EDMONTON — The journey to the NHL has not been an easy one for Jansen Harkins, who was starting to look like an afterthought from the Winnipeg Jets’ most memorable draft class. But there’s no question the 23-year-old has made the most of his limited chances so far, something that isn’t lost on head coach Paul Maurice.
"I don’t know that I’ve had a player that has been given less opportunity and stayed in the fight, and competed as hard as this guy has," Maurice said this week.
Kyle Connor, Jack Roslovic, Mason Appleton and Sami Niku were seen as the cream of the 2015 crop, while Harkins, picked in the second round, 47th overall, seemed destined for a career in the minor leagues — especially after a 2017-18 rookie season in which he scored just two goals in 46 games with the Manitoba Moose of the AHL, and was sent down a level to the ECHL in an attempt to restore his confidence.