Newfoundlanders are some of the nicest people you'll meet on the planet. All around good, salt-of-the-earth people, friendly and intensely proud to be from 'The Rock', as the province is affectionately known by its residents, and fellow Canadians. But don't let their big smiles and friendly attitudes fool you, there is an intense competition between the Townies and Baymen.
"Everyone kind of gets on board with it," Newhook said, "You know, if you're not from town, everyone kind of takes pride in being Baymen. And those hockey matchups can really get heated because that's kind of the holy grail of everything that goes on in Newfoundland, it's hockey. So, the Townie-Baymen matchup is big, especially when both teams are really good."
And growing up, they were.
"I think our age group will probably go down as one of the best, strongest age groups in Newfoundland probably ever," Newhook shared, "Both me and Dawson, both being there, you know, a couple other guys growing up that really good, that are still playing and a couple in the minors."
"From where I'm from, it's one of the main spots outside of the city, so our club team was always pretty good," Mercer said, "We had most of the players from outside the city, and then they had their team that was obviously good. So, I think that made it a little bit more competitive within our age group and we had a lot of strong players within our age and competition was pretty good."
And that level of competition growing up is part of why these two Newfoundlanders have made it - and have had an impact - on their NHL clubs. Both left home at a very young age, Mercer and Newhook were both 14 years old when they moved. It is the nature of being a hockey player from Newfoundland with big dreams.
"It can be hard," Newhook said. "I mean, I was really excited to leave. I guess it's young for sure, but I think you know, at that age you are kind of playing, it's the same people growing up all the time and the competition gets thinned out once you get to a certain age. There's just not as much exposure at home, so you kind of have to leave, right?"
Newhook went from one Canadian coast to another, joining the BCHL's Victoria Grizzlies, while Mercer eventually ended up in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
"When I was making my decision, I wasn't really sure what to do," Mercer remembers, "But then like when it clued in to me that if I really want to play hockey as a career, I have to go. So that's kind of when I just pretty much gave my one hundred percent answer that I'm going for sure. When I really realized that if I want to be a hockey player, I have to go, and then I was like, okay, I gotta go."
Leaving was important on both their paths, but so was the time they spent against one another in Newfoundland. On the rare occasion, they were teammates, whether it was with Team Canada or Team Newfoundland, the Townie and Baymen would come together as two of the strongest players from their province. It also plays a big part in why they are who they are as hockey players.
"One hundred percent," affirmed Mercer "Newfoundland is not the biggest spot but I think, obviously, our age group was strong. We did really good, you know, growing up and having that talent that actually got to go play away, and have another look at hockey, away from Newfoundland."
