Ben Harpur (born January 12, 1995) is a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

for the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He was selected by the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

in the fourth round, 108th overall, in the

2013 NHL Entry Draft The 2013 NHL Entry Draft was the 51st NHL Entry Draft. All seven rounds of the draft took place on June 30, 2013, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The top three selections were Nathan MacKinnon going to the Colorado Avalanche, Al ...

Playing career

Harpur was born and raised in Niagara Falls and attended A. N. Myer Secondary School. He was originally a left-winger until a minor midget hockey team coach suggested he move to defence. He was drafted by the

Guelph Storm The Guelph Storm are a major junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. They have played in the OHL since the 1991–92 season. The team plays home games at the Sleeman Centre. History The franchise started as the Toronto Marl ...

as a defenceman in the 3rd round, 43rd overall, in the 2011

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

(OHL) Priority Selection. Harpur recorded his first career OHL point, an assist, in a 10-2 win over the

Erie Otters The Erie Otters are a Major junior ice hockey team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Midwest division of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), one of only three American teams in the circuit. The team name refers to the North Am ...

on October 1, 2011. Harpur played three and a half seasons with the Storm from 2011 to 2014. After the 2012–13 season, Harpur was selected by the

in the fourth round of the

. Harpur was traded in the middle of the 2014–15 season to the Barrie Colts. He signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Senators on November 6, 2014.

Professional

Harpur made his professional debut with the Senators'

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL) affiliate Binghamton Senators in 2015. During the 2015–16 season, Harpur was called up to Ottawa and made his NHL debut against the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

on March 31, 2016. In the 2016–17 season, Harpur again played most of the season with Binghamton. Harpur was called up to Ottawa for the NHL playoffs and he made his playoff debut on April 17, 2017, against the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

. On February 9, 2018, Harpur signed a two-year, $1.45 million contract extension with the Senators. On December 1, 2018, in the first game back for

Erik Karlsson Erik Sven Gunnar Karlsson (; born 31 May 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Karlsson was drafted in the first round, 15th overall, by the Otta ...

since his trade to the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

, Harpur scored his first ever

goal on Sharks goaltender Martin Jones. On July 1, 2019, Harpur was traded by the Senators, along with

Cody Ceci Cody Ceci (born December 21, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh P ...

, Aaron Luchuk and a

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

third-round draft pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Nikita Zaitsev, Connor Brown and Michael Carcone. Unable to make the Maple Leafs roster heading into the 2019–20 season, Harpur was placed on waivers and re-assigned to AHL affiliate, the

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies is owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

. Appearing in 33 games from the blueline for the Marlies, Harpur contributed with 1 goal and 11 points. With limited chance to return to the NHL with the Maple Leafs, Harpur was traded to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Miikka Salomaki on February 22, 2020. After two full seasons within the Predators organization, Harpur left as a free agent and went unsigned leading into the 2022–23 season. On October 13, 2022, Harpur agreed to a professional tryout contract with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. Having played in four games with the Wolf Pack, Harpur was signed by NHL affiliate, the

, in agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract on October 27.

Personal life

Harpur was the middle child born to parents Margery and George. His father encouraged him to take skating lessons as a bonding experience. However, his mother was of Australian descent and had never played hockey. She would often put Harpur's equipment on backwards until he learned to dress himself.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harpur, Ben 1995 births Living people Barrie Colts players Belleville Senators players Binghamton Senators players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Evansville IceMen players Guelph Storm players Hartford Wolf Pack players Ice hockey people from Ontario Milwaukee Admirals players Nashville Predators players New York Rangers players Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey players Ottawa Senators players Ottawa Senators draft picks Sportspeople from Hamilton, Ontario Toronto Marlies players