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Welcome to the Team Alex Newhook |
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With the 2019 NHL Entry Draft coming on Friday, every hockey outlet across the globe is in projection mode. We here at HockeyBuzz happen to be a hockey site and have been prepping feverously for the draft. Here in Vegas, speculation is running rampant to see who the Golden Knights will be able to pick from and ultimately choose with their first round (17th overall) pick.
Due to the way our draft has broken down, my initial strategy was thrown out the window. I was fully prepared to make the masses happy with a total homer pick of goaltender, Spencer Knight. He is a highly regarded talent who has been compared to some guy named Martin Brodeur (have you heard of him?). Even more important than his skillset is his name. He seems destined to land in Vegas with the last name of Knight. If his middle name were Golden, I would have picked him, 100%.
As my turn finally came around, one of my personal favorite players in the draft was still available and I just had to take him. Alex Newhook is a talented center who is headed to Boston College this fall. He lit up the British Columbia Hockey League last season and projects to be a top-six center once he gets his shot in the NHL. Letting him play in the NCAA is good for the Golden Knights who have a ton of depth at center, provided they resign William Karlsson long-term. Getting Newhook at 17 would be a steal for the Golden Knights and despite the mock results, I'd be surprised if he were available that late on Friday.
Photo Credit: Darren Stone, Times Colonist
Here's what I had to say about the "new" Golden Knights center in our HockeyBuzz Mock Draft:
Going with a highly-skilled, yet college-bound pick is perfect for the Vegas Golden Knights at this point in time. Newhook is a center who wants the puck on his stick and is a tremendous skater by all accounts. Per J.D Burke of Elite Prospects, "Newhook’s footwork, agility and heel-to-heel skating are high, high-end. He can skate circles around the opposition if he wants to". Gerard Gallant's systems focus almost solely on speed and tenacity, which the the Canadian certainly brings to the table.
There is no immediate need in this point in time for the big club, therefore he will have time to both grow and develop his game against bigger men in the NCAA. Newhook is coming off a strong season (38g, 64a) and World Juniors tournament(5g, 5a). Within a couple years, expect Newhook to go pro and team up with Cody Glass (CHI-AHL) as solid middle-six centers for the Golden Knights, helping keep them in the playoff hunt for years to come.
Spencer Knight (G) was in strong consideration due to the three-year deal and age of Marc-Andre Fleury. That, combined with the lack of high-level goaltending options in the system, made him hard to pass up. He was as close to a perfect pick as it gets for Vegas, donning the Knight name. Regardless, Malcolm Subban will do for now as a contingency plan for Fleury's likely retirement at the end of his new deal.
Whether George McPhee gets the chance to pick Newhook or not, the team will be looking to be in contention once again in 2019-20. They have a ton of depth at the NHL level, even with their cap crunch signaling an unavoidable asset dump. With Glass waiting in the wings, they have potential elite-level talent in their future and adding Newhook or Knight would add another to the system. Their need at goaltender may be stronger than center, but when you see a guy like Newhook, you take a guy like Newhook.
What will the Golden Knights do on draft day? Let me know what you think in the comments.
Follow me on Twitter for your Golden Knights news, analysis, and updates. I will be live Tweeting the draft, so I'll be waiting to wait through 16 other picks with you all.
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