Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey Follow @Karinehains
The Habs’ newly signed forward spoke with the media yesterday and he made it very clear that he’s excited for the opportunity he’s been given. After a good rookie season Newhook wanted and expected to reach new highs last season but for whatever reason, that did not happen. At times, he was a bit frustrated with his lack of usage and with his ice-time being consistently up and down.
The 22-year-old admitted that it was an emotional day when he heard that he was traded with Colorado being his first team and having been through a Cup run with his teammates, but at the same time it’s exciting to come to a team that will give him more opportunities that what he got in Colorado.
On Kent Hughes, who wasn’t directly his agent but was still involved in his management team before taking the role in Montreal, he said that it’s great to have someone who believes in you bring you in and wants to have you being part of the team.
It also seems like he had a good conversation with head coach Marty St-Louis, he appreciated the fact that the bench boss told him he wants him to play his game and not be afraid to make mistakes. There’s a difference between being on a contending team that’s vying for the top spot and on a developing team. In other words, St-Louis has made it clear to him that the team would be pushing to instill trust in him which should help him find consistency in his game. This is starting to look like a familiar formula in Montreal as it worked wonders with both Cole Caufield who was a new man once St-Louis took over from Ducharme and Kirby Dach who blossomed after getting a fresh start in town. Newhook is looking forward to having a bit more leash out there and getting to play freely.
Newhook’s confident that his game will fit in well with the Canadiens’ style of play, he’s got a lot of speed and he likes to attack on the rush and create opportunities that way. He’s not coming in blindly in Montreal since he already knows some of the players, he played with Justin Barron in Colorado and went to school with his brothers, he played with both Dach and Guhle for the national team and he also knows Cole Caufield through a couple of mutual friends and he’s played against him in various tournaments as well.
On his contract, he said that he’s excited that the team wants him to be around for at least four years and says that it does give him time to grow and not be rushed into another deal. From the team’s perspective, this could turn out to be a very good deal quite quickly if Newhook turns out to be a fit with the Habs. Considering the salary cap is set to go up in the coming years, Newhook could have signed a shorter deal to try and get more money sooner, but this contract probably gives him peace of mind and won’t mean he’ll be under too much pressure straight from the get-go.
For now, he’ll have to go back to Colorado and put things in order there and he expects to come to Montreal for good towards the end of August, start of September. As the main addition up front this offseason, it’s fair to say that all eyes will be on the new number 15 when training camp opens in a couple of months. Hopefully, the Newhook gamble will turn out exactly like the Dach one did last season, your move Marty.
Alex Newhook discute de son entente de quatre saisons avec les Canadiens!
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) July 11, 2023
Alex Newhook speaks about his four-year deal with the Canadiens!#GoHabsGo https://t.co/DnssfzEyA5