| Jacob Newcombe | Chicoutimi Sagueneens | QMJHL | L | C | 6’0″ | 194 | Chicoutimi Saguenéens | 2020 | Sambro, NS | 2004 | 2021-2022: C+ |
Ian Moran’s Thoughts: When you look back through our reports on Newcombe you consistently see that he’s a hard nosed kid who gets to the net. I think he plays the same way now, but what I like about that is his ability to be abrasive without taking stupid penalties. I think he’s very aware of what’s going on around him. Where his linemates are and what they’re doing. He knows what everyone’s roles are and he does not muddy the water by trying to do someone else’s job. I know that doesn’t sound sexy and glamorous, but to me he’s the type of player who gets to NHL training camp and he fits in because of his brain and awareness. IN the defensive zone he plays with an excellent stick and you can see that he’s always taking a quick look to make sure he’s on the right side of the puck or maintaining his line-up. It’s the same on both the neutral zone or offensive zone forechecks. He has an excellent stick and to me really understands how to judge width and depth as an F2 or F3. People will obviously look at his stat line and say he didn’t have many points, but to me I see that he was 4th on the team in scoring on a team that didn’t score much and that he was the leading point getter for draft eligible players. He’s scored goals in the past and I believe that his awareness will lead to points in his future QMJHL seasons. I don’t think he’ll be a scorer in the NHL, but I do think he has the mental characteristics that lead to have a role in an NHL organization.
2020 East Coast Ice Jam, January 17, 2020: Newcombe is hard nosed forward who goes to the net and was hard on the forecheck and backcheck. He is a smart player who made some nice pics in the offensive zone on the way to the net to create space for his line mates. He has found his scoring touch especially inside of the faceoff dots and pounces on loose pucks in front. Posted 6 points in 7 games played and really had a great weekend. GRADE: B
Monctonian AAA Challenge, January 2, 2020: Jacob is a tough hard nosed forward who fights through traffic to get to the net. He kept moving his feet and showed good footwork in game despite not getting many looks. Great work on PK getting in shooting lanes and blocking shots. Showed good vision in the offensive zone with a no look pass onto his teammates stick. Needs to be more selfish at times and take the shot or lane that the opposing team is giving him. GRADE: B
Monctonian AAA Challenge 2018, November 30, 2018: Newcombe kept moving his feet and showed good footwork in game despite not getting many looks. Great work on PK getting in shooting lanes and then diving to sweep the puck out of the zone. Lit up the scoresheet in the round robin only to be shut down in the playoff game viewed. GRADE: C+