Pittsburgh Prospect Check-In: Finn Harding
There is a plethora of prospects for Pittsburgh and one that is starting to put his work in in the AHL is Finn Harding. Harding is a right-handed defenseman that hails from Toronto, Ontario. Towards the end of the 2024-2025 season, Pittsburgh signed Harding to a three-year entry level contract. The Penguins drafted him in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft in the seventh round, 223rd overall.
In order to get ready for the 2025-2026 season, Harding spoke with Olde City Sports Network after the November 5th game in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton against Toronto. “I had a little stint with Wheeling at the end of their season and the end of mine. I learned alot and got to see firsthand what the pro landscape was like. I wanted to go in and gain some strength, put on a couple pounds, and biggest thing for me was skating speed. I put on some weight, which I wanted and gained some strength, but skating and that first three steps explosiveness were the things I was kind of honing in on this summer.”
Photo Credit: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Transitioning from the OHL to being in the professional realm is no easy feat. Harding spent three seasons with the Mississauga Steelheads and during his last season, they were re-named the Brampton Steelheads. Harding donned the “A” during the course of his last season there. He dressed in 198 games and tallied 19 goals and 82 assists during his time with the Steelheads. With his last season alone in the OHL, he was eighth for scoring in the entire league by a defenseman. He was assigned to ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Wheeling Nailers at the end of his Brampton season and he dressed in three regular season games and played in all five post-season games for them. While in Wheeling, he worked under former Head Coach Derek Army and Assistant Coach Mitch Giguere, and spoke highly of them and what he learned off of them “They were awesome. I learned a lot. The little details of the pro game and how the little things can compound at times, and just being dialed in with every pass, first pass especially. Picking off rims, stick detail and physicality were the big things I picked up in Wheeling and from them as well.”
Before heading to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the beginning of October, Harding spent time at the Pittsburgh Penguins training camp. Spending time at a training camp, alon with a development camp during the summer, benefits not only the player as a person, but their game as a whole. Harding spoke on what feedback he received at camp to work on during his time with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. “I got good feedback. Keep doing your thing and puck movement. Keep honing in on this defensive game and just really playing to my identity. Being hard to play against and being able to transition pucks. I think puck movement im working on going forward and just that first pass and being able to transition as quickly as I can so that we can turn it around and go play offense. On this team, we have a ton of guys that can play the puck and possess the puck, so the quicker you get it up to them, the better.”
Harding is a hard-working defenseman who is not only a playmaker, but has the grit as well. He continues to make improvements on all areas of his game. Thus far in the 2025-2026 season, Harding has dressed in eight games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and has notched three assists.
- Samantha Wismer/Olde City Sports Network
- Photo Credit: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
