was underused and didn’t get the chances I could have. Stephenson arrived and established himself in a new group. It’s exciting to hear that. I have much more to offer than what I have shown in recent years. »
After Kirby Dach, Jonathan Drouin, Alex Galchenyuk and Lars Eller, Newhook will be the new main character of “Centre or winger?” “, a hit piece in the entourage of the Canadian for years. He was drafted as a center and that’s where he says he played the most. “But I can play both positions,” he says. Like Dach, however, he will have to work on his face-offs if he wants to increase his efficiency. Last season, he only won 41.4%. He’s moved from position to position throughout the season, but in mid-December Jared Bednar said he found him “better on the wing, because he skates better.” St. Louis will have no shortage of options at center behind Nick Suzuki, with Newhook, Dach, Sean Monahan, Jake Evans and Christian Dvorak all candidates to drive units.