Josh Harding

Did You Know?

• Harding won a silver medal with Canada at the 2004 World Juniors.
• He also earned a silver medal with Canada's senior team at the 2009 IIHF World Championship.
• Harding lives in Edina, Minnesota with his wife and their two children, and has a stepson through his marriage.

Playing career

Josh Harding started his junior hockey career in the Western Hockey League, suiting up for the Regina Pats and the Brandon Wheat Kings over three seasons. In 2003, he took home two major WHL honors: the Del Wilson Trophy for best goaltender and the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the league's top player. The Minnesota Wild picked him in the second round, 38th overall, of the 2002 NHL draft. He turned pro with the Houston Aeros, the Wild's top minor-league affiliate in the American Hockey League. In his first AHL season, 2004–05, he put up a 21–16–3 record and a 2.01 goals-against average.

Harding got his first NHL call-up on March 8, 2006, after the Wild traded Dwayne Roloson to the Edmonton Oilers. Before that call-up, he had a 27–8–0 record and a .923 save percentage with the Aeros, the second-best mark in the AHL, and he finished the Aeros' season at 29–8–0. He played three games for the Wild that year, going 2–1–0 with a 2.59 GAA. The next season, he started back in Houston, posting a 17–15–4 record before the Wild recalled him on January 24, 2007. On March 1, 2007, he made 30 saves in a 5–0 shutout of the Oilers.

On October 14, 2007, Harding turned aside 37 shots in his first game of the season, blanking the Anaheim Ducks 2–0. He finished the 2007–08 NHL season with an 11–15 record and a 2.94 GAA. The following year, he played less, going 3–11 but improving his GAA to 2.21. During a preseason game against the St. Louis Blues on September 24, 2010, he tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee, which forced him to miss the entire 2010–11 season. Despite that, he signed a one-year contract extension with the Wild on July 1, 2011.

On June 19, 2012, Harding inked a three-year, $5.7 million extension with Minnesota. During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, news broke on November 28 that he had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a condition that can cause blurred vision and affect balance and coordination. He had kept the diagnosis secret for over a month after doctors found it in late September 2012. In his first game back after the diagnosis, on January 20, 2013, he stopped all 24 shots he faced in a 1–0 shutout win over the Dallas Stars.