With the Pittsburgh Penguins entering the offseason after a brief return to the postseason, TribLive will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 53 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until future seasons — with the organization.

Starting with veteran Noel Acciari and going on through to prospect Bill Zonnon, every player will be profiled in alphabetical order.

This series is scheduled to be published every day until June 24, two days before the start of the NHL Draft. In the event of a transaction, that schedule will be altered as necessary.

(Note: All contract information courtesy of Puckpedia.)

Finn Harding

Position: Defenseman

Shoots: Right

Age: 21

Height: 6-foot-1

Weight: 214 pounds

2025-26 AHL regular season statistics: 54 games, 22 points (four goals, 18 assists)

2025-26 AHL postseason statistics: Five games, zero points (zero goals, zero assists)

2025-26 ECHL regular season statistics: Seven games, four points (zero goals, four assists)

Contract: In the first year of a three-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $921,667. Pending restricted free agent in 2028

(Harding does not require waivers for an assignment to a minor league affiliate.)

Acquired: Seventh-round draft pick (No. 223 overall), June 29, 2024

This season: After getting a handful of games with the Wheeling Nailers at the end of the 2024-25 season, Finn Harding’s professional career started in earnest at the American Hockey League level during the 2025-26 campaign.

Assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton barely a week after training camp began Sept. 29, Harding opened the regular season on the right side of the AHL Penguins’ third pairing.

But with a handful of healthy scratches in the team’s first 18 games and the arrival of fellow right-handed defensive prospect Harrison Brunicke for a conditioning assignment, Harding was assigned to Wheeling to get some playing time at the ECHL level on Nov. 25.

Primarily stationed on the right side of Wheeling’s third pairing, Harding spent two weeks in West Virginia’s northern panhandle before being recalled to Northeast Pennsylvania on Dec. 7.

After an undisclosed injury sidelined him for four games in late December and early January, Harding was a pretty steady presence in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s lineup for 34 of the team’s final 39 games of the regular season.

A career milestone unfolded Jan. 17 when Harding scored his first professional goal during a 4-1 home win against the Hartford Wolf Pack.

While he was predominantly stationed on the third pairing and saw little in the way of power-play ice time, Harding wound up generating a fair amount of offense, finishing second among the team’s defensemen in regular-season scoring, trailing only Owen Pickering, who had 28 points (seven goals, 21 assists) in 68 games.

In the postseason, Harding was scratched for two of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s first three games but has been entrenched on the third pairing over the past four games.

The future: The odds are always going to be long for Harding as a seventh-rounder who was selected two picks from the final pick of the 2024 draft. But he largely did what he needed to ensure his first professional season productive as it pertains to his development.

Harding, who just turned 21 on March 2, probably isn’t a threat to break through to the NHL next season, but considering right-handed defensemen are always a bit scarcer than lefties, he’ll always merit consideration for a recall should the need arise.

Looking more long-term, Harding remains a project if he is to become a steady NHLer. But he took a strong first step forward in 2025-26 toward that pursuit.

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