Harrison Harper has played at three different levels of junior hockey during the 2011-12 season.
He played five games with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes to start the year, then shuffled around a couple of Junior A teams in the AJHL, before ending up in Airdrie with the Junior B Thunder for the past 26 games.
But the 6’3”, 215-pound, defenceman is starting to become comfortable with his role with the team. The 17-year-old from Calgary has 10 points in his 26 games.
“It’s been great so far,” said Harper, who played Midget AA for the Calgary Bruins last season. “I settled down here and I’m having fun. I like the guys; it’s a great group of guys. We have a lot of fun in the room. I also get along with the coaching staff and I think it’s great opportunity to play here.”
At 17, Harper, along with goaltender Cody Boeckman, is one of the youngest players on the Thunder this season. Despite this, head coach Mike Carlsen has started to see his style of play as an asset for the club and has increased Harper’s ice time accordingly.
“He’s a big, strong body, has a big shot – we like having him back there,” Carlsen said. “It seems to be paying off for both him and us. He’s enthusiastic, coachable, works hard, but still has some things to learn about adjusting to his tactics and the speed of this game, where he’s the younger kid.”
Harper, who played as a forward in the WHL and AJHL, despite playing as a defenceman throughout minor hockey, said the adjustment back to the blue line has been a welcome change.
“I knew Gareth (assistant coach Barley) from past opportunities and he knew I had the background as D-man. It’s kind of the role I’m more comfortable with. I can be a two-way defenceman and am obviously a bit more defensive,” he said. “But I’ve tried to take the experiences I had up there, at high-level hockey, and bring them back here and help the guys out.”
Harper said he wants his game to improve, but believes he is starting to peak at the right time.
“I’d like to get my numbers up a bit more and help the guys out that way. On the power play, I think I need to shoot the puck a little bit more,” he said.
“I don’t join the rush that much, but I like to make the good first pass. My kind of game really fits well into our systems. It’s a good place for me to be right now.”
Despite Airdrie likely heading to a No. 4 vs. No. 5 HJHL playoff play-in series with the Mountainview Colts (see story on page 25), Harper said he still thinks the Thunder is a club that other teams won’t want to face in the post-season.
“I think we can go in there and do some damage,” he said. “A lot of guys underestimate us because of the record we had at the beginning of the year, but I think we can be really dangerous in the playoffs.”
