Why Alex Newhook Should be on The Penalty Kill

After losing both forwards, Joel Armia and Christian Dvorak, during the off-season, the Canadiens have a clear advantage at forward on the penalty kill. With how reliable a speedster like Josh Anderson has become on the penalty kill over the last year, a good option on the current team that deserves a shot would be Alex Newhook.

While Newhook isn’t as physical as Anderson, he does have that blazing speed that could serve as a serious asset to the Habs on the PK. Newhook has also developed an ability to make reads on the defensive side of the game.

It has been proven that faceoffs were his downfall last season. Therefore, he can be a winger rather than a centre on the penalty kill. It seems that when he is used as a centre, his whole game suffers, but as a winger, he focuses on being a speedy forward who has a good two-way game to bring to the table. This is something the Habs need to look at, as it could give Newhook a role that he can thrive in. With Ivan Demidov becoming a full-time NHLer and Zachary Bolduc being added during the off-season, Newhook is very likely to lose his spot on the 2nd power play.

The problem with Newhook is that he isn’t good enough to be a top 6 forward and he doesn’t have the grit and physicality to be a checking line forward. Therefore, the only option is for him to be a 3rd liner, which the Habs have a plethora of options in the organization to play a 3rd line role. To truly prove your worth as a 3rd liner in Montreal, you need to have some other redeeming part to your game. In Newhook’s case, it is his speed, but he also has the potential to be solid at picking off passes, which could allow him to become a penalty kill breakaway beast if given the opportunity.