Lightning's Killorn proving Harvard route to NHL was right decision
Alex Killorn's father admits he was skeptical about his son's college route to the NHL, but as the Tampa Bay Lightning forward shines in the Stanley Cup Final, he now believes it was the smart decision.
"I remember having the discussions with my wife, because she's a teacher by profession, and she was really advocating strongly the school route, which was obviously the right choice," Matt Killorn told NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "But there was always a piece of me thinking, 'Is this really the right path?' There were a lot of people who told us that if you choose Harvard you're kind of saying no to professional hockey, because at that time Harvard wasn't really considered a strong hockey school."
Killorn had steady numbers during his time at Harvard, but it wasn't until his final season where he really broke out. The 6-foot-2 center put up 23 goals and 46 points in 34 games.
The next season, Killorn suited up for the Lightning. Fast-forward two more years and the 25-year-old admits he is somewhere he never expected to be.
"When I was making that decision (to attend Harvard), I wasn't envisioning myself playing in the Stanley Cup Final with Steven Stamkos on my line," Killorn said. "Those are things that you hope happen, but you can't expect that. Not that I didn't have belief in myself, I thought I was going to play, but regardless if you have a good career or not, you're still going to be done by 35, 36, or 37. After that, what do you do? I was pretty interested in doing some other things also."
Killorn graduated school with a degree in political science and has been able to make it work, doing what he was ultimately hoping for.
"It's pretty special," Matt Killorn said. "Looking back on it now, I wasn't sure it was going to work. It's great to see because he's really passionate about the sport. If you can do something that you truly enjoy and make a good living at it you're lucky that way."
Killorn's decision looks to have paid off tenfold as he is now just three wins away from a Stanley Cup, and his eight goals and 17 points in 22 games this postseason have a lot to do with that.
- with h/t to NHL.com