"There's never really been anything that she's been obsessed about until hockey," Christy said. "She's a different kid. When you walk her from outside to inside the rink, she completely changes. She's banging on the glass, she's cheering and she's just all in. And she can spot Alex from anywhere, no matter where she's sitting."
Newhook and Elise's bond grew even closer in those subsequent months after he noticed that she hadn't been in attendance for a handful of home games. Upon learning that Elise was admitted into the hospital for a brief stint, Newhook made frequent visits to go see her and brought care packages as he hoped to cheer up his biggest supporter.
"Just that he would do that was so meaningful," Christy said. "He was probably still a teenager himself at the time. And she's 12 now. She doesn't realize how special it is to have this kind of a relationship with him. Not every kid gets this kind of attention, but I think that is part of what makes it so sweet. It's pure for her. It's just all about cheering on Alex and their connection."
Fortunately, Elise's condition stabilized after her trip to the hospital, but soon after during that summer Newhook departed to play Divison l hockey at Boston College. Also around that time frame, the Simard family moved from Vancouver Island to a 40-acre farm in rural Saskatchewan, where they now raise sheep, have pigs, chickens, eight herding dogs and horses - including one that was born this past Tuesday morning that they plan on naming Denver.
While Elise could no longer watch No. 18 on a regular basis, she and Christy made sure to tune in to all of his games. They would frequently send Newhook photos and texts showing their support for him as he played for the BC Eagles and represented Hockey Canada at the World Juniors Championships in 2019 and 2020.
The hope had been to make a trip out to Chestnut Hill to watch Alex play for Boston College, but unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the tight border restrictions that followed, Elise and Christy were never able to make the visit.