With Vesey and Criscuolo Gone, Kerfoot Takes the Reins

“Alex Kerfoot.”

The name did not leave Jimmy Vesey’s mouth easily, but it left deliberately. Despite struggling to stave off tears, Harvard’s star forward was not going to forget his center of the last three years on his way out the door.

“I definitely got most of the publicity over the last two years,” continued Vesey, sitting at the podium following the Crimson’s elimination from the NCAA tournament. “And they always kept their mouth shut.”

“They” of course referred to not only Kerfoot, but Kyle Criscuolo. However, Criscuolo sat beside Vesey, knowing, likewise, that his time was up. Kerfoot, on the other hand, had another chapter remaining.

During the 2015-2016 season, Kerfoot—healthy for an entire season for the first time at Harvard—logged a career-high 34 points. And his contributions were certainly felt, as Harvard did not win a regular season game in which the New Jersey Devils prospect did not earn a point.

Yet, when you play with wingers as talented as Vesey and Criscuolo, your job is to distribute. Thirty of Kerfoot’s 34 points came via assists, explaining exactly why Vesey dominated more headlines than the junior from West Vancouver.

Things are different now. With Vesey and Criscuolo gone, a year of feeding now gives way to a year of leading. That is, Kerfoot is one of two new co-captains set to march the Crimson into a new era.

That means no more lurking in the shadows. No more “keeping his mouth shut.” In the blink of an eye, Kerfoot has become the figurehead for Harvard men’s hockey.

“I think playing with guys like Jimmy and Crisco, he didn’t get as much attention as he might’ve deserved,” said Lewis Zerter-Gossage, one of two sophomore wingers who will join Kerfoot on the first line. “But within the team, we all kind of knew exactly how good he was.”

A fourth-liner last year, Zerter-Gossage said he’s excited to work with Kerfoot, who quickly caught his attention when Zerter-Gossage was here on a recruiting trip a few years ago.

“It was maybe one of his first games playing as a freshman, and I was really impressed with how he played,” Zerter-Gossage said. “I think it’s pretty cool that now I get the opportunity to play next to him.”

Zerter-Gossage will assume the spot on Kerfoot’s right, while sophomore Ryan Donato will take the left. Donato and Kerfoot played on the same line once before when Vesey was sidelined for a game in February. That night, the then-rookie lit the lamp three times—once off a feed from Kerfoot. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the captain has plenty of faith in the guys around him.

“I think we’ve still got a lot of skill on that line,” Kerfoot said. “They can both shoot the puck, so I’m just going to try to use my speed, get open, and get them the puck in good areas. I think we can have a lot of success together.”

Those words realistically could have been taken from any of Kerfoot’s four years here. But they should not surprise anyone; after all, the co-captain has experienced his greatest successes when embracing a pass-first mentality.

Yet, while Kerfoot is a passer by trade, he does want to bring a new element to his game.

“I want to kind of make a concerted effort to take pucks to the net more and get more shots just to add another dynamic to my game,” Kerfoot said. “[That way] guys can’t just back off me and be expecting a pass.”

This falls right in line with a league-wide prediction that this is Kerfoot’s year. Expecting the co-captain to change his game entirely would be foolish, but so would expecting the preseason first team all-ECAC center not to surpass his four-goal total of last year.

Kerfoot emphasized he’s not looking to make a change because of his new surrounding cast; he’d want to make the effort no matter what. But tweaking his game now makes more sense than ever. When something isn’t broke, you don’t fix it. And the old line was firing on all cylinders, providing little reason to make adaptations.

But now that the line’s a work in progress, what better time to try something new? Kerfoot has already established himself as one of Harvard’s top players, but after ranking ninth on the Crimson in shots last season, throwing more pucks at the net could be what elevates his game to another level.

“I definitely think he’s got stuff to show,” said Colton Kerfoot, Alex’s brother who is now a freshman on the team. “He’s had a pretty great couple last few years, so hopefully he can have another big one, and hopefully he can lead us down the stretch.”

That’s a message the rest of the Crimson would certainly agree with. It’s just too bad the praise had to come from the younger brother.

“I was sick of him before he got here,” Alex joked. “I’m definitely sick of him now.”

—Staff writer Jake Meagher can be reached at jake.meagher@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @MeagherTHC.