Ex-Saint Newhook shortlisted for NHL draft

November 15, 2018 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte

At just seventeen years of age, Alex Newhook is well-travelled playing the game he loves.
Going coast-to-coast from his hometown of St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Aurora, and now landing in Victoria, British Columbia, the speedy centreman may soon find himself on an NHL roster.
The NHL released on Sunday their first official Central Scouting list of the season looking forward to next June’s Entry Draft, with Newhook’s name high on the list as a projected first round pick.
After putting up close to two points a game in his hometown St. John’s AAA program at the age of fourteen, Newhook moved to Aurora in 2015 to attend St. Andrew’s College, putting in a few short stints with the varsity Saints squad.
There, he put up an astounding 43 goals and 31 assists in 33 games with the York-Simcoe Express AA Minor Midgets, while also suiting up in a short number of games with the Junior A Aurora Tigers.
Newhook led all award recipients in OMHA points, and was the first Express player to win the award since Nik Coric in the 2012 season.
Despite putting up a scoring pass similar to past OMHA East players like Steven Stamkos and Taylor Hall, Newhook and the Minor Midget Express were bounced from the OHL Cup in the play-in round in early March, and last season made the commitment to join the Victoria Grizzlies of the BCHL.
In a phone interview, Newhook said it was “tough” to leave the Express organization, saying the team had “unfinished business.”
“It was a good year, a good team,” said Newhook. “A lot of talent. A lot of guys that are going somewhere in hockey, whether it’s the pros, or college.”
The talented forward announced his commitment to Boston College in November, at the age of just fifteen. The Eagles, one of the most storied teams in NCAA division I hockey, will add Newhook to their roster in two years’ time.
The lone Junior A player to receive an A-rating on the scouting list, both Sportsnet and ISS Hockey have Newhook projected for the first round at eleventh overall, The Hockey News at thirteenth, and Bob McKenzie of TSN at fifteenth. Draft.Site.com has him going sixteenth overall to the Colorado Avalanche.