Jansen Harkins

Jansen Michael Harkins (born May 23, 1997) is an American–Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a center for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Harkins was selected by the Winnipeg Jets in the second round, 47th overall, in the 2015 NHL entry draft. He has also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Anaheim Ducks.

Playing career

Amateur Harkins was selected second overall by the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in the 2012 WHL bantam draft and played with the Cougars beginning in the 2012–13 WHL season. In 2013–14, Harkins skated in 67 games for Prince George in his first WHL season, and was a team captain for Canada Pacific in the 2014 World Hockey Challenge. He scored 10 goals with 24 assists, and was minus 9 with 18 penalty minutes for the Cougars. During the 2014–15 WHL season, Harkins led Prince George in scoring in his second WHL season. He scored 20 goals with 59 assists and was +7 with 45 penalty minutes, in 70 regular season games for the Cougars. He set a new team record for assists that season for the Cougars. Harkins was selected to skate in the 2015 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game as part of Team Orr. Harkins was rewarded with the Dan Hamhuis Award, which is presented to the most valuable player on the Prince George Cougars. Harkins continued his strong play the following year, scoring 24 goals, 33 assists for 57 points in 69 games for the Cougars during the 2015–16 season. He finished his Cougars career in the 2016–17 season, becoming the team's all time assists and points leader and led the team in scoring again with 21 goals and 51 assists in 64 games. He signed an amateur tryout agreement with Winnipeg's American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, on April 2, 2016, after his WHL season had ended. but only scored 2 goals in 46 games with the Moose. He was reassigned to the ECHL with the Jacksonville Icemen beginning in January 2018, to help rebuild his confidence. He spent the entire 2018–19 season with the Moose, scoring 15 goals in 70 games. He began the 2019–20 season in the AHL and put up 31 points in 30 games He was named Manitoba's most valuable player for the 2019–20 season and participated in the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic. He was recalled by the Jets along with forward Mason Appleton on December 18, 2019 after forwards Andrew Copp and Mathieu Perreault were injured. Harkins scored his first NHL goal against goaltender Jordan Binnington in a 4–2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on February 6, 2020. He also assisted on Andrew Copp's game-winning goal, marking his first multi-point game in the NHL. His rookie season was cut short when the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 12. When play resumed in August, Harkins made his NHL playoff debut when he appeared in three of the Jets' 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs qualifying round games. He scored his first NHL playoff goal on August 3 against Cam Talbot in a 3–2 victory over the Calgary Flames. During the offseason, on October 27, 2020, the Jets re-signed Harkins to a two-year contract. He remained with the Jets all season, and scored his only goal of the season on an empty net in the final game, a 4–2 victory over the Maple Leafs on May 14. Harkins made his only appearance in the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs in game 2 of the second-round series against the Montreal Canadiens, replacing the injured Paul Stastny, going scoreless. Hansen played the entire 2021–22 season with the Jets, setting career highs in games played with 77, goals with 7, assists with 6 and points with 13. He re-signed with the Jets on July 16, 2022 to a two-year contract worth $1.7 million. At the beginning of the 2022–23 season Harkins was waived and after going unclaimed, he and defenceman Ville Heinola were assigned to Manitoba.

Towards the end of the Jets' 2023 training camp, Harkins was placed on waivers, where if he cleared, he would be assigned to Manitoba. However, he was claimed the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 2, 2023. He appeared in four games, going pointless before being placed on waivers by Pittsburgh on October 19. He went unclaimed and was assigned to the Penguins' AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He split the remainder of the season between the NHL and AHL. After his return from his second demotion, Harkins established himself as a regular on Pittsburgh's fourth line, playing with Jeff Carter and Noel Acciari. He played in 45 games for Pittsburgh, registering only four assists and 5 goals and 12 points in 14 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He was recalled by Anaheim on October 18 and made his Ducks debut that night against the Colorado Avalanche. After the one game, he was returned to San Diego. He was recalled a second time on November 13 along with defenseman Drew Helleson.

After two seasons within the Ducks organization, Harkins was signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the season on July 3, 2026.

International play

Harkins helped Team Canada capture the gold medal at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, and he went on to play again for Canada at the 2015 IIHF World U18 Championships, winning a bronze medal.

Personal life His father is former NHL player Todd Harkins. Harkins was born in Cleveland, Ohio, but grew up in North Vancouver, British Columbia; he has dual citizenship.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2012–13 Prince George Cougars WHL 5 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2013–14 Prince George Cougars WHL 67 10 24 34 18 — — — — — 2014–15 Prince George Cougars WHL 70 20 59 79 45 5 0 4 4 2 2015–16 Prince George Cougars WHL 69 24 33 57 51 4 2 3 5 4 2015–16 Manitoba Moose AHL 6 1 2 3 2 — — — — — 2016–17 Prince George Cougars WHL 64 21 51 72 48 6 2 5 7 10 2016–17 Manitoba Moose AHL 4 2 2 4 4 — — — — — 2017–18 Manitoba Moose AHL 46 2 11 13 17 2 0 0 0 0 2017–18 Jacksonville Icemen ECHL 6 2 4 6 4 — — — — — 2018–19 Manitoba Moose AHL 70 15 16 31 37 — — — — — 2019–20 Manitoba Moose AHL 30 7 24 31 28 — — — — — 2019–20 Winnipeg Jets NHL 29 2 5 7 5 3 1 0 1 4 2020–21 Winnipeg Jets NHL 26 1 1 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 2021–22 Winnipeg Jets NHL 77 7 6 13 15 — — — — — 2022–23 Winnipeg Jets NHL 22 3 2 5 12 — — — — — 2022–23 Manitoba Moose AHL 44 25 25 50 36 5 4 3 7 4 2023–24 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 45 0 4 4 21 — — — — — 2023–24 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 14 5 7 12 14 — — — — — 2024–25 San Diego Gulls AHL 11 5 12 17 8 — — — — — 2024–25 Anaheim Ducks NHL 62 2 4 6 21 — — — — — 2025–26 Anaheim Ducks NHL 44 3 5 8 28 3 1 0 1 0 NHL totals 305 18 27 45 106 7 2 0 2 4

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2014 Canada IH18 5 2 4 6 0 2015 Canada U18 7 3 2 5 10 Junior totals 12 5 6 11 10

Awards and honors Award Year Reference CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game 2015