Colorado Avalanche forward Alexander Kerfoot scored some odd goals in his rookie season — more than you might expect.
Colorado Avalanche center Alexander Kerfoot scored 19 goals in his rookie year. It was the best performance of the Avs’ many rookies, putting him fifth on the entire team for scoring. He also recorded a ridiculous 23.5 shooting percentage — highest on the team by a wide margin.
Of course, some of Kerfoot’s goals were… unconventional, to say the least. And it all started with his first-ever NHL goal, which he recorded in his fourth-ever NHL game, against the Boston Bruins:
As you can see, Kerfoot is trying to screen goalie Tuukka Rask. Tyson Barrie takes a shot. The puck bounces off of Kerfoot’s body and in — Avs host Alexis Perry and I like to say it went in off his butt, but Kerfoot claims it was his leg. In any case, this was an unconventional start to his goal-scoring career.
That said, the move worked so well for Kerfoot, he repeated it again against the Florida Panthers in December:
Until the end of this video, no one acknowledges that the puck deflected off of Kerfoot and into the net. Even Tyson Barrie skates first past the Colorado Avalanche bench for congratulations. However, the goal is clearly credited to Kerfoot. (Props to Alexander, who goes through the line last though he clearly has to know he deflected the puck.)
That reminds me a little of the time Nathan MacKinnon got credited with a goal for watching Nikita Zadorov score. That one never got fixed.
Something else that became an unconventional aspect of Kerfoot’s game is that he had a tendency to score when the game was already lost. I credit the player for never giving up, even when his team is down several goals with just seconds left.
Of course, the first time that happened, he didn’t even mean to score:
Kerfoot was just trying to center the pass, and it deflects off an Islander and past goalie Thomas Greiss. My favorite part about that goal is the almost total lack or reaction from everyone — most especially play-by-play announcer Mike Haynes. After Peter McNab‘s disbelieving “Kerfoot just scored,” Haynes nonchalantly replies, “Yeah, he sure did.”
Alexander Kerfoot must play pool in his free time because he certainly knows how to bank his shots. Here’s another time he didn’t mean to score, but still bounces the puck off an opponent and into the net:
Extra credit because he uses
as his bumper. (The score keepers went back and forth on who to credit with that goal, but they ultimately gave it to Alexander.)
And because Kerfoot must have gotten bored scoring goals off opponents’ bodies and off his own body, he used his jersey to slingshot the puck into the back of the net:
That’s a heck of a hoola-hoop move.
Next: Kerfoot's Ideas for the Faceoff Issue
At the beginning of the Colorado Avalanche season, after reading some less-than-flattering scouting reports, I hadn’t thought Alexander Kerfoot would have too much to offer this season. However, besides his 14 conventional goals, Kerfoot added some magic to his repertoire.