Ben Harpur Explained

Ben Harpur
Birth Date:12 January 1995
Birth Place:Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Height Ft:6
Height In:6
Weight Lb:218
Position:Defence
Shoots:Left
League:NHL
Team:New York Rangers
Prospect League:AHL-->
Former Teams:Ottawa Senators
Nashville Predators
Draft:108th overall
Draft Year:2013
Draft Team:Ottawa Senators
Career Start:2015

Ben Harpur (born January 12, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the fourth round, 108th overall, in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Harpur was born and raised in Niagara Falls and attended A. N. Myer Secondary School.[1] He was originally a left-winger until a minor midget hockey team coach suggested he move to defence.[2] He was drafted by the Guelph Storm as a defenceman in the 3rd round, 43rd overall, in the 2011 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Priority Selection.[3] Harpur recorded his first career OHL point, an assist, in a 10-2 win over the Erie Otters on October 1, 2011.[4] Harpur played three and a half seasons with the Storm from 2011 to 2014.

After the 2012–13 season, Harpur was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the fourth round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.[5] Harpur was traded in the middle of the 2014–15 season to the Barrie Colts.[6] He signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Senators on November 6, 2014.[7]

Professional

Harpur made his professional debut with the Senators' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Binghamton Senators in 2015.

During the 2015–16 season, Harpur was called up to Ottawa and made his NHL debut against the Minnesota Wild on March 31, 2016.[8] [9] In the 2016–17 season, Harpur again played most of the season with Binghamton. Harpur was called up to Ottawa for the NHL playoffs and he made his playoff debut on April 17, 2017, against the Boston Bruins.[10] On February 9, 2018, Harpur signed a two-year, $1.45 million contract extension with the Senators.[11]

On December 1, 2018, in the first game back for Erik Karlsson since his trade to the San Jose Sharks, Harpur scored his first ever National Hockey League goal on Sharks goaltender Martin Jones.[12] On July 1, 2019, Harpur was traded by the Senators, along with Cody Ceci, Aaron Luchuk and a 2020 third-round draft pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Nikita Zaitsev, Connor Brown and Michael Carcone.[13]

Unable to make the Maple Leafs roster heading into the 2019–20 season, Harpur was placed on waivers and re-assigned to AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. Appearing in 33 games from the blueline for the Marlies, Harpur contributed with one goal and 11 points. With limited chance to return to the NHL with the Maple Leafs, Harpur was traded to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Miikka Salomäki on February 22, 2020.[14]

After two full seasons within the Predators organization, Harpur left as a free agent and went unsigned leading into the 2022–23 season. On October 13, 2022, Harpur agreed to a professional tryout contract with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL.[15] Having played in four games with the Wolf Pack, Harpur was signed by NHL affiliate, the New York Rangers, in agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract on October 27.[16] He was later recalled by the Rangers, and remained on the roster adding depth to the blueline in posting four points through 17 contests before he was signed to a two-year, $1.575 million contract extension with the Rangers on January 26, 2023.[17]

Personal life

Harpur was the middle child born to parents Margery and George.[18] His father encouraged him to take skating lessons as a bonding experience.[19] However, his mother was of Australian descent and had never played hockey. She would often put Harpur's equipment on backwards until he learned to dress himself.[20]

Career statistics

  Regular season Playoffs
Team LeagueGP PIMGP G A Pts PIM
OHL34 1 3 4 22
Guelph Storm OHL67 3 12 15 595 0 0 0 2
Guelph Storm OHL67 3 13 16 6920 1 4 5 12
Guelph Storm OHL28 4 16 20 40
2014–15 OHL29 1 10 11 229 2 4 6 6
AHL47 2 4 6 34
ECHL4 0 2 2 2
NHL5 0 1 1 2
Binghamton Senators AHL63 2 25 27 81
Ottawa Senators NHL6 0 0 0 09 0 2 2 4
AHL19 2 9 11 31
Ottawa Senators NHL41 0 1 1 21
Ottawa Senators NHL51 1 4 5 56
2019–20Toronto MarliesAHL34 1 10 11 22
2019–20 AHL7 0 1 1 20
NHL34 0 7 7 175 0 1 1 2
2021–22Nashville PredatorsNHL19 0 1 1 27
2021–22Milwaukee AdmiralsAHL6 0 0 0 5
2022–23Hartford Wolf PackAHL17 3 2 5 24
2022–23New York RangersNHL42 1 5 6 20
2023–24Hartford Wolf PackAHL7 1 2 3 2
NHL totals198 2 19 21 14314 0 3 3 6

Notes and References

  1. News: Spiteri . Ray . Ottawa Senators Ben Harpur bringing charity ball-hockey tournament to Niagara Falls . December 5, 2019 . St. Catharines Standard . July 25, 2019.
  2. Web site: From the Stands . guelphstorm.com . December 5, 2019 . June 22, 2011.
  3. Web site: Harpur grabbed by Guelph in third round. guelphstorm.com . May 7, 2011. December 5, 2019.
  4. Web site: A night of firsts . guelphstorm.com . December 5, 2019 . October 1, 2011.
  5. Web site: 108th overall – Ben Harpur . ontariohockeyleague.com . December 5, 2019 . July 3, 2013.
  6. Web site: Storm acquire Garcia and Smith from Colts . guelphstorm.com . December 5, 2019 . January 9, 2015.
  7. Web site: Storm's Harpur signs with Senators . ontariohockeyleague.com . December 5, 2019 . November 6, 2014.
  8. Web site: Ottawa Senators Re-Call Defenceman Ben Harpur . Silver Seven Sens . March 31, 2016.
  9. Web site: Garrioch. Bruce. Ben Harpur makes NHL debut with Senators. Ottawa Sun. February 12, 2018. March 31, 2016.
  10. Web site: Senators overcome Bruins comeback to win Game 3 in OT. Sportsnet.ca. February 12, 2018. April 17, 2017.
  11. Web site: Senators sign defenceman Ben Harpur to a two-year contract extension. NHL.com. February 10, 2018. February 9, 2018.
  12. Web site: Ben Harpur's first career #NHL goal is a beauty. #GoSensGo . Ottawa Senators . December 2, 2018.
  13. Web site: Senators acquire Zaitsev, Brown from Toronto in six-player deal . . July 1, 2019 . July 1, 2019.
  14. Web site: Predators acquire defenseman Ben Harpur from Toronto Maple Leafs . . February 22, 2020 . February 22, 2020.
  15. Web site: Wolf Pack ink defenseman Ben Harpur to PTO . . October 13, 2022 . October 13, 2022.
  16. Web site: Rangers agree to terms with Ben Harpur . . October 27, 2022 . October 27, 2022.
  17. Web site: Rangers agree to terms on two-year contract extension with Ben Harpur . . January 26, 2023 . January 26, 2023.
  18. Web site: Fitz-Gerald . Sean . Ben Harpur's path to Maple Leafs fuelled by patience, persistence and family . theathletic.com . December 5, 2019 . July 31, 2019.
  19. Web site: Youth gets chance of a lifetime . guelphstorm.com . December 5, 2019 . July 13, 2011.
  20. Web site: Ben Harpur-'Big Ben' stepping up in his second season . guelphstorm.com . December 5, 2019 . November 14, 2012.