Prospects Challenge: Harding not far off from next level
The list of Penguins' right-handed defense prospects who are set to be in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season and available for recalls is pretty slim.
Defenseman Finn Harding, the Penguins' seventh-round pick last summer, has seen his trajectory skyrocket over the last handful of years. And with the path he's on, he just might end up jumping to first in line for a recall of a right-handed defenseman this season.
Harding is what one would call a "late bloomer," and his path has been an interesting one. He didn't make the OHL in his first year of eligibility back in 2021-22, at the time being seen as undersized, skinny, and physically too weak. He worked on his strength and grew a few inches and made the OHL in his second year of eligibility, but his late start in junior had the trickle-down effect of having him be passed over in his first year of NHL draft eligibility, too.
When the Penguins drafted Harding last summer, he had grown to 6 foot 1 and 200 pounds, and caught the eye of scouts with his hockey IQ, commitment to defense, physicality and ability to at times chip in offensively. He went on to put up 57 points (seven goals, 50 assists) in 67 games with his Brampton Steelheads,
Harding, now 20 years old, is preparing for his first full season of professional hockey, and put on another 10-15 pounds this summer alone to prepare. His pairing with Owen Pickering in the first game of the Prospects Challenge here in Buffalo was the Penguins' best that day. Here on Monday in the Penguins' 6-3 win over the Sabres, Harding's pairing with Daniel Laatsch proved to be an effective shutdown pair, with Harding also picking up an assist on the Penguins' sixth goal to cap off the win.
"I thought I played well," Harding told me after the win. "You know, I came in wanting to stick to my identity and do my job, being hard to play against, chipping in when I can offensively, and being that transitional D, and I tried checking off all those boxes."
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's coach Kirk MacDonald was impressed with Harding's showing.
"He moves the puck really well," MacDonald told me. "Good first pass. Super competitive. He has some good offensive instincts. Another young guy that's going to be playing pro this year and continue to get better."
Harding is one of the few Penguins prospects in this tournament with some professional experience. After his season in Brampton ended last year, he was able to be assigned to the minors for the remainder of the season. With Wilkes-Barre not having room in the lineup, Harding was sent to Wheeling where he seemed to need no time adjusting to the pro game. Then-coach Derek Army lauded Harding's physicality and decision-making in particular.
Harding credited that stint in Wheeling with instilling confidence in himself and providing him with some knowledge of what he needs to work on in his game, which benefitted him coming into his second Prospects Challenge here this week.
"It really helped me to just play my game and focus on what I do on the ice," he said. "I worked on a few things, definitely strength being one of them, put on some pounds and some strength. And as well as well as speed and skating, I definitely tried honing in on my stride and my mobility to be a better defender."
Harding will presumably start the year in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where he'll have the opportunity to play big minutes. And of the right-handed defensemen expected to be there with him, there's not a real, clear-cut No. 1 next-man-up if needed. Jack St. Ivany? Phil Kemp? Fellow rookie Chase Pietila? If Harding continues to adjust well to the pro game and continues on the fast track he's been on, it's not out of the question that he could see NHL time this year.
Harding acknowledged being aware of the depth chart, but also said that it isn't something he wants to think about too much.
"I'm just kind of trying to focus on the day to day and just worrying about my output and quality and in terms of play," he said. "You hope for the best and as long as I'm controlling the controllables, if you will, then we'll see."
So, what does a successful rookie season look like for Harding?
"Just playing my game," he said. "I just want to keep growing as a player and a person, and being hard to play against, and continuing to elevate and bring new layers to my game is my goal. It's my first pro season, so make the most of it."
• The Penguins' 6-3 win gave them a 2-0-1 record for the tournament, good enough to win for the third straight year. It's not a real "tournament," of course, there's no trophy, and the only team that cares about the end result is the one that won. But Penguins prospects acknowledged knowing before this game that they only needed a win here to "win" the whole thing after the Devils lost yesterday, and it was something they really cared about. Good mindset to have. Winning's a habit.
• Avery Hayes scored in all three games, scoring his fourth goal of the tournament as he buried a cross-ice pass from Daniel Laatsch today. It's the second year that Hayes has led the Penguins in the tournament in scoring.
• MacDonald has been praising Hayes' game all week. I asked MacDonald after this one if there's even an area of Hayes' game that he can point to as an area of weakness in which he needs to improve in order to get a recall this season. MacDonald said that Hayes' game has "no holes," but if you were to ask Hayes yourself, that he'd probably say he needs to work on everything. And it's that mindset that will have Hayes find his way to the NHL sooner rather than later.
"He keeps coming to the rink every day trying to improve every aspect of his game," MacDonald said. "He just wants to keep getting better. That's what makes him so successful. To me, what he's elite at, is his willingness to be like, 'I'm going to get the puck from you, no matter what.' His competitive drive, he's relentless at what he does. ... I know from his standpoint, he's not thinking he wants a callup. He's thinking he wants to make the opening-night roster. That's why he's had the success he's had."
• Tristan Broz netted his second and third goals of the tournament, with both coming only seconds into power plays. After Hayes, Broz was the next-best player of the tournament. Top power play, dominant on the penalty-kill, reliable at five-on-five, physical ... not much more one could ask for.
• Ben Kindel scored twice in today's win, his first goals of the tournament. Good to see from him after he earned praise in the first two games for his small details, and showed flashes of his better-than-expected skating and his dangerous shot. He finally got rewarded for it all in the end.
• Quinn Beauchesne scored his first goal of the tournament, returning to the lineup after he was thrown out yesterday for not having his fight strap hooked. Beauchesne, who was only a fifth-round pick this summer, was definitely the biggest pleasant surprise of the tournament.
• Another note about Beauchesne: After development camp, he went down the line and personally thanked and chatted with every single member of the media, regardless of if someone actually wrote about him in camp or not. He also wrote personal thank you notes to members of the Penguins' own support staff, acknowledging the hard work that goes into the behind-the-scenes things required for putting on the camp. Very cool to see from any player, especially one as young as he is.
• Sergei Murashov, after stopping all 11 shots faced in his half of Game 1, stopped 34 of 37 in his full start today. Again, another guy who did exactly what you could have hoped for out here.
• Harrison Brunicke, overall, had an OK tournament. I thought his aggressiveness and willingness to jump into the play offensively was good. I also thought at times he was trying to do "too much," which was an issue in his first two or three games in Wilkes-Barre late last season, and he'd get burned by a turnover or being forced into a bad penalty. He had three stick infraction minors in the games, two yesterday and one today. And that's all fine and not concerning for a 19-year-old prospect from junior. But not something that you look at and say, "Yeah, that's what an NHL player should look like in this setting."
THE ASYLUM
Prospects Challenge: Harding not far off from next level
The list of Penguins' right-handed defense prospects who are set to be in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season and available for recalls is pretty slim.
Defenseman Finn Harding, the Penguins' seventh-round pick last summer, has seen his trajectory skyrocket over the last handful of years. And with the path he's on, he just might end up jumping to first in line for a recall of a right-handed defenseman this season.
Harding is what one would call a "late bloomer," and his path has been an interesting one. He didn't make the OHL in his first year of eligibility back in 2021-22, at the time being seen as undersized, skinny, and physically too weak. He worked on his strength and grew a few inches and made the OHL in his second year of eligibility, but his late start in junior had the trickle-down effect of having him be passed over in his first year of NHL draft eligibility, too.
When the Penguins drafted Harding last summer, he had grown to 6 foot 1 and 200 pounds, and caught the eye of scouts with his hockey IQ, commitment to defense, physicality and ability to at times chip in offensively. He went on to put up 57 points (seven goals, 50 assists) in 67 games with his Brampton Steelheads,
Harding, now 20 years old, is preparing for his first full season of professional hockey, and put on another 10-15 pounds this summer alone to prepare. His pairing with Owen Pickering in the first game of the Prospects Challenge here in Buffalo was the Penguins' best that day. Here on Monday in the Penguins' 6-3 win over the Sabres, Harding's pairing with Daniel Laatsch proved to be an effective shutdown pair, with Harding also picking up an assist on the Penguins' sixth goal to cap off the win.
"I thought I played well," Harding told me after the win. "You know, I came in wanting to stick to my identity and do my job, being hard to play against, chipping in when I can offensively, and being that transitional D, and I tried checking off all those boxes."
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's coach Kirk MacDonald was impressed with Harding's showing.
"He moves the puck really well," MacDonald told me. "Good first pass. Super competitive. He has some good offensive instincts. Another young guy that's going to be playing pro this year and continue to get better."
Harding is one of the few Penguins prospects in this tournament with some professional experience. After his season in Brampton ended last year, he was able to be assigned to the minors for the remainder of the season. With Wilkes-Barre not having room in the lineup, Harding was sent to Wheeling where he seemed to need no time adjusting to the pro game. Then-coach Derek Army lauded Harding's physicality and decision-making in particular.
Harding credited that stint in Wheeling with instilling confidence in himself and providing him with some knowledge of what he needs to work on in his game, which benefitted him coming into his second Prospects Challenge here this week.
"It really helped me to just play my game and focus on what I do on the ice," he said. "I worked on a few things, definitely strength being one of them, put on some pounds and some strength. And as well as well as speed and skating, I definitely tried honing in on my stride and my mobility to be a better defender."
Harding will presumably start the year in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where he'll have the opportunity to play big minutes. And of the right-handed defensemen expected to be there with him, there's not a real, clear-cut No. 1 next-man-up if needed. Jack St. Ivany? Phil Kemp? Fellow rookie Chase Pietila? If Harding continues to adjust well to the pro game and continues on the fast track he's been on, it's not out of the question that he could see NHL time this year.
Harding acknowledged being aware of the depth chart, but also said that it isn't something he wants to think about too much.
"I'm just kind of trying to focus on the day to day and just worrying about my output and quality and in terms of play," he said. "You hope for the best and as long as I'm controlling the controllables, if you will, then we'll see."
So, what does a successful rookie season look like for Harding?
"Just playing my game," he said. "I just want to keep growing as a player and a person, and being hard to play against, and continuing to elevate and bring new layers to my game is my goal. It's my first pro season, so make the most of it."
• The Penguins' 6-3 win gave them a 2-0-1 record for the tournament, good enough to win for the third straight year. It's not a real "tournament," of course, there's no trophy, and the only team that cares about the end result is the one that won. But Penguins prospects acknowledged knowing before this game that they only needed a win here to "win" the whole thing after the Devils lost yesterday, and it was something they really cared about. Good mindset to have. Winning's a habit.
• Avery Hayes scored in all three games, scoring his fourth goal of the tournament as he buried a cross-ice pass from Daniel Laatsch today. It's the second year that Hayes has led the Penguins in the tournament in scoring.
• MacDonald has been praising Hayes' game all week. I asked MacDonald after this one if there's even an area of Hayes' game that he can point to as an area of weakness in which he needs to improve in order to get a recall this season. MacDonald said that Hayes' game has "no holes," but if you were to ask Hayes yourself, that he'd probably say he needs to work on everything. And it's that mindset that will have Hayes find his way to the NHL sooner rather than later.
"He keeps coming to the rink every day trying to improve every aspect of his game," MacDonald said. "He just wants to keep getting better. That's what makes him so successful. To me, what he's elite at, is his willingness to be like, 'I'm going to get the puck from you, no matter what.' His competitive drive, he's relentless at what he does. ... I know from his standpoint, he's not thinking he wants a callup. He's thinking he wants to make the opening-night roster. That's why he's had the success he's had."
• Tristan Broz netted his second and third goals of the tournament, with both coming only seconds into power plays. After Hayes, Broz was the next-best player of the tournament. Top power play, dominant on the penalty-kill, reliable at five-on-five, physical ... not much more one could ask for.
• Ben Kindel scored twice in today's win, his first goals of the tournament. Good to see from him after he earned praise in the first two games for his small details, and showed flashes of his better-than-expected skating and his dangerous shot. He finally got rewarded for it all in the end.
• Quinn Beauchesne scored his first goal of the tournament, returning to the lineup after he was thrown out yesterday for not having his fight strap hooked. Beauchesne, who was only a fifth-round pick this summer, was definitely the biggest pleasant surprise of the tournament.
• Another note about Beauchesne: After development camp, he went down the line and personally thanked and chatted with every single member of the media, regardless of if someone actually wrote about him in camp or not. He also wrote personal thank you notes to members of the Penguins' own support staff, acknowledging the hard work that goes into the behind-the-scenes things required for putting on the camp. Very cool to see from any player, especially one as young as he is.
• Sergei Murashov, after stopping all 11 shots faced in his half of Game 1, stopped 34 of 37 in his full start today. Again, another guy who did exactly what you could have hoped for out here.
• Harrison Brunicke, overall, had an OK tournament. I thought his aggressiveness and willingness to jump into the play offensively was good. I also thought at times he was trying to do "too much," which was an issue in his first two or three games in Wilkes-Barre late last season, and he'd get burned by a turnover or being forced into a bad penalty. He had three stick infraction minors in the games, two yesterday and one today. And that's all fine and not concerning for a 19-year-old prospect from junior. But not something that you look at and say, "Yeah, that's what an NHL player should look like in this setting."
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