Stu Cowan: Alex Newhook enthusiastic about his debut with younger Canadiens

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Alex Newhook’s dialog with Kent Hughes didn’t final lengthy after the Canadiens GM acquired him in a commerce with the Colorado Avalanche the day earlier than the NHL Draft in June.

“He mentioned: ‘You’ve heard sufficient from me already … I’ll simply give the cellphone to Marty (St. Louis),’” Newhook recalled with a chuckle about that cellphone dialog after observe Monday in Brossard. “It was fairly fast.”

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Newhook and Hughes know one another very properly.

Whereas Hughes was by no means Newhook’s agent (it’s Paul Capizzano), he was an agent in the identical Quartexx Administration firm earlier than turning into GM of the Canadiens. Hughes’s son, Riley, was additionally Newhook’s teammate with the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies in 2018-19 when Newhook led the league in scoring and was named MVP after posting 38-64-102 totals in 53 video games. Riley had 24-34-58 totals in 53 video games that season.

The Colorado Avalanche chosen Newhook within the first spherical (sixteenth overrall) of the 2019 NHL Draft, whereas the New York Rangers took Riley within the seventh spherical (216th total).

“I’d communicate with him a bit,” Newhook mentioned about his relationship with Hughes when the GM was with Quartexx. “He seemed over me within the company and I turned fairly near him by way of that. I believe he thinks numerous me and expects rather a lot out of me. I believe that’s a giant motive why I’m right here and to have somebody who believes in you want that, it’s thrilling. I’m trying ahead to proving that.”

Newhook will get his first likelihood to try this Wednesday when the Canadiens open the common season in Toronto towards the Maple Leafs (7 p.m., SN, TVA Sports activities, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

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“Form of begins the season off with a bang,” Newhook mentioned. “I believe everybody right here is able to get it going and no higher strategy to do it than Montreal-Toronto.”

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Hughes was prepared to surrender a first-round choose (thirty first total) and a second-round choose (thirty seventh total) at this 12 months’s draft with the intention to get Newhook from Colorado. Hughes believes St. Louis can get the most effective out of Newhook — just like what the top coach did final season with Kirby Dach — whereas giving him a extra distinguished position and extra ice time than he acquired in Colorado. The 5-foot-11, 199-pound Newhook had 14-16-30 totals final season in 82 video games whereas averaging 13:57 of ice time.

Newhook ought to get extra ice time this season as he begins at left wing on the second line with Dach at centre and Juraj Slafkovsky on the appropriate. Newhook may even begin the season on the second power-play unit.

“I believe we have now an excellent mixture of expertise and totally different attributes,” Newhook mentioned about his line. “A few massive guys there with Dacher and Slaf. I believe I can convey my pace to that line and work off one another, so excited for it.”

The Canadiens’ first line may have Nick Suzuki at centre between Cole Caufield and Josh Anderson. Anderson is the oldest participant among the many top-six forwards at 29 and he’s additionally the one one who wasn’t a first-round draft choose. Suzuki is 24, whereas Dach, Newhook and Caufield are all 22 and Slafkovsky is nineteen.

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Suzuki was drafted thirteenth total by the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017. Dach was drafted third total by Chicago in 2019, the identical 12 months the Canadiens chosen Caufield fifteenth total and Colorado took Newhook sixteenth total, whereas Slafkovsky was the No. 1 total choose in 2022. Anderson was drafted within the fourth spherical (ninety fifth total) by Columbus in 2012.

Hughes has acquired loads of younger expertise by way of trades and the draft since taking up as GM and now it’s as much as St. Louis to get essentially the most from them on the ice. It’s arduous to think about the Canadiens making the playoffs within the second full season of their rebuild, however they need to be numerous enjoyable to look at because the younger gamers proceed to develop. The Canadiens even have 4 defencemen beneath the age of 24 — Jordan Harris (23), Arber Xhekaj (22), Kaiden Guhle (21) and Justin Barron (21).

“I believe he’s been nice,” Newhook mentioned about St. Louis. “He’s been very open and really communicative to me and I believe that’s large as a brand new man coming in. It’s good to listen to rather a lot from a brand new coach and get stuffed in on various things that had been possibly not so clear or totally different from my earlier crew, in order that’s been nice. He expects rather a lot out of me, as do I.”

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Hughes can be anticipating rather a lot from Newhook, who wasn’t stunned when the previous agent was named GM of the Canadiens.

“I believe by way of hockey minds on the market, by speaking to him through the years, I believe he’s the most effective minds within the administration aspect of it, for positive,” Newhook mentioned. “He will get the sport, he will get the administration aspect of it. He’s very educated and fairly open-minded. It sucks for the company (that Hughes left), however nice for the crew and now that I’m a part of it it’s nice.”

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