All things considered, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a pretty deep prospect pool on the blue line.
And one defensive prospect - to many, relatively unknown - wants to continue building on the breakout season he had in 2024-25.
Defenseman Finn Harding climbed up Pittsburgh's prospect rankings in 2024-25 with an impressive campaign. Known for his shutdown ability at the time when he was selected in the seventh round (223rd overall) by the Penguins in 2024, Harding burst onto the map offensively in his third season with the Brampton Steelheads of the OHL, putting up seven goals and 57 points in 67 games and finishing eighth in OHL scoring among defensemen.
In addition, the 6-foot-2, 206-pound blueliner broke the Steelheads' single-season assists record for a defenseman with 50, and he finished seventh in the OHL among all skaters at a plus-46 - which was also the fourth-highest mark among defensemen. He was awarded for his stellar play with a three-year entry-level contract in March.
Harding knows he was branded as a defensive defenseman at the time of his draft selection, but he put a lot of work into his all-around game last summer, which clearly paid off.
"Definitely, my game is more defensive and transitional, and I like to be hard to play against," Harding said. "But, last summer, I really tried to work on my craft and add some tools to the box and tried to expand my game and become more two-way, and I was able to produce more and earn some good opportunities, which helped.
"I had great teammates as well to play with, which made it a little bit easier. But, I worked on that last summer, and I'm happy to see some results."
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Of course, Harding had some exceptional teammates to share the ice with - most notably, sixth overall pick Porter Martone, who registered 37 goals and 98 points in 57 games. But a lot of the credit for his uptick in production and the betterment of his two-way game goes to Harding himself, as he played in pretty much every situation for Brampton last season and logged heavy minutes.
And those things certainly didn't go unnoticed by the Penguins as an organization.
"He's an exceptional kid. Absorbs everything we've thrown at him," Penguins' director of player development Tom Kostopoulos said. "I think, throughout his season in Brampton, he was thrown into every different role. He was killing penalties, he was on the power play... there were times througout the Christmas stretch where - while the guys were at World Juniors - he was playing 30 minutes a night and just eating it up. So, a lot of growth in his gamH
He added: "He's a willing learner. He's learning how to defend really hard consistently, move pucks, some offensive side to him this year in Brampton. So, exciting times for him."
Kostopoulos mentioned that an area of growth for Harding - as is the case with many young, developing players - is his footspeed and skating as a whole. Harding self-diagnosed that as well, acknowledging that being more mobile is something he's actively working on.
"The game is so fast now, and everyone can skate," Harding said. "The best defensemen in the league are the ones who can skate the best and be able to keep up with these forwards, stop them in their tracks, and then turn it the other way."
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Harding - who is eligible for the AHL this season at age 20 - gives a lot of credence to the Penguins' developmental staff, as well as the organization as a whole, in terms of the environment and its ability to get the most out of players. It is a transitional time for the Penguins as an organization, as they are actively shifting to the next generation of youth while still trying to maintain the winning culture that they've become so renowned for.
For Harding, he knows that he and everyone else - despite being in competition with one another, especially on the blue line, for precious few organizational roster spots - can learn a lot from those in the organization as well as each other as they navigate the process of development.
At the end of the day, they all have the same end goal of helping the NHL club win hockey games.
“It’s a great group here, and great staff, and they help us each and every day to be better and help develop as fast as we can,” Harding said. “But, obviously, it’s up to us to push the pace and come into the rink with a purpose and a plan every day and grow together, grow as fast as we can, and help this team out.”
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