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Alexander Kerfoot

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Alexander Kerfoot
Kerfoot with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2022
Born (1994-08-11) August 11, 1994 (age 30)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 188 lb (85 kg; 13 st 6 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Utah Hockey Club
Colorado Avalanche
Toronto Maple Leafs
Arizona Coyotes
NHL draft 150th overall, 2012
New Jersey Devils
Playing career 2017–present

Alexander Douglas Kerfoot (born August 11, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and alternate captain for the Utah Hockey Club of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the fifth round, 150th overall, by the New Jersey Devils in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and has previously played in the NHL for the Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs and Arizona Coyotes.

Playing career

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Amateur

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Kerfoot was drafted as a youth in the 12th round, 254th overall, by the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft. A Vancouver native, Kerfoot opted to play as a midget with the Vancouver NorthWest Giants in the BC Hockey Major Midget League (BCMML) alongside future NHLer Sam Reinhart and future PWHLer Kaleigh Fratkin. In his second season with the Giants in 2011, Kerfoot led the team alongside Reinhart to the championship. He led the BCMML with 72 assists and 108 points before earning MVP honours at the Telus Cup.[1] He finished the 2010–11 season by joining the Coquitlam Express of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL).

On May 30, 2011, Kerfoot agreed to return to the Express for the 2011–12 season while completing his final year of high school at Collingwood School.[2] In the midst of the season, Kerfoot was selected to play for the Team Canada West squad at the World Junior A Challenge in Langley, British Columbia. He scored the winning goal in overtime to defeat Sweden in the semi-finals in which the team advanced to eventually win the gold medal.[3] Kerfoot also enjoyed a standout season with the Express, placing third on the team after recording 25 goals and 44 assists (69 points) in 51 games. He earned recognition in collecting the Coastal Rookie of the Year honours and a place in the All-Rookie Team and was announced in the First All-Star Team while winning the Bob Fenton Trophy as the BCHL's most sportsmanlike player.[4]

At the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Kerfoot was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the fifth round, 150th overall.[5] On August 20, 2012, Kerfoot announced his commitment to play NCAA hockey at Harvard University with the Crimson men's ice hockey team in the fall of 2013.[3] Returning to the Express for his draft-plus-one year (due to his late birthday), Kerfoot appeared in just 16 games for the 2012–13 season before he was sidelined through injury.

In beginning his collegiate career in the 2013–14 season, Kerfoot made his debut for Harvard and registered an assist in a 3–0 victory over Bentley University on October 26, 2013.[6] He scored his first goal the next game in a 3–3 tie with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on October 29. In his freshman year, Kerfoot finished with 8 goals and 6 assists (14 points) in 25 games.

Kerfoot adjusted offensively in sophomore season, showing his playmaking ability to produce 30 points in 27 games. Alongside Jimmy Vesey and Kyle Criscuolo, Kerfoot solidified his breakout season in the following 2015–16 season in leading the Crimson with 30 assists as a junior. He was selected to the Second All-Ivy Team and earned a spot in the ECAC Third All-Star Team.[7]

In his senior season, with the departure of his linemates Vesey and Criscuolo, Kerfoot was announced as team co-captain of the Crimson (alongside Devin Tringale) for the 2016–17 season.[8] Kerfoot flourished in his senior year, helping take the Crimson to the Frozen Four for the first time since 1994.[9] In co-leading the team with 45 points in 36 games, he received the John Tudor Memorial Cup as Harvard's MVP, earning ECAC First Team honours and was named as a top-ten finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the top men's ice hockey player in the NCAA.[10] He completed his career with the Crimson with 123 points in 121 games.

Professional

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Having completed his four-year collegiate career, Kerfoot chose not to sign a contract with the NHL organization that drafted him, the New Jersey Devils, rendering him a free agent.[11] Having rejected the Devils due to their prospect depth at the centre position, Kerfoot received NHL-wide interest including from his hometown club, the Vancouver Canucks.[12] However, on August 23, 2017, Kerfoot signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Colorado Avalanche.[13]

After an impressive training camp with the Avalanche, Kerfoot played in a scoring-line role throughout the pre-season and secured a spot on the opening roster for the 2017–18 season.[14] He made his NHL debut with the Avalanche, playing on a line with Matt Duchene and Nail Yakupov. He registered his first NHL point with an assist on Tyson Barrie's game-winning goal in a 4–2 victory over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on October 5, 2017.[15] He scored his first NHL goal on October 11 against the Boston Bruins in the Avalanche's season home opener.[16]

On July 1, 2019, Kerfoot, along with Tyson Barrie and a sixth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, were traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Nazem Kadri, Calle Rosén and a third-round pick in 2020.[17] On July 4, as a restricted free agent, Kerfoot signed a four-year, $14 million contract with the Maple Leafs (effective from the 2019–20 season through to the 2022–23 season) worth an average annual value of $3.5 million.[18]

Following his fourth season with the Maple Leafs in 2022–23, Kerfoot having completed his contract left the organization as a free agent and was signed to a two-year, $7 million contract with the Arizona Coyotes on July 1, 2023.[19]

Shortly after the end of the 2023–24 regular season, the Coyotes' franchise was suspended and team assets were subsequently transferred to the expansion Utah Hockey Club; as a result, Kerfoot became a member of the Utah team.[20]

Personal

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Kerfoot's father, Greg Kerfoot, is the majority owner of Vancouver Whitecaps FC of Major League Soccer (MLS).[21] He married Marissa Balleza, a field hockey player he met while at Harvard. She set Harvard's all-time record for career goals and points in 2016.[22]

Alexander majored in economics while at Harvard. He is the older brother to Colton and Daniel, both of whom also play hockey—Colton mirrored Alexander's path in committing to Harvard and played his freshman season as Alexander captained the Crimson in his final year in 2016–17.[23]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Vancouver NW Giants BCMML 26 7 14 21 4 — — — — —
2010–11 Vancouver NW Giants BCMML 38 36 72 108 58 5 6 6 12 6
2010–11 Coquitlam Express BCHL 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2011–12 Coquitlam Express BCHL 51 25 44 69 24 6 4 0 4 6
2012–13 Coquitlam Express BCHL 16 8 11 19 16 — — — — —
2013–14 Harvard University ECAC 25 8 6 14 8 — — — — —
2014–15 Harvard University ECAC 27 8 22 30 12 — — — — —
2015–16 Harvard University ECAC 33 4 30 34 16 — — — — —
2016–17 Harvard University ECAC 36 16 29 45 18 — — — — —
2017–18 Colorado Avalanche NHL 79 19 24 43 28 6 2 0 2 2
2018–19 Colorado Avalanche NHL 78 15 27 42 38 12 0 3 3 6
2019–20 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 65 9 19 28 32 5 0 3 3 2
2020–21 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 56 8 15 23 12 7 1 5 6 4
2021–22 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 82 13 38 51 20 7 1 1 2 4
2022–23 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 82 10 22 32 30 11 2 0 2 4
2023–24 Arizona Coyotes NHL 82 13 32 45 26 — — — — —
NHL totals 524 87 177 264 186 48 6 12 18 22

Awards and honours

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Award Year Ref
BCMML
Telus Cup MVP 2011 [1]
BCHL
Coastal First All-Star Team 2012
Coastal Most Sportsmanlike player 2012 [4]
Coastal Rookie of the Year 2012
All-Rookie Team 2012
College
All-ECAC Third Team 2016 [24][7]
All-Ivy League Second Team 2016
East Second All-American Team 2017
New England D1 All-Stars 2017
All-Ivy League First Team 2017 [25]

References

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  1. ^ a b "2011 Telus Cup award winners announced". Hockey Canada. April 22, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  2. ^ "Kerfoot signs with Express". Coquitlam Express. May 30, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  3. ^ a b "Harvard on the horizon for Express standout". British Columbia Hockey League. August 20, 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Kerfoot wins Fenton award as Express preps for playoffs". Tri-City News. March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  5. ^ "Notre Dame quartet lead Telus Cup alumni in draft". Hockey Canada. June 26, 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  6. ^ "Bentley 0, Harvard 3 boxscore". Harvard Crimson. October 26, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Alexander Kerfoot player profile". Harvard Crimson. May 6, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  8. ^ "Kerfoot, Tringale named next captains of Harvard Hockey". Harvard Crimson. April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  9. ^ "Avalanche signs Alexander Kerfoot". Colorado Avalanche. August 23, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  10. ^ "Alexander Kerfoot in the top 10 for Hobey Baker". Coquitlam Express. March 16, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  11. ^ "How close did Alex Kerfoot come to signing with the Devils?". NJ.com. August 24, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  12. ^ "Canucks have productive meeting with NCAA free agent Alex Kerfoot". Sportsnet.ca. August 18, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  13. ^ "Avalanche sign college free agent in Harvard's Alex Kerfoot". Denver Post. August 23, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  14. ^ "A look at the Colorado Avalanche roster". Denver Post. October 3, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  15. ^ "Barrie, Avalanche beat New York in season opener at MSG". Denver Post. October 5, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  16. ^ Knabenbauer, Ron (October 12, 2017). "Kerfoot Scores First NHL Goal". NHL.com. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  17. ^ Ryan McKenna (July 1, 2019). "Maple Leafs trade Kadri, Rosen to Avalanche for Barrie, Kerfoot". Sportsnet. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  18. ^ "Maple Leafs sign Ceci and Kerfoot to contract extensions". Toronto Maple Leafs. July 4, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  19. ^ "Coyotes sign Kerfoot to two-year contract". Arizona Coyotes. July 1, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  20. ^ "Coyotes give fans a win in final Arizona game, fans show plenty of love". azcentral.com. April 17, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  21. ^ "On the connection between Kerfoot and the Canucks". canucksarmy.com. March 16, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  22. ^ Laskaris, Adam (June 8, 2022). ""Here's to forever": Leafs' Alex Kerfoot is getting married". Daily Hive. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  23. ^ "Colton Kerfoot commits to Harvard". Coquitlam Express. October 27, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  24. ^ "Awards - NCAA (ECAC) Second All-Stat Team". Eliteprospects.com.
  25. ^ "League announces Post-season awards". ECAC. March 17, 2017. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
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