Montreal Canadiens: Jordan Harris Returning to Northeastern
The Montreal Canadiens have a solid prospect in Jordan Harris. Just like Cole Caufield, Harris will be returning to college next season.
The Montreal Canadiens have built up a solid group of prospects in their system. They have added great prospects in the first round like Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Cole Caufield, and also many other intriguing players later in the draft.
One of those players is Jordan Harris. The left shooting defenceman was drafted in the third round of the 2018 NHL Draft. He was playing prep school in the United States at the time and was committed to Northeastern University.
Since then, Harris has blossomed into a great top-four defender for Northeastern. In two seasons with the Huskies, Harris scored 13 points in 39 games as a rookie and then had 21 points in 33 games this season. He should be playing in the regional tournament this weekend, looking for a berth in the Frozen Four, but the college season has been cancelled.
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Northeastern would have been a long shot in the regionals anyway, but would have leaned heavily on Harris in all situations. He has turned into a power play threat after being more of a defensive presence in his freshman campaign. Harris showed off these two-way skills and a versatility to play both sides of the ice when he represented the United States at the World Juniors this season.
Though the Huskies didn’t have the greatest season, they did win the annual Beanpot tournament in February. The top four college teams in the Boston area, Boston College, Boston University and Harvard in addition to Northeastern, play a tournament every year for bragging rights in the Boston area. Northeastern won it for the third consecutive season thanks to a double overtime game winning goal by Harris.
There was a possibility that the 19 year old could have left college and signed an entry-level contract with the Canadiens. However, according to Eric Engels of Sportsnet, Harris will be returning to Northeastern for his Junior season of college.
Just a bit of news here: Just off the phone with @Northeastern coach Jim Madigan--what an unbelievable character--and he says he has a commitment from @CanadiensMTL prospect Jordan Harris for next season.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) March 27, 2020
With Northeastern’s captain, Ryan Shea, graduating this season, Harris will surely play an even bigger role next year. Shea is also a left shooting defender, and scored 31 points in 34 games as a senior. With him out of the picture, Harris will move up to the top pairing and the team’s first power play unit.
This will give Harris a terrific opportunity to surpass his 21 points from this season. He might even be joined on the top pairing by Jayden Struble, another Habs prospect who was taken in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft. He had ten points in 21 games before being injured and plays a smart, physical defensive style that limits chances against.
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Perhaps it is a longshot that Struble plays on the team’s top pairing as a sophomore. There is no question that Harris will be their number one defenceman. After that, we could see him in a Laval Rocket jersey around this time next year.