Boston College commit and Victoria Grizzlies product Alex Newhook has been on a tear as one of only two CJHL players to crack Team Canada’s roster at the 2019 Under-18 World Hockey Championships in Sweden.
Heading into tomorrow’s semifinal matchup with host Team Sweden, the St. John’s, N.L. native is second in team scoring with four goals and four assists for eight points, which also ties him for fifth-most overall in the tournament. He has been skating on Canada’s top line alongside a pair of WHL players – Dylan Cozens of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, ranked number five on NHL Central Scouting’s list of North American skaters, and Kootenay Ice centre Peyton Krebs, ranked ninth on the same list.
Canada went a perfect 4-0 during the round-robin portion of the tournament, scoring 29 goals and only giving up 10 while beating Finland, Switzerland, Belarus and the Czech Republic. On Thursday, they beat Latvia 3-1 in their quarter-final matchup, setting up their semifinal date with the Swedes who went 3-1 in the round robin and beat the Czechs 4-2 in the quarters.
Newhook and Okotoks Oilers (AJHL) forward Dylan Holloway are the only two CJHL players to make Team Canada.
Newhook led the BCHL in scoring this year with 102 points and was named the league’s MVP. The 2001-born forward was also the leading scorer in the BCHL playoffs with 24 points, despite his team being eliminated in the third round.
In his two seasons in Victoria, the 5-foot-11, 190-pounder totaled 168 points (60 goals, 108 assists) in 98 regular-season games. On top of his accolades this year, he was also named the BCHL Rookie of the Year in 2017-18.
Newhook is ranked at number 12 on NHL Central Scouting’s North American skaters list and is projected to be a first-round pick at June’s 2019 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver.
Also competing in this year’s tournament is expected first-overall pick in the upcoming draft Jack Hughes who leads the U18s with 16 points in five games.
Canada vs. Sweden goes at 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning and can be seen on TSN. The bronze and gold medal games are scheduled for Sunday morning and can be seen on TSN2.
