The Utah forward will reach a career milestone Thursday night against the LA Kings
When Utah forward Alexander Kerfoot takes the ice Thursday night, it’ll be his 600th NHL game. His first game was on Oct. 5, 2017, as a member of the Colorado Avalanche. When reflecting on the journey from game 1 to game 600, Kerfoot is appreciative of the past and excited to keep playing.
“Grown a lot as a player and obviously grown up as well,” Kerfoot reflected. “(Game 1) feels like a long time ago. Lots of people to thank along the way and hopefully it’s just another step and I continue to play a lot more games. It’s been a fun ride and just enjoying it.”
Six hundred games played is quite the benchmark. Even more impressively, Thursday night will be Kerfoot’s 421st consecutive game played, the fourth-longest active streak in the NHL. It’s not an easy feat to play all 82 games in a season and for multiple years straight.
“There’s a lot that goes into that,” head coach André Tourigny said about Kerfoot’s streak. “There’s the way you take care of your body off the ice, your self-discipline, your discipline in your lifestyle. As well, there’s a little bit of luck. It’s just the way it is, you never know what can happen in a hockey game.
“You need to be a good player as well,” Tourigny continued. “First of all, you need to be good enough to be in the lineup for 600, so that right there is an achievement. I think to play that many games in a row as well, you need to be a good player and that’s what Kerfoot is.”
During this ironman streak, Kerfoot has played with elite players and learned what it takes to remain in the lineup night in and night out.
“I think you pick things up with the people that you’re around,” Kerfoot shared. “I’ve been around a lot of really high-end players, seeing what they do on a day-to-day basis, seeing some older guys and how they approach the game. It’s just about consistency and mindset. I’m still learning, still trying to get better, but I’ve grown a lot in those eight years.”
As he’s learned from others in various locker rooms, Kerfoot is doing the same for the next generation. Forward Logan Cooley, in his second NHL season, sits next to Kerfoot in Utah’s locker room. He’s spent plenty of time learning from the veteran.
“He’s meant everything,” Logan Cooley shared about his stallmate. “With his leadership, the way he plays the game the right way, the way he takes care of himself off the ice. He’s a great leader, a great penalty kill guy, depth guy, and a guy a lot of guys look up to in this locker room. He allows us to be calm in different situations where us younger guys probably haven’t been, so it’s great to have him. He’s an awesome guy and awesome player.”
Six hundred games and no plans of slowing down, Thursday will be an opportunity for Kerfoot to appreciate the hard work and success he’s had throughout his NHL career while helping Utah win hockey games and build towards the future.
