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

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

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

for the

Hartford Wolf Pack The Hartford Wolf Pack are a professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. A member of the American Hockey League (AHL), they play their home games at the PeoplesBank Arena. The team was established in 1926 as the Providence Reds. ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) while under contract to the

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

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). He was selected by the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...

in the fourth round, 108th overall, in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

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; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

(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 league. The team's 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 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Harpur was traded in the middle of the 2014–15 season to the

Barrie Colts The Barrie Colts are a junior ice hockey team in Ontario Hockey League (OHL), based in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. The Colts play home games at the Sadlon Arena. The Colts joined the OHL in 1995, and previously competed at lower levels of junio ...

. He signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Senators on November 6, 2014.

Professional

Harpur made his professional debut with the Senators'

(AHL) affiliate

Binghamton Senators The Binghamton Senators were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2002 to 2017. Nicknamed the B-Sens, they played in Binghamton, New York, at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. The B-Sens w ...

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 compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

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 (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The 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 for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Karlsson was drafted in the first round, 15th overall, by the Ottawa Senators at th ...

since his trade to the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

, 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 for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers ...

, Aaron Luchuk and a

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

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 are owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

. Appearing in 33 games from the blueline for the Marlies, Harpur contributed with one goal and 11 points. With limited chance to return to the NHL with the Maple Leafs, Harpur was traded to the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...

in exchange for

Miikka Salomäki Miikka Salomäki (born 9 March 1993) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward currently playing with Lausanne HC of the National League (NL). Playing career Salomäki was drafted in the second round, 52nd overall. by the Nashville Predato ...

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

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. He was later recalled by the Rangers, and remained on the roster adding depth to the blueline in posting four points through 17 contests before he was signed to a two-year, $1.575 million contract extension with the Rangers on January 26, 2023. On November 8, 2024, Harpur received a

game misconduct A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for an infringement of the rules. Most penalties are enforced by sending the offending player to a penalty box for a set number of minutes. During the penalty the player may not participate in play. Penalties ...

for

charging Charging may refer to: * Charging (ice hockey), when a player takes more than three steps before checking an opposing player * Battery charger, a device used to put energy into a rechargeable battery * Charging station, a device used for recharging ...

goalie

Felix Sandström Per Felix Sandström (born 12 January 1997) is a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). Sandstrom ...

of the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Rochester, New York. They are the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home g ...

. The following day, he received a four-day suspension from the AHL.

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 Milwaukee Admirals players Nashville Predators players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States New York Rangers players Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey players Ottawa Senators players Ottawa Senators draft picks Ice hockey people from Hamilton, Ontario Toronto Marlies players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen