In this day and age, seeing players make numerous junior stops on a years-long route to the collegiate level is commonplace.
Northeastern defenseman Jordan Harris (Haverhill, Mass.) is the definition of a true freshman. He is one of the youngest Division 1 players in the country, having turned 18 years old just weeks after the Montreal Canadiens made him their third-round draft pick in June.
Given all of that, it’s safe to say he’s a rare commodity. Kimball Union head coach Tim Whitehead got to see why over the past three years.
“Jordan’s competitiveness and calmness are a rare combination,” said Whitehead, who has more than 15 years of Hockey East head coaching experience at UMass Lowell and Maine. “He’s someone who stays focused, doesn’t get rattled and plays very consistently at both ends. He’s that steady player at a high, high level. Some guys show flashes, but he’s not really a guy who just shows flashes; it’s more of a consistent high level that separates him each shift.”
Even players with years of junior experience who enter college as older freshmen have to make an adjustment over the first weeks and months of the season. The jump can be especially difficult for those as young as Harris.
But Northeastern was the place where he wanted to make it happen. There has been a lot to get used to while moving right up from the New England prep school ranks, but coach Jim Madigan (Milton, Mass.) and the Huskies have eased the transition for the smooth-skating, puck-moving, left-shot blueliner.
“It’s been amazing how the guys have brought me in and kind of been mentors to me, and working with the coaches has been awesome,” said the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Harris. “The speed of the game, the size of the players and playing with older guys definitely hits you first, but the systems as well. The coaches here expect you to be more diligent in how you play.”
The Huskies have taken on a bit of a different look after Hobey Baker Award winner Adam Gaudette (Braintree, Mass.) left for the Vancouver Canucks and his high-flying linemates Dylan Sikura and Nolan Stevens graduated, so finding a balance to the offense was a key to success entering this season.
There is still firepower up front, but the defensemen have become more directly involved in creating offense than they were with, arguably, college hockey’s top line leading the charge to an NCAA tournament bid last year. Harris certainly has no problem with that kind of role, as he put up 82 points (18 goals, 64 assists) over 111 career games at Kimball Union.
Thus far, he has skated as one of the Huskies’ top four defensemen in every game, regularly working with reigning All-American junior Jeremy Davies on the top pair. But every game is still an opportunity to learn for someone still gaining experience at the Division 1 level.
“There’s still a transition for him, and he’s learning just like any freshman,” Madigan said. “I think, sometimes, we have to catch ourselves as coaches to say, ‘Hey, we expect a lot out of you,’ but he’s only played in (as of the end of November, 13) college games. He’s logging a lot of minutes, playing well, and we’ve got trust in him back there, which is evident with the amount he’s been playing.”
Playing with Davies, junior Ryan Shea (Milton, Mass.) and senior captain Eric Williams doesn’t hurt. Their collective experience has helped Harris find himself early in his career.
“It’s learning how to play with your teammates and how to read off them,” Harris said. “Because of how fast the game is, you kind of have to know where guys are at all times. … I learn so much just watching how (Davies) carries himself, his poise with the puck and how he dictates the play.”
Harris has made an impact, recording a goal and two assists during Northeastern’s season-opening series at Sacred Heart and two more helpers in a Nov. 24 win over RIT. He’ll certainly keep adding to that five-point total throughout his first collegiate season, but the experience and trust he’s gained within the program goes a long way.
“You can see the success all the coaches here have had, especially recently, because they’re all incredibly intelligent,” Harris said of Madigan, associate head coach Jerry Keefe (Billerica, Mass.) and assistant Jason Smith. “That’s what attracted me here — just how they know the game and how they like their team to play. I just try to soak it all in in practice every day.
“A lot of us freshmen have been able to contribute, and I’ve been fortunate enough to get some time. I think the coaches trust me out there, so it’s been good to have that right off the bat. It means the world to have them put me in those big positions.”
Whitehead has seen plenty of high-level hockey over his coaching career and, since 2013, has had the opportunity to mentor dozens of players at Kimball Union before they progress to NCAA programs at both the Division 1 and 3 levels.
That group of alumni includes Boston College senior JD Dudek (Auburn, N.H.), Maine junior Patrick Shea (Marshfield, Mass.) and Vermont junior Jake Massie, but also Harris’ brother, Elijah, who tended goal for Massachusetts high school power Austin Prep, then two years at Kimball Union, and is now a freshman at Endicott College.
Whitehead always preached playing a simple game. And that helps.
Above all else, though, is that Jordan Harris is special. He has all the tools that made the quick jump to Division 1 college hockey possible at such a young age.
“He’ll definitely get his share of points, but he’s great at puck retrieval and breaking the puck out, and he’s an elite skater and an elite defender,” Whitehead said. “You like competitors that play hard and have courage but don’t take penalties, and you like guys that can contribute offensively and don’t try to do too much.
“He’s got those combinations that are rare and allowed him to make that jump. He’s really a very complete player.”
