Two summers ago, defenseman Finn Harding was passed over in the draft in his first year of eligibility. Last year, he nearly got passed over again, having to wait until the seventh round, 223rd overall to finally hear his name called by the Penguins.

Now, Harding is preparing for his first season of professional hockey with an NHL contract under his belt. And for the Penguins, he's looking like he might be a real steal of a pick.

Harding, 20, wrapped up his third and final season of junior hockey this year with the OHL's Steelheads.

When Harding was drafted last summer, both he and the Penguins stressed that he was a defense-first defenseman. Then-director of amateur scouting Nick Pryor called Harding a "smart, intelligent defender" who "takes pride in his own end." Harding himself told me that his game was "stick-on-puck, then I'll follow through with body-on-body," taking advantage of his 6-foot-1, 201-pound frame, strong for a player his age.

Still, Harding managed to put up a good amount of points in his draft year for someone who isn't an offensive defenseman, with 10 goals and 24 assists in 68 games. This year, Harding managed to contribute even more. In 67 games his 50 assists ranked fifth among OHL defenseman (tied, coincidentally with fellow Penguins prospect Emil Pieniniemi) and his 57 points ranked eighth.

"I had a big summer," Harding told me last month in Wheeling, W.Va. about that increase in production. "I definitely went to work and added some tools to my bag, and was fortunate enough to end up on the scoresheet a bit more this season."

Harding credited the "unreal" Penguins development staff for their work with him over the course of the season in instilling those tools.

"Skating was a big one for me," Harding explained. "It's something I continue to work on, and I have been working on, just that mobility aspect and skating piece of my game is something that's important. It's important for everyone, because these forwards nowadays are really fast, and the game's fast, and so being able to keep up and defend any kind of forward is super important. And all the stick details, how to be a pro and playing in my identity."

ZACK RAWSON / WHEELING NAILERS

Finn Harding

With the Steelheads eliminated in the first round of the OHL playoffs, Harding was free to finish the season in the Penguins' minor-league system. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was stacked at defense, especially right-handed defensemen after the addition of Harrison Brunicke down the stretch, so Harding was sent to Wheeling to take his first steps into professional hockey. He played in three regular season games and five postseason games, going scoreless in all of them. And while the points didn't come as easily as they did in junior, he still showed some encouraging signs.

"He played really well (on the road in) Trois-Rivières," Nailers head coach Derek Army told me. "He got his feet wet, made some really nice passes. You could see where he's smart with the puck. Physically, you can see where he's engaging. He'll start to continue to adjust to the pace. It's a little bit faster, especially because of the playoffs. But I thought he did a good job adjusting."

Army thinks that Harding's adjustment stemmed from his exceptional excitement toward learning. Harding was dedicated to going through his film and learning what he could do better. He was committed to learning the intricacies about defending at the pro level and how it differs from junior. And because of that, Army thinks that one could see real progress from Harding in just his two weeks in Wheeling.

Harding told me that he just tried to take the most of his limited time in Wheeling by being a "sponge."

"I learned a ton," he said. "There's definitely a difference between, playing men and playing 17, 18, 19 year olds. It was great to get that learning experience and get a taste of it with these games. I enjoyed it and just wish it could have lasted a bit longer."

The biggest differences in playing against grown men, Harding said, is just that it's "harder hockey." The opponents are stronger. Net-front battles are harder. The speed is greater.

ZACK RAWSON / WHEELING NAILERS

Finn Harding

As Harding heads back home for the summer, these eight games in Wheeling provide him with valuable information when it comes to what he needs to work on this summer in order to become a full-time, impact player at the AHL level next season.

"It's just back to the details," he said. "It's just little things -- net-front box outs, the stick details, all those little things that the pros do. It's just continuing to improve on those, along with skating and keeping that mobility up and making sure I'm able to keep up and defend that as best I can."

As Harding prepares for that first professional season, he's one of the Penguins' more intriguing prospects, and certainly among their best on the right side of the blue line. Going back to last season, in Harding's first NHL training camp, Kyle Dubas named him specifically as one of the prospects who "really asserted themselves and stepped up as the camp went on." After a big year of junior hockey and now a handful of pro games on top of that, Harding will be one to watch during this summer's Prospects Challenge and then in training camp.

Harding smiled when talking about his journey, going from undrafted to signing an NHL contract in such a short period. 

"It was a dream come true," he told me. "It's awesome, but now the real work begins. It's a step in the right direction, and I've got to make the most of it."