Yet, while Kerfoot is a passer by trade, he does want to bring a new element to his game.

“I want to kind of make a concerted effort to take pucks to the net more and get more shots just to add another dynamic to my game,” Kerfoot said. “[That way] guys can’t just back off me and be expecting a pass.”

This falls right in line with a league-wide prediction that this is Kerfoot’s year. Expecting the co-captain to change his game entirely would be foolish, but so would expecting the preseason first team all-ECAC center not to surpass his four-goal total of last year.

Kerfoot emphasized he’s not looking to make a change because of his new surrounding cast; he’d want to make the effort no matter what. But tweaking his game now makes more sense than ever. When something isn’t broke, you don’t fix it. And the old line was firing on all cylinders, providing little reason to make adaptations.

But now that the line’s a work in progress, what better time to try something new? Kerfoot has already established himself as one of Harvard’s top players, but after ranking ninth on the Crimson in shots last season, throwing more pucks at the net could be what elevates his game to another level.

“I definitely think he’s got stuff to show,” said Colton Kerfoot, Alex’s brother who is now a freshman on the team. “He’s had a pretty great couple last few years, so hopefully he can have another big one, and hopefully he can lead us down the stretch.”

That’s a message the rest of the Crimson would certainly agree with. It’s just too bad the praise had to come from the younger brother.

“I was sick of him before he got here,” Alex joked. “I’m definitely sick of him now.”

—Staff writer Jake Meagher can be reached at jake.meagher@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @MeagherTHC.