Avalanche sign 2019 first-round pick Alex Newhook to entry-level contract

Boston College lost another key member. The Colorado Avalanche convinced Alex Newhook to sign his three-year, entry-level deal, ending his college career. The top prospect will leave BC after just two seasons and turn pro, giving the Avalanche another explosive weapon to build around. His contract will kick in this season, meaning the first year will be burned, and he’s available to play once through COVID protocols.

Newhook, 20, was the 16th overall pick in 2019 and dominated the college circuit in his freshman campaign. The winner of the Tim Taylor Award as rookie of the year in 2020, he scored 32 points in 34 games. It was an outstanding debut, but unfortunately, Newhook managed just 12 contests for BC in his sophomore season due to an injury suffered at the World Juniors and reaggravated in early January. Still, he put up seven goals and 16 points in those 12 games, showing exactly why he’s considered one of the top offensive prospects in the world right now.

In fact, back in October, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic listed Newhook 11th among the top-50 drafted prospects, down from fourth before the 2020 draft was held. “Power and explosiveness” is what Wheeler wrote about Newhook then and indicated he has “no concerns” about the young forward’s future as a top-six option in the NHL.

He’ll have to crack one of the league’s deepest forward units, but the Avalanche do have some big names coming off the books soon enough. Gabriel Landeskog is a free agent this summer, though he’s expected to re-sign at some point given his status with the franchise, but so are Brandon Saad, Matt Calvert and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. Andre Burakovsky, Nazem Kadri and Valeri Nichushkin are all up after the 2021-22 season, meaning the team will have plenty of room for Newhook if he proves himself worthy of a full-time spot by then.