When looking at the Avalanche’s foreseeable future long beyond the coronavirus pandemic — meaning next season and beyond — Alex Newhook and a boatload of salary-cap space begin to paint a colorful picture in Colorado.
Newhook, the 19-year-old Boston College freshman who recently won the Tim Taylor Award as NCAA freshman of the year, is among the Avs’ two can’t-miss prospects and I suspect he’ll enjoy a stout NHL career.
The other? Bo Byram, 18, whom The Hockey News rated No. 1 among all 310 eligible prospects (Newhook is No. 13) in the magazine’s Future’s Watch. To be eligible, the player has to be 21-younger and in a team’s system — drafted, signed or acquired in a trade — or a young gun currently on the NHL team.
Colorado was the only team to have two players in the top-13.
I’m leading this space with Newhook, a high-scoring forward, because he’s coming off a better season than Byram, the high-scoring defenseman. But not by much.
Newhook and the Eagles were 24-8-2 and Hockey East regular-season champions when the NCAA season was canceled because of COVID-19. Byram and the Vancouver Giants stood third in the Western Hockey League’s B.C. Division at the time and probably wouldn’t have made the 20-team WHL playoffs if the season was completed.
Financially, the 2019 Colorado draft classmates (Byram went fourth and Newhook 16th) are the ideal type of entry-level players every NHL team needs to balance payroll.
And make no mistake, the Avs are going to need those modest three-year contracts when extensions for Gabe Landeskog and Cale Makar kick in for 2021-22 and Nathan MacKinnon’s team-friendly cap hit of $6.3 million could double after 2022-23.
The Avs are currently the best team with the lowest payroll, standing second in the Western Conference standings and 28th in lowest payroll. The only other budget-friendly team in the league currently in playoff position is Columbus, which is barely in the Eastern Conference wildcard picture.
Colorado’s payroll won’t change much next season when Newhook is a sophomore at BC and Byram is either in his fourth full season of major-junior or a rookie with the Avs.
Newhook’s decision to play another year at BC is a sound one. It will prepare him to step into a top-six role late next season after the Eagles are eliminated or to begin 2021-22. And it’s going to be fun to watch.
Newhook carries himself and shoots like a young Joe Sakic. Lofty praise, indeed, but I remember that thought being thrown around with veteran journalists like myself during the Avs’ development camp last summer. And none of us were that surprised that Newhook was such a tremendous freshman for BC — tying senior forward Julius Mattila with a team-high 42 points in 34 games.
Newhook followed now-established NHL forwards Jack Eichel (2015), Kyle Connor (2016) and Clayton Keller (2016) as Tim Taylor Award winners, and 2017 winner Scott Perunovich, a defenseman, won the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s best player last week.
Taylor winners seem destined for NHL stardom and I believe Newhook will do just that for the Avs.
Avalanche top-10 prospects, per The Hockey News:
1. Bowen Byram, D, 18, 6-1, 192, Vancouver Giants (WHL) – drafted No. 4 overall in 2019.
2. Alex Newhook, F, 18, 5-11, 195, Boston College (NCAA) – drafted No. 16 overall in 2019.
3. Conor Timmins, D, 21, 6-2, 185, Colorado Eagles (AHL) – drafted 32nd overall in 2017.
4. Martin Kaut, F, 20, 6-2, 180, Colorado Eagles (AHL) – drafted 16th overall in 2018.
5. Justus Annunen, G, 19, 6-3, 200, Karpat (SM-Liiga) – drafted 64th overall in 2018.
6. Shane Bowers, F, 20, 6-2, 180, Colorado Eagles (AHL) – drafted 28th in 2017 (by Ottawa).
7. Drew Helleson, D, 18, 6-2, 191, Boston College (NCAA) – drafted 47th overall in 2019.
8. Sampo Ranta, F, 19, 6-2, 190, Minnesota (NCAA) – drafted 78th overall in 2018.
9. Alex Beaucage, F, 18, 6-2, 192, Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL) — drafted 78th in 2019.
10. Logan O’Connor, F, 23, 6-0, 175, Colorado Eagles (AHL) – signed as an undrafted free agent in 2019.
