Cale Makar got a Conn Smythe Trophy. Nathan MacKinnon got a day named after him in Halifax.
Alex Newhook got a mural.
A massive commemoration of Newhook’s budding hockey career was unveiled last month in his hometown of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. The mural shows Newhook hoisting the Stanley Cup for the Colorado Avalanche, surrounded by other smaller images tracing his career from the local Avalon Celtics junior team.
It might just be the biggest public mural ever made for a 22-year-old.
“Huge poster there. I didn’t realize how big it would be,” Newhook said, laughing. “But yeah, pretty special for me, for sure. Minor hockey, growing up, seeing a lot of Newfoundlanders play in the NHL, to have my name up there is pretty cool.”
Newhook is still in the last year of his entry-level contract with the Avs. He has 25 points in 61 games this season after registering four playoff points during Colorado’s 2022 run to the Cup.
He became just the third Stanley Cup-winning player from Newfoundland, which is Canada’s easternmost province. St. John’s, located on the province’s east coast, is closer to the southern tip of Greenland than to New York City. Newhook brought the trophy home Aug. 22, 2022, and the city mayor announced plans for the mural during the celebration.
The finished product covers the entire height of an exterior wall at DF Barnes Arena, where the Avalon Minor Hockey Association is headquartered and where Newhook once played.
“My dad’s actually the hockey director up there with the minor hockey association,” he said. “So he’s like, ‘I’ve got to see your ugly face every time I pull into work.'”
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar shared his gauge on several injuries on Tuesday.
Defenseman Erik Johnson (broken ankle) skated individually for the second time Tuesday. Bednar revealed that Johnson’s original estimated absence was eight to 10 weeks, but now that he’s in the fourth week of that timeline, he’s moving along quicker than expected. “He’ll surprise me if he’s back prior to the eight weeks,” Bednar said. He also hopes Josh Manson will be back by the end of the month.
However, backup goalie Pavel Francouz’s original three-week timeline has passed without him starting to skate yet. Bednar’s prognosis was less encouraging: “A slower-moving process than what we would have liked,” he said. “Probably along the same (lines) with Helm. We’re hopeful that he’s going to be able to get back and play.”
Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.
