Thanks to Alex Newhook, the Victoria Grizzlies are pretty much guaranteed to have a 2019 NHL draft pick in their lineup when they hit the ice in September.
After Wednesday鈥檚 signing of Boston native Riley Hughes, the Grizzlies will also have a 2018 NHL draft pick on their team for the upcoming sa国际传媒 Hockey League season.
Hughes, a offensively skilled winger, was selected in the seventh round of last month鈥檚 NHL entry draft by the New York Rangers.
Hughes, who turned 18 last month, says he鈥檚 not too familiar with the Grizzlies鈥� new captain and reigning BCHL rookie of the year Newhook, but he expects that to change in a hurry as the two could find themselves linemates this season. They鈥檒l have plenty to talk about as Newhook is committed to Boston College for the fall of 2019, and Hughes will play his NCAA hockey in 2019 at Beanpot Tournament rival Northeastern.
鈥淚鈥檓 sure we鈥檒l become friends pretty quick with the season starting soon, but when we鈥檙e in college, yah, it might be a different story,鈥� laughed Hughes.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a pretty big rivalry, especially during the Beanpot [the annual tournament between the four Boston-area NCAA universities that is played at the home of the NHL鈥檚 Bruins].鈥�
Hughes will have some backup in the Grizzlies鈥� locker-room when it comes to Northeastern. Recently signed Grizzlies defenceman Jeremie Bucheler is also committed to Northeastern.
鈥淚鈥檝e heard the name but I鈥檝e never met him, but it鈥檒l be great to meet a future college teammate,鈥� Hughes said.
Hughes is coming off an impressive senior season of high school hockey with St. Sebastian School where he scored 21 goals and 36 points in 30 games to draw the attention of the Rangers. And following the draft he quickly headed to New York for the NHL team鈥檚 prospects camp.
鈥淭he development camp was a great experience,鈥� said Hughes, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs in at 180 pounds.
鈥淚 got to meet a lot of recent draft picks, some of whom had played pro in the AHL, so I learned a lot and now I want to build off that and have a great season in Victoria.鈥�
Hughes said he had a lot of options for this coming season, including the USHL, but the BCHL was too good an opportunity to pass up, and the Rangers agreed.
鈥淛ust looking at the kind of team the Grizzlies are going to have and I heard the BCHL is an offensive league, which I liked, so it just seemed to be a perfect fit for me,鈥� Hughes said.
Grizzlies GM and head coach Craig Didmon agreed.
鈥淩iley is a gifted offensive player, which is perfect for this league, so we鈥檙e happy to have him and I think our fans are going to be in for a treat watching him play because he can be exciting to watch,鈥� said Didmon, whose club is set to open training camp on Aug. 20.
Hughes may be a stranger to Victoria, but he鈥檚 more than familiar with the country he鈥檚 about to reside in. Although born in the Boston area, Hughes鈥� parents are both Canadians from Montreal.
鈥淵ah, I have a lot of relatives in Eastern sa国际传媒 so we go up there quite often,鈥� added Hughes.
But Boston is first and foremost in his heart. And so is Northeastern.
鈥淚鈥檓 a Boston kid so Northeastern is what most Boston boys shoot for.
鈥淭he school has done a great job of developing pro players lately so that was a big plus for me.鈥�
And one of those pro players from Northeastern is likely to become a household name in sa国际传媒 Adam Gaudette left Northeastern last spring after winning the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA鈥檚 top player and is set to embark on his pro career with the Vancouver Canucks.
鈥淎dam is well known in these parts because he鈥檚 from here as well and I know him well because he went to prep school at Thayer Academy, which is a huge rival of my school. Great player, too. Canucks got a good one.鈥�
It looks like the Grizzlies have, too.
鈥淲e hope to continue Riley鈥檚 development this coming season and we expect him to play a big role with our club so we鈥檙e all looking forward to the season,鈥� Didmon said.
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