Washington adds major future piece

By twestacott
Updated: April 14, 2021

It is no secret that Washington Capitals GM Todd Westacott was a big fan of Alex Newhook going into the Season 29 DHL draft. Apparently his level of enthusiasm towards the potential and future outlook of the young Boston College and Colorado Eagles center has only increased since then.

“I think as an organization, we took a look at Newhook going into the Season 29 draft thing that this kid could really end up being the prize of the draft class.”

Unfortunately the Capitals were just transitioning from a “Win Now” mode in Season 28 that hadn’t gone as planned. With no first round picks in the Season 29 draft and no high end prospects to offer in a trade, the Capitals were forced to play the role of spectators as the Rangers took to the podium and selected Newhook 5th overall that season.

“It really was a bit heartbreaking for us. We did approach pretty much every team with a top 5 pick going into that draft to see if there was a deal that could be made. Ultimately deep down we knew that all those teams were in rebuild mode and would be seeking high end future pieces. We knew we didn’t have those pieces to offer at the time.“

Since that draft Westacott has had numerous conversations with the Rangers surrounding Newhook but a deal was never able to come to fruition.

“I’ve lost count of the number of times Ajay and I have had discussions surround Alex Newhook. He was always willing to discuss the possibility of a trade but ultimately we were never really able to find a deal that worked for both sides.”

On the Eve of the Season 31 DHL draft the pieces finally fell into place.

“The Rangers reached out as the #10 pick was coming up and indicated that there was a name still on the board that they really liked and kind of said hey if our guy is still there at #10 we might be willing to do something that would get you the guy you have been after for a couple seasons.”

Apparently that name was the Kamloops Blazers’ Connor Zary.

“Ajay indicated that he had the pleasure of personally scouting Connor Zary early on and believed he could be a Brad Marchand type of player in the making. We went back and forth on different packages that would involve #10 going to the Rangers and Newhook coming back our way.”

With the #10 pick on the clock and Connor Zary’s name still on the board “The Comish” walked the podium with that all too familiar announcement that DHL fans have come to love…… “WE HAVE A TRADE !!!!” The Capitals and Rangers ended up landing on Alex Newhook for picks #10 and #23 in the Season 31 draft.

“It was one of those that it just seemed to make sense for both sides. We had other offers for #10 but nothing that we were really considering and we were prepared to take Zary ourselves. #10 and #23 just made too much sense. We were getting the guy we had always wanted and who development fit much better into our timeline. The Rangers were able to use #10 to get the guy they were really high on. Those are the best kind of deals where everyone comes out happy and that hopefully it works out for both teams.”

Alex Newhook now joins a cast of future young stars in Washington which already included names like Martin Necas, Carter Hart, Victor Soderstrom, Tyson Foerster, Akil Thomas, Max Comtois, Brendan Brisson and Marat Khusnutdinov.

“We are real excited about what we continue to build here in Washington. If everything goes to plan within the next few seasons we will have a real contender on our hands built around a solid core of young talent that we hope our fans will see in a Capitals jersey for a long time. Thats the ultimate goal….. get back to winning and bring home that Championship that we have come so close to winning a couple of times now.”