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West Vancouver’s Alex Kerfoot chooses Colorado Avalanche

Harvard star signs entry-level NHL contract after becoming a free agent
Kerfoot
Alexander Kerfoot lifts the trophy after Harvard won the annual Beanpot Championship tournament for the first time since 1993. photo Harvard Athletics

West Vancouver’s Alex Kerfoot signed with the Colorado Avalanche this week, ending a mini free-agent frenzy that saw several teams reportedly interested in his services.

Kerfoot comes to Colorado after starring for Harvard University for the past four years, including serving as the team’s captain while racking up 45 points in 36 games in his senior season.

He was selected in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL draft by the New Jersey Devils but never signed with the team. New Jersey’s player rights on Kerfoot expired this summer making him a free agent, with several teams – including the Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers – interested in adding him. On Thursday morning the Avalanche confirmed that they’d inked Kerfoot to an entry-level contract.

“Excited and honoured to join a tremendous organization,” Kerfoot wrote on his Twitter account Thursday morning. “Can't wait to get started!”

The 23-year-old first gained the attention of the hockey world as a member of the Vancouver Northwest Giants of the BC Major Midget League where he scored 36 goals and 72 assists in just 38 regular season games in 2010-11, helping the team reach the semifinals of the Telus Cup national championship tournament. As a junior player Kerfoot suited up for the BCHL's Coquitlam Express where he tallied 88 points in 72 games spread over three seasons before moving to Harvard to play NCAA hockey.

In 121 career games with the Crimson Kerfoot recorded 123 points, finishing 21st on Harvard's all-time scoring list. He was a Top 10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award for the 2016-17 season after guiding the Crimson to their first NCAA Frozen Four appearance since 1994.

Kerfoot, a Collingwood School grad, is the son of Vancouver Whitecaps FC majority owner Greg Kerfoot.