While most Quebecers will be celebrating Quebec’s national day on June 24, Alex Newhook will be in Ottawa supporting his sister Abby. Six years after the Montreal Canadiens forward was drafted 16th overall by the Colorado Avalanche in Vancouver in 2019, it will be Abby’s turn to be drafted in the best women’s professional hockey league, the PWHL.

Growing up, the siblings spent a lot of time hanging out and playing together, often playing hockey, be it on their knees with mini-sticks in the basement or good old street hockey. As the younger sister, Abby would usually be tasked with handling the net, and recalls it rarely ended well for her.

On the ice, she became a complete two-way forward with excellent leadership qualities. The younger Newhook spent four years playing for Boston College, and for two of those years, she wore the captain’s C. In 142 games of NCAA action, she tallied 55 goals and 58 assists for 113 points.

Whichever of the eight PWHL franchises that drafts her come June 24 will land a complete player ready to have an immediate impact on her team. THN’s Ian Kennedy has her as the 60th top prospect for the upcoming draft.

The PWHL draft consists of six rounds, during which the eight teams will make their selections. Unlike in the NHL, pick trading isn’t allowed in the PWHL yet, so every team will get to make six selections on the day, resulting in a total of 48 players being picked.

Could Abby land in Montreal like Alex did? It’s a possibility, after all, the Montreal Victoire could use an influx of talent and leadership up front. While they do have the best player in the world, Marie-Philip Poulin, the Beauceville native won’t play forever. She’s 34 years old, and GM Daniele Sauvageau does need to plan for the future.

Considering Abby followed in her brother’s footsteps by playing NCAA hockey at Boston College, it would be fitting for her to play professionally for the city of Montreal. We’ll find out in less than two weeks if the Newhooks’ dream will become a reality.

Photo credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

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