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Taige Harding’s penalty minutes almost quadrupling in his last season at Providence College might raise some red flags about his game on the surface. That’s not normally a welcomed trend. That is, until you hear why Harding went from receiving 12 penalty minutes as a junior to 46 as a senior.
Before Providence coach Nate Leaman explains, another important element to this story is that Harding is a 6-foot-7 and 235-pound defenseman. Advertisement “I’ll be real honest, when you’re that size in the NCAA, sometimes it can be hard,” Leaman said. “When he would get real physical on guys, like a lot of times, when you’re bigger than a guy, it can just lead to a penalty at our level.
It’s not checking technique. It’s just his elbow comes up to a 5-10 guy’s head. Taige is a very, very bright kid and he’s a kid in the world we’re in now, like he thinks team-first all of the time.
Like I think every game he goes into it, he thinks how I am going to help the team? He’s just that good of a kid.” And because Harding was team first and understood he could put his team in a difficult spot if he took penalties, he didn’t play as physical as some would expect for a player of his size. But before Harding began his senior season, Leaman sat down with him and gave a directive.
“This year it was really about, ‘Taige, I don’t care if you take a penalty,'” Leaman said. “Because I think his sophomore and junior year, we want to be a really disciplined team. He was so cognizant of being disciplined with his size that I think it was taking away from his game a little bit.
So this year, I had a meeting with him last summer and just said, ‘You got to be you. I want to see the growl. If you take an aggressive penalty, you take an aggressive penalty.
I’m fine with it.'” Harding did as told. That led to more penalty minutes than his first three seasons combined, but the positives still outweighed the negatives.
Providence was a better and more defensive team because Harding didn’t hold back. “He was a mean son of a b—- all year,” Leaman said. “I think that helped him in his game.
I think he always had it in him.” The Chicago Blackhawks hope the 23-year-old Harding has that and even more in him. The Blackhawks signed Harding, a 2021 third-round draft pick, to a two-year, entry-level contract Tuesday.
The contract will begin next season. Until then, he signed an amateur tryout contract with the Rockford IceHogs and will finish the season in the AHL. Advertisement Video breakdown This first clip shows some of Harding’s aggressiveness in the defensive zone.
Here’s another clip of Harding moving around the defensive zone. He understands how to use his frame to deter opponents and isn’t afraid to get in front of shots. How Harding defends speed and rushes will likely make or break him at the pro level.
On this play, he used his length to keep the opponent outside and led them behind the net to break up the puck. Harding’s reach came in handy to first knock down a puck on this play. Later, he stopped the puck and the carrier with his stick and body.
Offense isn’t a major component of Harding’s game, but he produced two goals and 12 assists this season. This was one of his primary assists. Overall, he focused on getting the puck out of the defensive end quickly and didn’t try to handle it much.
Corey Pronman’s take “Huge defenseman who moves fairly well for his size. He’s a clear NHL athlete who can make stops versus men. His puck play is subpar, could struggle to make effective passes under pressure at the top level.
” What the Blackhawks are saying “His size and reach, that’s going to be a strength of his as he progresses through levels and guys get quicker,” said Mark Eaton, Blackhawks assistant general manager of player development and IceHogs interim head coach. “That range of his is still going to be there. I think for him, coupling that with an assertive defensive mindset.
Sometimes bigger guys can rely too much on their reach and play more of an on-your-heels (game) and just try to take up space. Advertisement “I think a focus for us over the last few years and something he’s really started to implement into in his game is still playing on his toes, still being aggressive with his gaps, still being aggressive in the defensive zone, jumping on guys, not just waiting for them to come into his big radius. When he decides to play on his toes, close on guys, he’s stronger than most guys, especially in college hockey.
It takes away even more time and space when he’s playing that way with that mindset.” Where does Harding fit in the rebuild? Harding is probably more of a project than some of the younger defensemen the Blackhawks have signed the past few years, but the team thinks he’s worth a longer look as a defensive defenseman. The Blackhawks have favored sizeable defensemen in recent years, and Harding fits that mold.
Could you imagine Harding, a lefty, with 6-8 Louis Crevier, a righty, as a pairing? Leaman believes Harding has a shot at making it in the NHL. “I think he can transition pucks,” Leaman said. “I think he can read the ice really well.
I think he can be mean, physical. I think he can be a 3-4-5 D. He’s got all that stuff.
Really, the No. 1 thing that has to keep coming is his skating because I think he relies on his stick sometimes instead of moving his feet to get there. That’s something that he’s working on.
I think the next level’s going to help him with that a lot, too.” When could Harding join the Blackhawks? Harding will undoubtedly start next season with the IceHogs. From there, it’ll be a matter of how he develops and how the Blackhawks’ other defense prospects are coming along.
There will be many young defensemen in the mix in the AHL and NHL next season. Eaton thinks Harding has a shot at being a better player at a higher level. “I’ve said it a few for years now, his game might translate better to the pro level than it does the college level,” Eaton said.
“He is so big and strong. When he is playing aggressively and closing on guys, sometimes they just crumble in college. It can lead to penalties called against even when they’re not, and can get in the back of his head.
A guy who doesn’t want to put his team shorthand, he’s a team-first character guy, I’m sure that resides in the back of his head. “I think when he’s in the pros, he’s going to be able to play his game with no hesitation, no worries about being too strong or too physical on guys. Frankly, that’s how he’s going to have to play to have success.
” (Photo: Courtesy of Providence Athletics).
