Goalfield13
In Bilbo We Trust
- Aug 31, 2021
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8 points in his last 9 games. No love for Newhook...
Player Discussion Alex Newhook (Part 2) : Book an Appointment with New Look Edition
- Thread starter ahmedou
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DAChampion
Registered User
- May 28, 2011
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Goalfield13
In Bilbo We Trust
- Aug 31, 2021
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Newhook was starting to play better before Beck’s re-call from Laval. I find most of the complaining about him lazy and based on an older body of work. He’ll never be a star but he can be a solid, contributing, middle six forward for us.
Goalfield13
In Bilbo We Trust
- Aug 31, 2021
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Yeah, he will never cost much. For what he is, he is decent. I don't have an issue with him on this team. He's also pretty versatile, being able to play all three forward positions.
Skip Bayless
The Skip Bayless Show
- Aug 28, 2014
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Redux91
I do Three bullets.
I did
But i was expecting it next year on the 3rd line lol
If they play their cards right you could maybe have Heineman round out that trio in the not so distant future..... *drool*
the tip play from Matheson should be a staple for our entire team. We should be embracing this a bit more than just hammering a slapper and trying to tip it
LaP
Registered User
He's a good 3rd liner. Need to make room for him next season on the 3rd line. Should not be back in a top 6 role.
Goalfield13
In Bilbo We Trust
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If we can find a 2C, I think a third line of Newhook-Beck-Heineman is going to be legit for many years to come.
We are very fortunate to have this raw rookie able to step in and help stabilize a line that was struggling.
It's very important that the line continues to chip in while not getting torched not having a real 2nd line.
Victoire HuGo
Formerly le Barron de HF
Glad that he's turned it around production wise. Was weird for his production to decline so bad out of nowhere. Curious for him to get reps on the PK and to see if he can at least be close to 50% on the faceoff dot.
This line is very fast and would definitely give opponents all they could handle. Great potential.
I think many are still sleeping on Newhook...
He had a rough start to the season, no doubt, but he's been playing very sound hockey for a few months now.
His play on this road trip has been quite good, so much so that they were comfortable rolling him out with Gally & Roy last night as the "2nd line".
He's not good enough to carry a line, that's clear, but he's playing at a high level, with the kind of responsibility & compete level that bodes well for his long term future.
While stylistically different, he's reminding me a lot of Lekhonen... Especially in terms of the loud "fan" criticism of his game. If he were moved to a contending roster tomorrow, he could slot in next to elite players seemlesly and like Lek, "break out" and leave the peanut gallery lamenting how we let such a good player get away.
Fortunately, it seems both the coaching staff and management see what they have in him. I bet the next few years will see him start to put up the points stat watchers are so focused on.
Future is bright
He had a rough start to the season, no doubt, but he's been playing very sound hockey for a few months now.
His play on this road trip has been quite good, so much so that they were comfortable rolling him out with Gally & Roy last night as the "2nd line".
He's not good enough to carry a line, that's clear, but he's playing at a high level, with the kind of responsibility & compete level that bodes well for his long term future.
While stylistically different, he's reminding me a lot of Lekhonen... Especially in terms of the loud "fan" criticism of his game. If he were moved to a contending roster tomorrow, he could slot in next to elite players seemlesly and like Lek, "break out" and leave the peanut gallery lamenting how we let such a good player get away.
Fortunately, it seems both the coaching staff and management see what they have in him. I bet the next few years will see him start to put up the points stat watchers are so focused on.
Future is bright
I agree with this and I think it's been a tough year to evaluate Newhook. His production is not great, borderline unacceptable really, but if you ignore him and watch him he still manages to create a few chances every game. The issue for me is that he's spent most of the season with Dach and Laine - two guys who have had their moments but largely struggled. I'm pretty sure those 3 guys are the bottom three Habs fowards in EV points/60. I think Newhook has played most of his games with at least one of those guys, it would be good to get him with two different guys to see how he produces (i.e. like he did last year with Armia and Roy).I think many are still sleeping on Newhook...
He had a rough start to the season, no doubt, but he's been playing very sound hockey for a few months now.
His play on this road trip has been quite good, so much so that they were comfortable rolling him out with Gally & Roy last night as the "2nd line".
He's not good enough to carry a line, that's clear, but he's playing at a high level, with the kind of responsibility & compete level that bodes well for his long term future.
While stylistically different, he's reminding me a lot of Lekhonen... Especially in terms of the loud "fan" criticism of his game. If he were moved to a contending roster tomorrow, he could slot in next to elite players seemlesly and like Lek, "break out" and leave the peanut gallery lamenting how we let such a good player get away.
Fortunately, it seems both the coaching staff and management see what they have in him. I bet the next few years will see him start to put up the points stat watchers are so focused on.
Future is bright
Defensively I think Newhook has improved a lot. Marty has praised his efforts recently in some post-game scrums. Love or hate +/-, but after Newhook had an awful +/- in October it's pretty much stabalized since then, unlike Dach and Laine who have strugged in that facet.
Long term I still see him as a 3C, but I think it's going to be really hard to acquire a 2C this off season, so I think he might start the next season as the 2C. I wonder if a 2nd line of Demidov - Newhook - Heineman would do better than the 2nd line we've seen this season.
I agree he's a bit like Lehkonen, but at least with Lehkonen his defensive game was pretty mature early on in his career. So even when Lehks was getting crucified for not being able to produce offensively, people were still happy with his defensive game. I think Newhook's defensive game is continuing to improve, I'd really like to see him on the PK at some point.
Another guy Newhook reminds me of is Lars Eller. We spent years debating if Lars Eller was a top 6 or bottom 6 player. Eventually when he went to Washington he was put in a 3rd line center role and thrived. I think next year would be my last year waiting to see if Newhook is top-6 material, and then after that I'd be trying to convert him to a 3rd line center.
Long post, I'm rambling, I'm posting on here a lot today, but it's cause I'm avoiding work after being tired from staying up watching the game last night lol.
The Great Weal
Phil's Pizza
- Jan 15, 2015
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He's the exact opposite of a swiss knife.
Need him to chip in with secondary offense in the top 6? Doesn't have the IQ or consistency to do it.
Need him to be in a grinding role in the bottom 6? Doesn't have the physicality or defensive game to do it.
Need him to skate around really fast aimlessly while having a big forehead? He's the guy.
He doesn't have the elements for a top 6 or bottom 6 role. A big whoopsie by the pro scouts there.
Trabdy2
Registered User
- Nov 30, 2018
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I find Newhook's game is full of "almosts".
He almost scored, but he missed the net. He almost got that pass right, but he played it too far up ice. He almost won that battle on the boards, but he lost body position etc.
Watching him play, it just seems like there should be better outcomes when you see the speed and occasional dynamic skill, but the execution seems to be a bit off regularly.
I don't think he can become a part of a top 6 without significantly improved consistency of execution. He would need to improve some aspects of his defensive game to play a role on a good 3rd line. I'm not writing him off, though. I like the effort I see from him and I can tell he has the passion to play and improve.
He almost scored, but he missed the net. He almost got that pass right, but he played it too far up ice. He almost won that battle on the boards, but he lost body position etc.
Watching him play, it just seems like there should be better outcomes when you see the speed and occasional dynamic skill, but the execution seems to be a bit off regularly.
I don't think he can become a part of a top 6 without significantly improved consistency of execution. He would need to improve some aspects of his defensive game to play a role on a good 3rd line. I'm not writing him off, though. I like the effort I see from him and I can tell he has the passion to play and improve.
Such a poor assessment of the hockey player... Do you even watch any Habs games?
you are completely out to lunch. delete this post
This is what I was referencing earlier re. Lekhonen comparison... I swear this exact post was made a number of times about Lek when he was with us.
ReimanSum1908
Registered User
Except for the fact that those posts were obviously incorrect even at the time when the underlying numbers suggested that Lekhonen was a dominant defensive and possession forward who was radically underpaid on his contract relative to actual value on the ice.
He's not that far off on Newhook.
I tried to like Newhook, but I just can't. He looks like a poor version of Christopher Higgins to me and Higgins was at best an average 3rd liner or a bad 2nd liner on a bad team.
His bad offensive IQ and his stone hands was infuriating. Newhook reminds me of Higgins for the same reasons.
And no, he is no where near as good offensively as Lehkonen. They both played for the same team... Newhook had his chances with Mackinnon and didn't do anything. That's why Colorado got rid of him. They couldn't find a proper role for him.
Lehkonen is feisty, works hard non stop, has a very good shot and superior hockey IQ. Newhook is nowhere close to that imo.
Trabdy2
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- Nov 30, 2018
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I find Lehkonen was a lot better in defensive aspects and had better fundamental habits and work ethic than Newhook. But I do agree about the "almosts" theme there with Lehkonen, as well as with Higgins. The offensive outcomes didn't seem to match with the hockey we saw with our eyeballs.
Not sure if you watched the Habs back in the days, but Higgins was one of the best Habs skaters... It was literally like his only good tool lol.
