Al-Kindi: “I knew Jordan was ready”

BURLINGTON, Vermont — Jerry Keefe warned us: We’re going to have to do it fast. The team bus was leaving in a few minutes and nobody used to talk to the media on game mornings anyway.

So he answers, gently but mechanically, a few questions about Jayden Strobel, the alpha male of his defensive brigade. In a few weeks we should know if the young giant is still in the Canadian’s plans and vice versa.

After a few minutes, the name Jordan Harris appears in the conversation. It was inevitable. The similarities between Strobel’s background and that of the former Northeastern Huskies captain abound. Keefe notes that on his dedicated page on the university’s website, we see him lift the trophy presented to the Eastern Hockey Conference champions with Harris at his side.

We feel it hesitate, then it starts. And suddenly the time constraints disappear.

“Jordan and I are very close,” he says. This summer, my son was getting ready to leave home to play junior hockey at Michigan. The day before he left, I organized a round of golf for us and told him he could choose any partner to complete the quad. He asked me if he could choose Jordan. »

“My son is a defenseman and he looked up to Jordan Harris during his four years at Northeastern. He studied every InStat appearance he made. The fact that he chose to spend his last day at home with him shows what Jordan means to our family.”

A Canadiens’ third round draft pick in 2018, Harris is following an unpredictable path into his pro debut. Without ever making it to the American League, he has already accumulated 62 games of experience in the National League. We appreciate his performance so much that his relationship with CH was recently extended for another two years.

“I’m not surprised, Keefe reacts. He was already acting like a pro when he was here, so when he left I knew he was ready. He arrived in Montreal at the right time, there were job opportunities for him. But he still had to grab that chance and that’s what he did. I’m watching.” “Every game he plays, we’re always in touch. It’s great to see him blossom in this way after putting so much effort into his progress. He deserves everything that’s happening to him now.”

Levi’s flowers

Keefe leads four Montrealers at Northeastern. Justin Hrekoyan is the team’s second leading scorer. Forward Matt Choupani was his Lac St-Louis Lions teammate. Giant Jeremy Buechler is one of the pillars of defence. But the most famous member of the gang is the vigilante Devon Levy.

The Buffalo Sabers prospect has had many fans over the past couple of years. It came out of nowhere when he earned a spot on Junior Team Canada in 2021. He then made an exceptional standout in his senior season in the NCAA as he was recruited to be part of Team Canada at the Beijing Olympics.

À la fin de cette memorable campagne, qu’il avait conclue avec une moyenne de buts alloués de 1,54 et a taux d’efficacity of 952, more s’attendaient à ce que Levi quitte les bancs d’école for débuter sa professional path. Instead, he decided to go back to campus.

His numbers aren’t impressive this season, but they’re still strong. He has a 2.24 goals against average, a 0.933 save percentage and five strikeouts. During his time at the University of Vermont in a game between the Catamounts and the Huskies this past Saturday, he made 42 saves in the 3-0 win.

However, the interview request was denied. A representative of the team claimed that these requests were overwhelmed by the goalkeeper.

“Devon just does his job the way he sees fit,” says Keefe admiringly. Nobody will tell him what to do. He knows his past and knows what’s best for him. As good as he can be in front of his net, he is an even better teammate. Men love to play in front of him. »

And I see a lot of similarities between Jordan Harris and A in their preparation and their desire to get better. He doesn’t worry as much as Devon. We are very happy to have him on our side! »