Prospect Talk: Finn Harding
After a playoff morning practice for the Wheeling Nailers, 20-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins defense prospect, Finn Harding, sat down with Olde City Sports Network to talk about juniors, being a defenseman, and more!
Before coming into a few professional games, Harding played three years for the Brampton Steelheads, with two of those years being under the name Mississauga Steelheads. The team relocated to Brampton, Ontario, before the start of the 2024-2025 season. “I had three amazing years there. From the coaching staff to trainers to the equipment manager to the players, it was great for me as a player, but also as a person. In terms of my play and translating that to pro, the Steelheads helped me find my identity as a player, being hard to play against, being able to transition pucks, and being that secondary scoring, I think, that started from the coaches early on. I came in from Triple-A and just kind of wanted to do it all, but they helped me find my strengths and use it to my advantage, and just being that hard defender to play against and stopping the rush, and just being able to move it as well.” During Harding’s tenure with Brampton, He played in 198 games and totaled 19 goals and 82 assists.
There is an adjustment period players face when they transition from the junior league way of playing the game to the professional level style of play. Harding only has eight total professional games under him, three being in the regular season and five being in the postseason. “It's a different game from junior hockey. You're not playing against 17, 18, 19, 20-year-olds. It's now 21 and up, and guys are a bit stronger, guys are a bit faster, and you just gotta kind of adjust, it's definitely different. So it's been great. I've learned a lot. I'm just trying to be a sponge and do the most I can for this team and hopefully push a long run.”
Harding was drafted in the 2024 NHL Entry Level Draft and was picked 223rd overall in the seventh round by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 2024 Draft took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, at The Sphere, on June 28th and June 29th, 2024. “It was an awesome experience. I was fortunate enough to get drafted by the Penguins. Just grateful for the opportunity they've given me and the belief they've had in me to give me this chance.”
On March 3rd, 2024, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced that General Manager Kyle Dubas signed Harding to a three-year entry-level contract. “It was that's something you dream of doing, and it's definitely on your bucket list. A step in the right direction for sure. I put a lot of work into this summer to try to make that happen, and just really grateful that the Penguins again have given me this opportunity to extend my career and and I gotta make the most of it now. The real work starts now, so it’s here and now.” After signing the contract, Harding headed to the Wheeling Nailers after Brampton’s season ended during the first round of the playoffs. Harding assisted the Nailers at the end of the season and throughout the playoffs.
The Toronto native, like many other kids growing up in Canada, took to hockey early in life and credits most of that to his family, especially his father. “My dad. I grew up in the middle of hockey family. He played, and I have a brother. He got my brother and I into hockey since I can remember. I think we were born with a skate and sticks in our hands, and so from day one, from the jump, we've been just playing, and I’ve loved it ever since, and it's been awesome.”
Harding is just starting his career in the professional ranks, but he recognizes his strengths and his weaknesses early on. Harding spoke about what he will be able to bring to the organization when it comes to his strengths. “Be hard to play against. I think I got a good stick, and I think I can stop the rush and turn defense into my offense and transition it to my forwards and get it up. I think just the big things are just being hard to play against and being able to transition pucks.”
Mobility and patience for a defenseman are critical in their play. Defensemen see most of the ice and most of the play, so being able to get ahead of the opposition is key, and being mobile and patient both assist in developing defensemen. “I think the game is so fast now, and you've got all these super quick forwards, and I think mobility and skating as a defenseman is something that I’m working on. I've always been working on it and and I think everyone should be working on that, but I think that’s something I'm trying to dial in and be as mobile and as quick as I possibly can to defend, any type of forward up and down lineup.”
In the 2024-2025 season, Harding served as the assistant captain of the Brampton Steelheads. Harding touched on his leadership style on and off the ice. “I'm not the most vocal, on the bench. I try to lead by example with my actions on and off the ice. Whether it be getting in early, being the first one on, or doing the extra stuff after practice. On the bench doing all that I can, finishing hits and when the moment comes that I like to speak up, if needed, but I think leading by example is kind of my way of trying to lead and it's what I was taught from a young age.”
Most players have former or current players that they would have loved to play with or emulate growing up, and try to model their style. Harding touches on who he would have liked to play with in today’s game. “I didn't have a chance to watch him, but my dad used to show me clips of him growing up and Nick Lidstrom. I would just love a day or a game to play with him. I gotta say, guys like Kris Letang and Karlsson, those two are unreal and just legends, and to have a chance to play with those guys that would be unreal and love to pick their brains both through things.”
Harding dressed in eight games for the Wheeling Nailers. The 2025-2026 season will be a developing year for Harding at the professional level, and he will work on becoming a faster and stronger defenseman.
- Samantha Wismer/Olde City Sports Network
- Photo Credit/ Stacey Grubich/ Olde City Sports Network
