Newhook Newfoundland Proud Ahead of NHL Debut

Alex Newhook is as far away from home as he can be to make his NHL debut, but he'll certainly have a strong contingent of supporters staying up late in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador to root him on.
The 16th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft by the Colorado Avalanche, Newhook will don the burgundy and blue colors for the first time tonight with No. 18 on his back as the team faces the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center in Northern California--five time zones and 3,477 miles away from his hometown of St. John's, Newfoundland, on the Atlantic coast of Canada.

Newhook will be the 30th player from the province to appear in an NHL game and the fourth Newfoundland-born player to dress in a contest in Colorado/Quebec Nordiques franchise history. The forward will be the second to do so in an Avalanche uniform, joining John Slaney who appeared in seven games during the inaugural 1995-96 season in Denver.
"I told a lot of my close buddies at home, and they're all pretty excited. So I'm sure Newfoundland will be behind it and stay up for the late game," Newhook said. "It's pretty special to be a part of that group. Only a certain amount of people from Newfoundland have played in the NHL and very proud to be part of that group tonight."
His parents will lead the group watching into the wee hours on Thursday morning with nervous energy and anxious stomachs. Usually teams can fly out family for a player's NHL debut, but with the COVID-19 pandemic still present and the mandatory quarantine rules in place in Canada, coupled with the long flight, Shawn and Paula Newhook will have to watch their son play live another time.
They did have the honor of being the first to know that Alex's NHL dream will be realized.
"I had a good idea yesterday, but I officially found out this morning," Newhook said of when he first learned he was playing. "It was a pretty cool thing to hear. You kind of dream of this day, I've been dreaming of it my whole life. It was exciting. I called my parents right away; they were the first people to know.
"They're excited for me. They're going to have I'm sure a few people watching at home."

Newhook hasn't been back in St. John's much in the past six months since joining Team Canada for training camp in November ahead of the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship in Edmonton, Alberta, and has been playing hockey nearly non-stop.
After helping Canada take the silver medal at those World Juniors in December and January, Newhook recorded 16 points in 12 games during his sophomore season at Boston College. He signed his first pro contract with the Avs on March 31 and reported to the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League where he has tallied five goals and four assists in eight contests. Called up to the Avalanche's taxi squad on Sunday, he'll now play for his fourth team this year as he skates with NHL pros for the first time.
"Now he has to go out and do it on the ice here with our team, but he looks good in practice, he looks quick, he looks strong," said Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar of Newhook. "Bigger and stronger than the last time I saw him for sure. He's had a great season and, most recently with the Eagles, he's putting the puck in the net. So we're going to put him into some situations to see if he can help us on the offensive side of things."
Bednar said prior to Monday's outing versus the Sharks that he wanted to get Newhook into a game at some point during this five-game road trip, but he was also cognizant of putting him in the best situation possible. Bednar and the team's other coaches having been going over 5-on-5 and special-teams work during video sessions and in team practices over the past few days to get him comfortable with the system, but they also made sure to not overload the 20-year-old with too much information.

"Just from talking to him, he seems like a real mature player, has a good understanding of the way we want to play," Bednar said. "He's done real well in the short time with the Eagles, so it looks like he's ready to come in. I touched on it last week, in order to play for us now and where we're at with the team and what we're trying to accomplish this year and the aspirations as a team, you have to be able to go in and make an impact here."
He'll begin tonight's game as the center on a line with Andre Burakovsky and Nazem Kadri, two veterans of the league that can help on the ice and let him focus on playing his own game.
"Wanted to play Newhook with some skilled players," Bednar said. "Burky is playing real well right now, Naz is an option to help Newhook in the middle of the ice--we're going to move him to the wing tonight because Newhook is more comfortable at center, see how he does there, put him in his natural position. He's also going to play on the power play with those guys as well."
Newhook has displayed his offensive abilities at every level that he has played in as he's crisscrossed the continent over the past several years. However, to have that goal-scoring prowess transfer to the NHL is a tough task for any player.
He earned MVP honors by scoring 38 goals and recording 102 points in 53 contests as an 18-year-old with the Victoria Grizzlies of the British Columbia Hockey League in 2018-19 and won the Tim Taylor Award as college hockey's rookie of the year last season at Boston College when he led all NCAA freshmen with 19 goals. He also added 23 assists for 42 points in 34 contests with BC, ranking ninth nationally in points per game.

The center had three goals and three assists in six outings at this past year's World Junior Championship and has proven he can contribute offensively in pro hockey with three multi-point contests and a five-game point streak with the Eagles in Loveland.
"I think it has been a good transition. I knew it was definitely going to be a step up, and everyone talks about the big jump from college to pro," Newhook said. "Really just tried to take in as much as I could in the AHL and with the Eagles. The coaches have been great there, they taught me a lot in my short time there. Just trying to learn more about the pro game, and obviously another step up here, but the guys have been great in welcoming me in and have kind of given me some pointers on what the game is kind of like."
His next challenge is to transition his play to meet the demands of the best league in the world.
That begins when he officially enters the NHL just after the 6:30 p.m. scheduled puck drop in San Jose, California, or 11:00 p.m. in the Newfoundland Time Zone.