Two years ago, winger Mike Hardman had just completed a stellar junior hockey season in Canada but had still been snubbed in the NHL Entry Draft. As he prepared to enter Boston College, there were questions about him and how effective he could be in Hockey East.
In 2021, the 22-year-old is an NHL hockey player with the Chicago Blackhawks, having signed with the Original Six club after his sophomore season with the Eagles and any of the doubts about his development and path are all but gone.
“I’ve always had great coaches growing up,” Hardman told New England Hockey Journal. “They always gave some pretty good guidelines about where to play and where to get exposure.”
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound native of Hanover, Mass., is unlike many of the players his age who make the jump straight to the NHL from the amateur ranks. He was not an early bloomer growing up playing for the Bay State Breakers and Providence Capitals in his minor hockey days. He spent two seasons at the Massachusetts high school level with Xavierian Brothers High School, then played two more of prep hockey at Winchendon.
“A lot of top guys in prep school are committed to Division 1,” he said. “I think it was the right move for me to go to a prep school where I was going to play. I think that’s the most important thing for younger kids.
"I mean, younger kids want to go to a school that might have a big name and stuff like that, but guys like me I needed to go where I was going to play top-6 minutes, 5-on-5, power play, penalty kill, all positions and play top minutes every night, and that’s how I got exposed to a lot of Division 1 schools.”
A junior hockey path from Iowa to British Columbia
A solid first season at Winchendon was followed by a 54-point jump in 2016-17, leading to him being drafted by the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL, the nation’s top junior league.
In 2017-18, Hardman played for head coach Dave Allison, a rugged minor league defenseman who had a cup of coffee with the Montreal Canadiens in 1983-84. Allison was a long-time coach at every level, having held head coaching positions in just about every professional league in North America, from the NHL with the Ottawa Senators in 1995-96, to the AHL, IHL and even ECHL and UHL. He took the Des Moines job in 2014 and gave Hardman a chance to play during what would be Allison's final campaign, finishing 20-33-7 and out of the playoffs in 2018.
“It was definitely tough for me,” Hardman said of making the jump from prep to junior. “I never really left Boston growing up. I was always somewhere in New England playing hockey, and then I was 18 years old going to Iowa and not really knowing a single person on the team. I had to go out and make new friends and prove myself, and it was definitely an adjustment for me, and I had a good year playing with and against top players who were going on to college hockey.”
Hardman certainly could have returned to Des Moines for a second season after committing to Union College, with a new coach coming in, he decided instead to leave the USA for British Columbia and the West Kelowna Warriors of the BCHL. Hardman’s game blossomed at that level, as he scored 39 goals and 72 points in just 58 games. He welcomed the change in scenery from the Midwest and capital of Iowa to the picturesque Pacific Northwest.
“It was definitely one of the best decisions of my life to go play (in the BCHL),” said Hardman. “I played first line and ended up putting up points and getting my confidence back it was huge.
“The USHL is a lot deeper of a league…the BCHL is mostly Western Canadian guys. I think you’re starting to see a lot more Boston guys go out there because I think that off the ice it’s unbelievable and you’re living right on the water. I enjoyed Iowa and the Midwest, but there was just a lot more to do out in Western Canada.”
Flying high with the Eagles
While there, Hardman saw another big change: he de-committed from Union right after Christmas of 2018, and eventually decided to go with Boston College. In his words, switching from Union was not due to hockey or issues with any of the coaching staff, but related to a change in the financial aid package he had originally qualified for. It was a tough decision, but in the end, a South Shore guy having the chance to stay much closer to home and play for the Eagles was too big an opportunity to pass up.
“I came in and they made me earn everything,” he said of working his way up from the fourth line as a freshman to eventually skating with NHL first-rounders Matt Boldy (Millis, Mass.) and Alex Newhook. “They gave me opportunities to succeed. I played fourth line, but when there were injuries, I was the next man up and I think that’s how my college career took off.”
A solid freshman campaign was disrupted at the end of the year by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a sophomore in 2020-21, the Hockey East did the best it could, with Hardman getting in 24 games for BC with 10 goals and 19 points.
The team went 17-6-1 last season, losing to UMass Lowell in the Hockey East semifinal in a heartbreaking 6-5 game that went to double overtime. In the opening game of the NCAA Northeast Regional Final game against St. Cloud State, Hardman’s season ended in a 4-1 defeat to the Huskies.
The NHL dream materializes
Hardman expected to finish out his semester and prepare for his junior season, but the Chicago Blackhawks had other plans. Offering him a two-year deal to surrender his final two years of eligibility to turn pro and make the jump directly to the NHL, Hardman faced a difficult decision. The dreams of capturing Beanpot, Hockey East and NCAA championships tugged at his heartstrings but in the end, the pursuit of Lord Stanley won out.
“It was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down,” he said of the NHL offer. “It’s my dream job to play pro hockey where you’re getting paid to play what you love to do. It was a no-brainer for me, and the coaching staff and my (BC) teammates were really happy for me, so it was an awesome experience.”
After signing his pro contract, Hardman went on to play eight games, scoring his first NHL goal on May 4, 2021, on the road in Carolina when he converted the rebound of a Mackenzie Entwistle shot upstairs past goaltender Petr Mrazek to give his team a 2-0 lead.
“It was incredible,” he said of finishing the year with the Blackhawks. “I think the biggest thing is every day, you’re going to the rink and you’re just trying to get better. You have to be a sponge as a younger guy and pick up everything you can from players like Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith and guys you’ve been looking up to your whole life and watching on TV.”
With one year remaining on his ELC signed last March, Hardman signed a two-year extension in August on a one-way NHL deal that will pay him $1.6 million ($800k AAV) from 2022-24.
While reaching the pinnacle destination of his young career has been a thrill, Hardman knows that the toughest challenge for any pro who makes it to the highest level is staying there.
“It’s been a dream come true,” he said of going from junior to the NCAA to the NHL in just two year’s time. “I’m excited to be a part of everything and excited for what the future holds for me as a member of the Blackhawks organization.”
