Alexander Kerfoot opens up about Avalanche emotional roller coaster

The Colorado Avalanche returned to practice on Thursday afternoon after their frustrating 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers last night.

Among those not practicing today were Erik Johnson and J.T. Compher as head coach Jared Bednar said they were nursing minor ailments but should be ready to go tomorrow night as they host the Chicago Blackhawks.

The practice almost had a training camp feel to it as four goaltenders were suited today with Jonathan Bernier and Semyon Varlamov returning to the ice after being unavailable last night against the Flyers. Bernier took the lion’s share of work as Varlamov left the ice after some brief work before practice officially got underway and allowed Spencer Martin and Andrew Hammond to split the reps on the other side of the ice.

With both Varlamov and Bernier expected to be ready to go tomorrow, Martin and Hammond will likely be sent down today. The decision on who to start in net tomorrow night will be made after morning skate tomorrow when Bednar has had a chance to assess how both goalies are feeling.

After practice, Alexander Kerfoot took some time to speak with BSN Denver about how he was feeling, among other things.

“I think right now, physically, I feel fine,” Kerfoot said. “Mentally, the importance of these games it kind of gives you a feeling of being refreshed. Every game is so important. Coming to the rink so exciting, being in the hunt. Every building we’ve played in has had a great atmosphere so that makes it enjoyable.”

The fatigue of Kerfoot and other young players such as Compher and Tyson Jost has been a talking point recently as all three of them have struggled significantly to produce offense recently, especially at even strength. While physically he may be okay, it’s the mental side Kerfoot has found most challenging.

“I’ve been fortunate physically,” Kerfoot admitted. “I haven’t had any major injuries. Mentally, it’s definitely a grind. You try and prepare yourself best as you can coming into the season. I just don’t think you can prepare yourself until you’ve gone through a full season. Obviously, a lot of guys struggle with it. I think just experience helps with that.”

On the lessons he’s learned this season, Kerfoot points primarily to preparation as the number one thing he’s taken away from his first NHL campaign.

“I’ve learned how tough it is day in and day out,” he said. “It’s a really tough league to play in. As the season goes on, you’ve got to find ways to keep your body fresh and prepare yourself away from the rink. You see what some of the older guys are doing.”

With the team now losers of three of their last four, it’s fair to wonder if the NHL’s youngest team is riding the emotional roller coaster that helped them to a 10-game win streak earlier in the year in the wrong direction now.

“I think the coaching staff has done a good job of keeping us even keel,” Kerfoot allowed. “We’ve been playing good hockey as of late. In our last 20 games, I don’t know what our record is but just because we’ve lost a couple in a row doesn’t change what we’re doing.”

Kerfoot also credits the leadership in the locker room for setting a consistent tone and not letting the players get too down on themselves despite coming up short in key games recently.

“You can’t get too high or can’t get too low with it,” Kerfoot explained. “I think we can channel that youthful energy. Maybe at times, we’re a bit naive and when we win a couple games we get on our high horse a little bit but I think we can use that to our advantage and just bring the excitement and play with that energy we have.”

With the team on the cusp of the playoffs with just five games remaining, blocking out distractions has become a vital part of the preparation process. Just as it is for fans, players can’t help but look at the standings and understand what’s at stake on any given day.

“It’s hard to ignore the standings as hockey players or hockey fans,” Kerfoot said. “We see them every day so we know where we’re at but at the same time, we know the only thing we can control is how we play. If we win hockey games and it doesn’t go our way in the standings, we can’t do anything about that.”

Kerfoot says he doesn’t go out of his way to watch opposing teams play on any given night, saying he prefers to get away from the game a little bit and not obsess over nightly results.

“You’re around hockey all the time,” Kerfoot began. “Certain guys deal with it in different ways. I like watching hockey. I’m a hockey fan. If there’s a game on, I’ll tune into it. But I try not to be thinking and focusing on hockey 24 hours a day.”

Just because he takes a break from the game, however, doesn’t mean he’s not keeping tabs on who to keep in his crosshairs.

“We’re definitely rooting against [St. Louis],” Kerfoot said laughing.

News and Notes

• Sven Andrighetto returned to practice and is continuing to deal with the lower-body injury that caused him to miss most of the second half of the season. He resisted saying he was 100% healthy but said he felt strong enough to return to the lineup tomorrow. Bednar agreed, saying Andrighetto would be a lineup option tomorrow.
• It was amusing to watch the three kid roommates (Kerfoot, Jost, Compher) talk about their post-practice plans and which of Kerfoot or Compher was responsible for driving Jost around today. Always funny to be reminded that players are just regular people away from the rink.
• Shortly after practice concluded, the Avalanche announced the signings of defenseman Josh Anderson and forward Travis Barron to their three-year entry-level contracts. Both were draft picks from the 2016 NHL Draft, Anderson in the third and Barron in the seventh.