Finn Harding grew up around hockey in a way most players don’t. The game was always there, but so was the machinery behind it - the cameras, the set work, the production side, the people making the broadcast happen. That background has shaped the way the Penguins prospect sees the sport, and it even led to a funny little Vegas moment when Sidney Crosby ended up crossing paths with Harding’s dad.
Before Crosby headed to this year’s Player Media Tour, Finn Harding gave him a heads-up that he might run into Jason Harding. Jason is the Head of Production Design and Innovation for Rogers Sportsnet and has been with the company since Finn and his brother Jared were kids. At the event, he was handling Sportsnet’s on-ice set and gathering content for the upcoming season.
“I told Sid when we were having lunch, like, hey, I think my dad might see you, you might cross paths with him in Vegas,” said Finn, a 2024 draft pick entering his second year of professional hockey with the Penguins. “I guess my dad said something, and they obviously had a convo, and then Sid came back and mentioned it, which was cool.
It was just funny. Small world.”
That kind of overlap has been part of Harding’s life for years. When he and Jared were younger, Jason would sometimes bring them onto set, giving them a front-row look at the work that goes into a broadcast. Finn still remembers one especially memorable moment when MLB pitcher Marcus Stroman recorded a birthday message for him.
“That was a highlight for 8-year-old me,” Finn said with a smile.
Those experiences left a mark. Harding says he has a real appreciation for everything that happens away from the rink, and he understands the broadcast side because he’s seen it up close through his dad’s work.
“So, I kind of know what you guys are going through because I hear what he does, right?” Harding said. “Just kind of being in the hockey world and all that, it's been really cool for my brother and I to kind of share that with him, which has been nice.
“We always joked about crossing paths at some point because he works with the NHL and all that, and now it's kind of coming to fruition, which is cool. It’s cool sort of sharing the same industry, or kind of business.”
Jason also played hockey, which helped pull Finn and Jared into the sport early. They watched it, played it, and got an added kick out of knowing their dad was helping shape some of the game’s biggest TV productions, including Hockey Night in Canada.
That hockey upbringing shows in the way the Penguins talk about Finn now. Penguins Director of Player Development Tom Kostopoulos called him “a hockey nerd,” and said the 2024 seventh-round pick is smart, eager to learn, and perhaps better than any young player Pittsburgh has had at taking in information and instruction.
“Anything you tell him, you can tell he learns it, and he works at it,” Kostopoulos said.
Harding has leaned into video study as a big part of his development, and he says that’s where he looks for an edge during the season.
“I find I'm able to get that edge, whether it be other teams' video, other leagues' video, my video, just being a sponge and soaking all that I can in,” Harding said. “I like watching the right-handed defensemen, guys like (Kris Letang) and (Erik Karlsson).
Seeing them in person as well helps. But just kind of their detail and their stick work defensively, and also their spots they're looking at.”
The Penguins believe Harding kept getting better throughout his first pro season in 2025-26. Playing in the American Hockey League as a 20-year-old is no easy assignment, but he became a regular in the lineup and kept earning trust.
“He defends hard, he's physical, he's got an undercover little snarl and edge to him, which I like. And he brings some offense,” Kostopoulos said before bringing up Harding’s plus-32 rating, which ranked fourth in the entire league. “That doesn’t happen by accident.”
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach Kirk MacDonald agreed, pointing to the way that number starts to matter when it’s as strong as Harding’s has been.
“It’s a stat that's not important until it is, right?” MacDonald said. “If you're a really good plus, like Finn has been consistently for the last couple years, or you're really in the minus bad, that stat starts to mean something when you kind of separate yourself from the herd, so to speak.”
For all the talk about his hockey sense and his development, Harding’s reputation around the organization also comes back to who he is as a person. Those around him are quick to praise him, and the message is the same from the Penguins’ staff.
“He's a spectacular kid,” Kostopoulos said. “Coaches love him, teammates love him. He's got a bright future.”
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