The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club selected forward Alex Newhook with the 16th overall pick in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft tonight at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
Newhook, 18, has spent the last two seasons with the Victoria Grizzlies of the British Columbia Hockey League, where he’s produced 168 points (60g/108a) in 98 career regular-season games and 33 points (14g/19a) in 27 total postseason contests.
The St. John’s, Newfoundland, native served as team captain in 2018-19 and led the league with 102 points (38g/64a). He also paced the league in assists and ranked third in goals, earning the Vern Dye Memorial Trophy as the league’s most valuable player and BCHL First Team All-Star honors. Newhook added a league-leading 24 points (11g/13a) in 15 postseason games, ranking second in goals and tied for fourth in assists.
In 2017-18, Newhook ranked first among BCHL rookies with 66 points (22g/44a) and was tops among first-year players in assists and second in goals. The 5-foot-10, 192-pound center won the Bruce Allison Memorial Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year and was named a BCHL First-Team All-Star. He notched nine points (3g/6a) in 12 playoff outings.
Newhook represented his country at the 2019 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship in Sweden, registering 10 points (5g/5a) in seven tournament contests to tie for the team lead in points. He suited up for Team Canada Black at the 2017 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, finishing with four points (1g/3a) in five outings.
Newhook was the 13th-rated North American skater in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings for the 2019 draft, moving up from the No. 16 spot in the midterm rankings. He’s the fifth player the franchise has selected from the BCHL and second in four years, as Colorado drafted Tyson Jost (Penticton) with the 10th overall pick at the 2016 NHL Draft. Newhook is just the third player the franchise has selected that was born in Newfoundland and the first draftee since the team moved to Denver to hail from the province. He is committed to Boston College for the 2019-20 campaign.
The NHL Draft resumes tomorrow (Saturday, June 22) with rounds 2-7 beginning at 11 a.m. MT on the NHL Network.
