By: Ryan Bosworth | Follow me on Twitter / X @RyanJBosworth
Jordan Harris was signed to a one-year, $1 million contract when free agency opened on July 1st. The Haverhill, Massachusetts-native came into training camp with 164 career games played, tallying 10-29-39, and a plus/minus of -5. When the team announced he had signed, it was a bit of an under-the-radar signing.
The 25-year-old defenseman was competing throughout training camp for the seventh defenseman position, ultimately winning the battle. It wasn’t expected that Harris would dress over roster mainstays, but with Hampus Lindholm going down in just the second game of the season with a lower-body injury. Harris would make his Bruins debut on October 11th against the Buffalo Sabres.
He slotted in next to Andrew Peeke, playing on the left-side. In his first contest, he’d log 16:25 of ice time, and he’d tally his first point as a Bruin, assisting on Pavel Zacha’s go-ahead goal against Buffalo. After settling in following his first shift, he complimented Andrew Peeke nicely on the second line.
Harris played 23 total shifts in the Bruins’ matchup against Buffalo, recording a plus/minus of +1, and one point for his assist in the Pavel Zacha goal. Overall, it was a strong debut for Harris and showed promise in his role as seventh defenseman. He certainly has a more offensive mindset, as he was finding shooting lanes to get pucks on net, and creating offense from the blue line.
Hampus Lindholm was again ruled out for the Bruins’ Monday matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning, so Harris was slotting in for his second game as a Bruin. While it wasn’t a particularly strong start for any of Boston’s skaters, things turned around in the second period, when the scoring opened for Boston thanks to a goal by Casey Mittelstadt, only to be followed up by a response by Tampa Bay’s Pontus Holmberg, once again putting the Bruins down by three goals.
Just two minutes later, Jordan Harris banked the puck up the boards in his own zone to David Pastrnak for a give-and-go up the ice, going in two-on-one with Pavel Zacha against Ryan McDonagh. Harris would read the play, almost faking out goaltender Jonas Johansson, and then opting to take the shot, putting it past the Lightning netminder for his first goal as a Bruin, and cutting Tampa Bay’s lead to two goals.
While it’s only through two games, Jordan Harris has already shown a real return for the Bruins as their seventh defenseman. Hampus Lindholm traveled out west for the three-game road trip, so there’s a chance that he’s healthy enough to suit up in one of their three games versus Western Conference teams.
If Lindholm is unable to suit up for Boston, Harris will be ready as a viable backup for the left-handed defenseman, and while he hasn’t been perfect, the early return from the Haverhill-native is promising, and he could make a case for himself to become a more permanent NHL roster player.
Leave a Reply