Heading into the 2025-26 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins have shifted the focus to youth and development.
With more talent in the system than Pittsburgh has had in years - and 13 picks in the 2025 NHL Draft - top prospects lists are becoming more competitive and more difficult to discern. Since the prospect pool is deepening, The Hockey News - Pittsburgh Penguins takes a look at the top-20 prospects in the organization.
Next up is our pick for No. 19, which is an oft-overlooked blueline prospect who showed a lot of growth last season. And that would be Finn Harding.
#19: D Finn Harding
Harding, 20, was drafted in the seventh round (223rd overall) of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. When selected, the 6-foot-1, 206-pound blueliner was already known for his shutdown ability and two-way potential judging by his two seasons from 2022-24 with the Mississauga Steelheads of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
Flash forward to the end of the 2024-25 season, and not only did the Steelheads move to Brampton, but Harding also moved the needle in terms of both his offensive ability and his stature within organizational prospect ranks.
After producing 12 goals and 44 points in 131 games in those first two years with the Steelheads, Harding broke out last season, registering seven goals and 57 points in 67 games. He finished eighth in the OHL in scoring among defensemen - just two spots below fellow Penguins' defensive prospect Emil Pieniniemi and only two points shy of Kashawn Aitcheson, who was drafted 17th overall by the New York Islanders in 2025.
Harding said that he was working to round out his offensive game this season, and that work paid off. In addition to finishing top-eight in OHL defensive scoring, he also broke the Steelheads' single-season assists record for a defenseman with 50. His impressive body of work last season led to a three-year entry-level contract with the Penguins during the spring.
'I'm Happy To See Some Results': A Relative Unknown, Penguins' Defensive Prospect Aims To Build On Breakout Season
All things considered, the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> have a <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/with-breadth-of-positional-depth-in-the-system-penguins-defensive-prospects-eager-to-take-next-steps">pretty deep prospect pool on the blue line</a>.
Perhaps what stands out most about Harding is his versatility. He logged heavy minutes for Brampton in 2024-25 and was deployed in all situations, which bolstered his value to both his team and to the Penguins organizationally.
"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 throughout 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 game.
"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."
There is a long, difficult road ahead for Harding in terms of finding himself on an NHL roster anytime soon, as fellow right-side defensemen Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Connor Clifton, Matt Dumba, Jack St. Ivany, and Harrison Brunicke are currently clogging up the pipeline.
Nonetheless, if Harding continues to build on his final season in the OHL - and on his brief three-game stint at the end of the ECHL season for the Wheeling Nailers in 2024-25 - he may just insert himself into those conversations sooner than expected.
Top-20 Penguins' Prospects 2025: A 2025 Draft Pick Kicks Off The List At No. 20
Heading into the 2025-26 season, the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> have shifted the focus to youth and development.
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Feature image credit: Kelsey Surmacz - The Hockey News