Killorn '12 Continues To Shine as Rookie for Tampa Bay Lightning

Just over a year ago, Alex Killorn ’12 wore his #19 jersey for the Harvard men’s hockey team for the last time. Now, after transitioning to the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League, and with his rookie campaign having come to an end, the recent alum appears to have found a home on the ice professionally.

In his four years at Harvard, Killorn led the Crimson on and off the ice. As assistant captain his senior year, he was named a CCM Hockey First Team All-American, first-team All-ECAC, and received unanimous selection to the All-Ivy League first team. While at Harvard, Killorn became the first 100-point career scorer since 2005, and led the team with 46 points on 23 goals and 23 assists his senior season.

In 35 games in the NHL this year, Killorn maintained his scoring ways, netting 7 goals and providing 12 assists.

“What [makes] ‘Kill’ a special player [is] his combination of size and speed,” senior forward Luke Greiner said. “He’s incredibly fast, and he has a long reach. He can really hold on to the puck and take over the game with it.”

Days after losing to Union in the 2012 ECAC finals, Killorn signed a two-year deal with the Lightning, making his first major move into the professional stage. The government concentrator from Dunster house negotiated with his professors to let him turn in his final papers while training off campus.

“For me it kind of happened all really quickly,” the rookie said. “I had about a day and a half or two days to get ready for pro hockey.”

In the nine months after graduation, Killorn played for Tampa Bay’s minor league affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, helping the Admirals win the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup.

Following the season, the Lightning dropped its affiliation with Norfolk, prompting a move to the Syracuse Crunch, also of the AHL.

On Feb. 10, Killorn got pulled up to the big show, playing his first game against the New York Rangers that night, in what will be an experience he is sure to never forget.

“From the day he stepped foot on the ice he showed that he belongs in the NHL, both in terms of his skill and his attitude,” said Lightning  Owner and Chairman Jeff Vinik. “He has been a very strong addition to the Lightning.”

Killorn’s 19 points this season rank him ninth among rookies, despite playing in fewer games than the majority of his fellow first-years.

“We watch our young guys very closely,” Vinik said. “We were very confident in bringing Alex up to the NHL, and what he has done over the last two months; it proves to be the case [that he was ready].”

“When I got there I was excited,” Killorn said. “But I knew the importance of keeping it simple. I just tried not to make mistakes and blend in at first.”

Watching from back in Cambridge, his teammates are not surprised with his success.

“We could tell last year that he was just a step above everybody else in the college game,” said junior defenseman Dan Ford, who was recently named Harvard’s 2013-14 captain.

“Especially coach Donato, he wasn’t surprised,” added Greiner. “It was a matter of time with Alex.”

Killorn started playing when he was four years old at the outdoor rink that was just down the street from his home in Beaconsfield, Quebec.

“We would just walk down and skate,” he said.

From there, as with so many young boys in Quebec, Killorn fell in love with the game.

Killorn decided he wanted to play hockey in college when he realized his potential in middle school. He knew hockey would open up incredible opportunities, as it does today, and Harvard was the right choice for him.

“Education is something that is important for my family and for me, and I was very pleased to go to Harvard,” Killorn said.

In addition to academics, across the river, Killorn could let his skill and passion for hockey take form.

One moment in particular stands out to Greiner as one of his fondest memories of his former teammate.

“[Killorn] scored one of the nicest goals I have ever seen against North Dakota his senior year on a power-play,” Greiner recalled. “[It was] from the right side, high glove. One of my buddies on the North Dakota team came up to me and said, ‘Oh my God, that was one of the nicest shots I’ve ever seen, that kid is probably going to play in the NHL.’”

Despite a high number of Crimson players selected in the NHL draft—including nine on this year’s roster—few are able to turn that potential into professional success. One such player who found success in the pros is Louis Leblanc, formerly ’13, who left after his freshman year here to have an incredible rookie season with the Montreal Canadiens. Killorn grew up down the street from Leblanc, and was impressed by his precocious success.

“He was like a little brother…to watch him go pro was amazing,” Killorn said. “Last year was an unbelievable experience for him, it helped to show guys can go from Harvard straight to NHL, it’s possible. He’s definitely some guys’ motivation.”

The same now goes for Killorn.

In his transition from the Ivy League to the NHL, a lot has changed for the 23-year old rookie. Besides the food and travel that he candidly noted are profoundly better with the Lightning, there are some adjustments that are still taking time for him to get used to.

“The NHL is top-notch, and very different,” Killorn said. “I go into hotels, and have fans waiting for me to come out when I’m going to get a coffee, asking me to sign stuff. I’m definitely more in the spotlight.”

Helping in the transition to the big leagues was Crimson coach Ted Donato ’91. His own impressive playing career at Harvard, and after with a 13-year career in the NHL primarily with the Boston Bruins, makes him a perfect mentor for stars like Killorn.

“He has always been very supportive,” the rookie said, referring to a time this year when he called, just days before the then anxious Killorn was pulled up.

Besides Donato, current Crimson players make a point to stay in touch with Killorn. After a good game or a nice goal, they admit to texting or tweeting their virtual congratulations to their former teammate.

During a Lightning road trip to play the Bruins, Killorn came to Cambridge and watched his former team upset No. 1 Quinnipiac, 2-1, in overtime on Mar. 1.

Back in the locker room, the atmosphere was casual. It was like he never left.

"'Kill’ was a pretty good dude, a great teammate,” Greiner said. “Our class was very close with the graduating class from last year; we spent a lot of time with them.”

From all the excitement and the hype of the NHL, Killorn shared one moment that stands out as the greatest from his experience thus far.

“Last week we played at the Bell Centre [in Montreal], where I grew up watching so many games,” Killorn said. “To play there in front of my friends was really exciting.”

The worst moment, he added, was nearly breaking his nose. Escaping with just a black eye and few stitches, Killorn brushed it off, casually, as him being lucky.

With all the ups and downs, Killorn has established himself as a likely long-time NHL player.

“He’s big, he’s tough, he gives us some muscle, he has good skills, and he can give us good hockey IQ,” Vinik said. “We see him as a very strong, well-rounded hockey player. Alex is going to be a great player for us in years ahead.”

The season has come to an end for Killorn and the Lightning, which failed to qualify for the NHL playoff, and finished second-to-last in the Eastern Conference. Last month, Tampa Bay hired Jon Cooper, Killorn’s former coach with the Admirals, in the hope that some change will bring better success on the ice.

“I think we have real good hockey players, it just takes time for everybody to develop, but in a few years we’ll be a very good team we have no doubt,” Vinik said.

“I hope he has a very long career,” Ford added. “He was playing college a year ago, and now is one of the top guys on his team. I always knew he was a good player, and that he was going to play at the next level, but playing this last year without him, it gave a further appreciation for how good he really was.”

As opposed to playing with a group of fellow student-athletes, Killorn is now in a locker room full of veterans and up-and-comers alike, all getting paid to play the game they love. With that comes an added responsibility akin to regular recent college graduates thrust into the real world.

“The team dynamic is still the same,” Killorn said. “We’re just a group of guys trying to win a couple hockey games.”