Alexander Joseph Killorn (born September 14, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a forward and alternate captain for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the third round, 77th overall, of the 2007 NHL entry draft. Killorn won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021.
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Early life
Although born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, he grew up in Beaconsfield, Quebec, with two sisters. He attended Loyola High School in Montreal and played Lakeshore minor hockey. He played midget AAA hockey for the Lac St. Louis Lions before attending Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts for two seasons.
Playing career
Collegiate
Killorn was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the third round, 77th overall, of the 2007 NHL entry draft before his senior year at Deerfield. He then played collegiate hockey in the United States with Harvard University in the NCAA Men's Division I ECAC Hockey conference. In his senior year, Killorn's outstanding play was recognized when he was selected to the 2011–12 ECAC Hockey First Team.
Professional (2012–present)
After finishing his senior season with Harvard, Killorn was assigned to the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL) at the end of the 2011–12 campaign. Killorn turned out to be a key player for the Admirals as they went on to win the Calder Cup.
On May 19, 2012, Killorn signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. During the 2012 NHL lockout, Killorn played for the Lightning's American Hockey League top affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch then came up to the NHL for the Lightning after the lockout ended in January 2013. On February 10, 2013, he recorded his first career NHL assist and point on a goal scored by captain Vincent Lecavalier, against the New York Rangers. On February 16, Killorn scored his first goal on José Théodore in a 6–5 overtime win against the inner-state rival Florida Panthers. Killorn finished his rookie year, the 48-game lockout-shortened 2012–13 season with seven goals and 12 assists for 19 points in 38 games, while the Lightning as a team finished second-to-last in the Eastern Conference and third-to-last in the league altogether.
Killorn had a breakout season during the 2013–14 season, his second in the NHL, finishing the season with 17 goals, 24 assists, and 41 points recorded in all 82 games played, helping the Lightning qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2011 as the team finished third in the East. Killorn made his Stanley Cup playoff debut on April 16, 2014, in the first game in the opening round of the 2014 playoffs, which ended in a 5–4 loss against the Montreal Canadiens, recording a goal on Carey Price and an assist on a goal scored by captain Steven Stamkos. The Lightning would eventually get swept in four games by the sixth-seeded Canadiens and Killorn finished his first playoff year and series with a goal and an assist for two points in all four contests played.
On June 19, 2014, the Lightning announced that they had re-signed Killorn to a two-year $5.1 million contract extension for $2.55 million annually.
Killorn played 71 games in the 2014–15 season, recording 15 goals, 23 assists, and 38 points. During the 2015 playoffs, Killorn had a successful post season run with the Lightning, as the team would defeat the Detroit Red Wings in seven games in the opening round (erasing a 3–2 series deficit in doing so) before defeating the Montreal Canadiens in six games in the second round and the Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers in seven games in the third round to reach the Stanley Cup Final, where the Lightning ended up falling to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. During the run, Killorn posted several records for former players from Harvard. In the Finals, Killorn's game one goal on Corey Crawford on June 3, 2015, was the first goal scored by a Harvard alum in a Stanley Cup Finals game. Killorn added a second goal in game four of the series on Crawford a week later on June 10 to become the first Harvard alum with multiple goals and/or assists in a Stanley Cup Finals series. His 2015 postseason scoring totaled (nine goals and assists for 18 points in all 26 games played), which are all single-postseason records among the twelve Harvard alumni who have played in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Killorn's ten goals over two postseasons are second only to Dominic Moore (11 goals) on the Harvard all-time list, which was achieved in only 30 playoff games (in the opening round in 2014 and all four rounds in 2015 combined) to Moore's 88.
International play
On April 19, 2017, Killorn was named to the Canada senior team for the 2017 World Championship. On May 21, he earned a silver medal with Canada's team when they lost to the Sweden senior team 2–1 in the final.