At first glance, hockey and Harvard seem to go hand in hand as well as a concussion and a Nobel Prize. However, this dichotomy is what has drawn Kiss right wing Alex Laferriere at school en route to the NHL.
“You are sort of put in place for life,” said Laferriere who, three weeks after her 23rd birthday, is just starting this life. “If you hurt yourself and you can never play hockey again, being able to have a Harvard diploma is something that, I think, is quite attractive.”
Laferriere is not yet there. Major in psychology, he still has four classes to finish before he could graduate. In the meantime, the hockey game of her life plan is going well well: Laferriere is equal for the team's head with nine goals and ranks third with 15 points for the Kings (10-6-3), which are second in the division of the Pacific almost a quarter of the season.
This production came in a season which saw him divide the time between a front line centered by Quinton Byfield And the line of the best team, where he played with the captain Anze Kopitar and winger Adrian Kempe. As a recruit, Laferriere said that her goal was to learn what was needed to play in the NHL. This season, he applies these lessons.
“I would say that confidence is the main thing,” he said. “Last year was more focused on collage in the NHL and to prove that I belonged. This year, I want to be one of the guys they are looking for in situations where we need goals, where they can trust me on the ice. ”
Laferriere is a fast, versatile and wise right winger with a strong avant-control and a deceptive blow. But its most important asset could be its high hockey IQ, which could be expected of a guy who played two seasons at Harvard.
The school was affiliated with more than 160 winners of the Nobel Prize, by far the maximum of all American colleges or academics. But he also sent 43 players to the NHL; This is not exactly a hockey factory, but it probably qualifies it to be called a hockey workshop.
Kings striker Alex Laferriere (14) famous after marked the Blue Jackets of Columbus on November 9.
(Alex Gallardo / Associated Press)
“There are many big students who are also great athletes,” said Ted DonatoA former Harvard coach and briefly a Kings winger who has trained the Crimson since 2004. “We have children who say” hey, what do you know? I can do both things at a very high level. Why should I not use my hockey talents to have the opportunity to go to a place like Harvard? “”
This combination of intelligence and skills is certainly what led Laferriere, one of the best preparation players in New England as a high school student, to change his West Point allegiance, where he was initially committed to Harvard.
“My father went to Boston College; he also went to Princeton,” said Laferriere about his father Rob, an off -competition hockey player in the two schools who recently left his work as a healing fund manager to work with Wayne Gretzky on the construction of a rink in southern Florida. “So growing up in my dream school was Harvard because he had Princeton academics and British Columbia hockey.”
This dream lasted only two university seasons before Laferriere realized her other dream, which signed a professional contract. He made his debut with Reign Ontario in March 2023 and 10 days later, signed an entry -level contract of three years with the Kings, who had selected him in the third round of the 2020 draft.
He played his first NHL match in the following October, marking the milestone by competing with Logan O'Connor from Colorado and fighting him on the ice, winning his first fight four games before scoring his first goal. He finished his recruit year by scoring his last goal in the first period of the Kings season's eliminations loss at the Edmonton Oilers.
“He had an excellent season last year, so his start (this) season did not surprise me”, ” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “He is a good solid player who is good in many different areas.”
And when he stops being that, he has something to fall back on.
“Whether or not you can play professional hockey, you have a Harvard diploma to use,” said Laferriere.
Talk about a power game.
