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“People didn’t cry when Alex Newhook left for Colorado.” – David Ettedgui

 Manuel Sperandio-Lemay
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“People didn’t cry when Alex Newhook left for Colorado.” – David Ettedgui
With NHL training camps approaching, many fans are looking forward to seeing some of the new players in their new uniforms.

On the Montreal Canadiens’ side, there are several prospects that fans can’t wait to see at rookie camp.

Names like Joshua Roy, Owen Beck, Logan Mailloux and Emil Heineman are attracting a lot of interest.

However, there have been many changes during the CH off-season.

Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton have been very active since the 2023 draft.

The club sought the services of Gustav Lindström, Casey DeSmith and Alex Newhook, among others.

The latter was acquired from Colorado in return for the Florida Panthers’ first-round pick and a second-round pick.

Many, including myself, are eager to see young Newhook in action, as he was drafted just after Cole Caufield in 2019.

The potential is there, it remains to be seen whether he can seize his chance in the Canadiens’ top-6.

David Ettedgui, a player agent and contributor to BPM Sports, doesn’t have high expectations of the 22-year-old center forward.

Indeed, Ettedgui is keen to temper expectations of Newhook, who would have had several chances with the Avalanche.

“I’ve talked to several people around the Avalanche. They all say the same thing. We gave this guy every chance. We gave him opportunities, we put him on the second trio. He just failed.” – David Ettedgui

He also pointed out that no one mourned Newhook’s departure for Colorado.

Decidedly, he doesn’t see much potential in Newhook.

What he did want to mention, however, was that a similar situation had already arisen, with a youngster who was slow to establish himself as a regular with the Avalanche club.

That was Tyson Jost, now with the Buffalo Sabres.

Perhaps the Avalanche general manager wanted to prevent a similar scenario from occurring by trading Newhook while he had some value.

Personally, I think he should have a better chance of making his mark in the CH’s top-6.

For one thing, he’ll have more chances to play with good players on the first two lines, but he’ll also have more opportunities to show what he can do on the power play.

In Colorado, the massive attack was well-equipped, and Newhook’s appearances were few and far between.

On average, over the past two seasons, Newhook has played just over 1 minute and 20 seconds per game on the man-advantage, according to RotoWire.

That’s not much for a talented prospect like him. His speed and vision can certainly add something interesting.

By way of comparison, Evan Rodrigues, who scored 39 points in 69 games last year, played just under two minutes per game in this situation last season.

Artturi Lehkonen spent 3 minutes and 32 seconds, while star Nathan MacKinnon averaged over 4 minutes per game on the power play.

I’m of the same opinion as my colleague Marc-Olivier Cook, who believes that Newhook should start the season on the first line, alongside Nick Suzukii and Cole Caufield.

Obviously, we’ll have a better idea of the defensive trios and pairs once training camp and the preseason are over.

There are a number of options open to CH management, and we can expect to see some movement on the CH side between now and the start of the 2023-2024 season. The Flannel are still $4.7 million above payroll.


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