Museum milestone: Nhl goalie #150, such a long and "harding" journey so far

[IrbeFan4Life]

This is a milestone day for the collection, unique NHL goalie #150! Josh Harding has been on top of my wantlist for quite sometime due to his tragic tale of Multiple Sclerosis and constant overcoming. His perseverant, fighting spirit and the ability to remain an elite athlete, as well as his right handed catch made him one of my favorites since even before his NHL debut.

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Born in Regina, Saskatchewan on June 18, 1984, Josh Harding was a star goalie for the Regina Pats of the WHL. Drafted 39th overall by the Minnesota Wild in the 2002 NHL draft, Harding played his best junior hockey the following season, becoming the WHL Goaltender of the Year as well as the WHL MVP of the year. In 2003-04, he split time with Regina and the Brandon Wheat Kings, as well as helped Canada get the silver medal in the 2004 IIHF World Junior Championships. Turning pro for the NHL lock-out season, Harding had a strong year with the Houston Aeros of the AHL and an equally strong one the following season. This strong play also gave Harding his first taste of NHL action with his draft team.

On April 4, 2006, Harding was given the start and stopped 22 of 26 shots in a 5-4 shootout win over St. Louis. He was given another start a week later and recorded his first NHL shutout, a 27 save victory over Chicago. That year, he appeared in 3 games and recorded a 2-1-0 record. He was given seven more opportunities in 2006-07, recording an otherworldy 1.16GAA and 0.960% save average. By 2007-08, he had earned the full-time back-up role on the Wild continuing his strong play in the shadow of Niklas Backstrom for several more seasons. In 2010-11, however, he got a serious knee injury in the pre-season and had to miss the entire year. The next season, he returned in style, posting a career high in wins with 13. In 2012, however, Harding received news that would change his life forever. He was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a degenerative disease that damages the fatty insulating layers of nerve cells and that can affect things like vision, coordination, etc. and there is no known cure. Due to this ailment, he was limited to five regular season and five playoff games that year. His story and his dramatic return earned him the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

In 2013-14, he came back at his strongest ever, taking over the starter role completely, appearing in mostly every game from the beginning of the season until December 31 of 2013. His ailment however, caused him to miss the remainder of the season from that point on. The following season, he suffered a broken foot due to an off-ice incident in September 2014. He was placed on waivers, and played in two games in the AHL before retiring from the game due to MS. His story is a brave one, and a sad one as he had so much potential to be one of the arguably best goalies playing in the league.

In his NHL career, Harding appeared in 151 games, recording a 60-59-0-11 record with 10 shutouts, 2 assists, a 2.45GAA, and a 0.918% save average. In 6 playoff games, he recorded a 1-4 record with a 2.72GAA and a 0.918% save average.

What you are looking at right now is a 2013-14 Minnesota Wild home set 1 jersey used by Josh Harding in his final NHL season. Wearing this jersey, Harding recorded his final NHL win and he also recorded two shutouts, in addition to seeing 10 games of action and recording a 0.943% save average in it.

Acquired from: Evan Carlisle

Dates of Game Use:
October 12, 2013 v Dallas (18-19, 5-1W)
October 22, 2013 v Nashville (16-16, 2-0W)
October 24, 2013 v Carolina (20-21, 3-1W)
November 3, 2013 v New Jersey (19-19, 4-0W)
November 5, 2013 v Calgary (24-25, 5-1W)
November 13, 2013 v Toronto (19-20, 2-1W)
November 15, 2013 v Florida (22-24, 3-2W)
December 8, 2013 v San Jose (37-38, 3-1W)
December 17, 2013 v Vancouver (29-31, 3-2W)
December 29, 2013 v NY Islanders (26-31, 5-4L)

Photomatched: YES

[creasecollector]

Great harding jersey!