Alex Newhook is a long way from home 鈥� from his real home in St. John鈥檚, N.L., and his secondary home in Victoria where he has spent the past two seasons playing in the sa国际传媒 Hockey League for the Grizzlies.
But the 18-year-old rising star wouldn鈥檛 have it any other way. He鈥檚 in Europe for the first time and playing for sa国际传媒 at a world championship.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a blast so far, everything I dreamed about,鈥� Newhook said Friday by phone as Team sa国际传媒 enjoyed an off day at the IIHF U-18 World Championship in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, before they take on the host team today in the semifinals. The United States, led by projected No. 1 overall NHL draft pick Jack Hughes, and Russia square off in the other semifinal.
鈥淪weden is a great country with great food and beautiful scenery and we鈥檙e in the semifinals so it鈥檚 all good.鈥�
Newhook, who led the BCHL in scoring in both the regular season and the playoffs, has had a an impressive tournament so far, leading sa国际传媒 in scoring in the group stage with four goals and four assists in four games, but he and his teammates hit a slight bump in the road in Wednesday鈥檚 quarter-final against Latvia. They picked up a 3-1 win to improve to 5-0 in the tournament but Newhook was held off the scoresheet for the first time in the tournament and the Canadians needed an empty-net goal to secure the win over the pesky Latvians.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to dwell on the Latvian game too much,鈥� said Newhook.
鈥淲e took them a little lightly, but we a had a good round robin and it鈥檚 all about movin鈥� on so we鈥檙e focused on Sweden now and looking forward to that challenge.鈥�
Playing the host team in what should be a packed arena will definitely be a challenge for sa国际传媒. Their round-robin games and the quarter-final were in the smaller city of Umea and the crowds were sparse.
鈥淚t was a little odd playing the games with not many people there but we expected that, being from far away and most of the fans here focused on the Swedish team,鈥� added Newhook.
鈥淏ut now we get to play in front of a big crowd and we鈥檙e all excited about that. It should be a lot of fun.鈥�
Newhook, rated No. 13 among North American skaters for June鈥檚 NHL draft in Vancouver, is playing on a line with a pair of Western Hockey Leaguers who are also expected to go early in the first round of the draft. Peyton Krebs of the Winnipeg Ice centres Newhook and Dylan Cousins of the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e been great to play with and we鈥檝e had some success so it鈥檚 been fun. They鈥檙e both fast skaters and great with the puck so it鈥檚 been easy to play with them.鈥�
While Newhook is focused on the Swedes, he has also been busy trying to keep up with his schooling as he nears graduation at Belmont Secondary before moving on to NCAA hockey in the fall at Boston College.
鈥淵a, I got homework here but Hockey sa国际传媒 gives us study sessions so we have time to focus on our school work which is good.鈥�
So he shouldn鈥檛 miss a beat in class next week when he鈥檚 back hitting the books at Belmont.
鈥淏ack Monday night and school on Tuesday so back to the routine,鈥� he laughed.
A routine that鈥檚 going to include, prom, graduation ceremonies, the draft combine and NHL draft weekend.
鈥淚t鈥檒l be a busy time but also a lot fun so I鈥檓 looking forward to it.鈥�
