Jordan Harris, Jay O'Brien among Massachusetts natives selected at NHL Draft

DALLAS – Jordan Harris looked thrilled to wearing his new red and blue threads, though the Montreal Canadiens colors probably wouldn’t have passed back home in Haverhill.

“More than OK wearing these,” Harris said with a big smile Saturday, after the Canadiens drafted him No. 71 overall in the third round.

It was the most memorable stop to date on his studded career path that will bring him to Northeastern University in the fall after spending last year at Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire.

“Trying to carry myself in a way that people can possibly look up to me,” Harris said Saturday after he was drafted. “It’s awesome to see guys you know and to see Massachusetts represented [in the draft] is really important.”

Harris, a 5-foot-11, 179-pound left-shot defenseman, is cut from the mold of the modern day blue-liner. He has great speed and strong skating ability, the type of player who can push the puck in transition in the rush.

He was one of seven Massachusetts players taken in the NHL Draft last weekend. Here’s a look at the others:



Jay O’Brien, center, 5-10, 176: The Hingham native and Thayer Academy graduate was picked No. 19 overall by the Flyers, a strong landing spot for the Providence commit. It was a bit of a stunner that he went that high, considering most draft projections had him ranked around No. 30 overall. Ron Hextall believed strongly in O’Brien with the selection, even after they selected a forward five picks earlier.

“There is risk when you take a kid out of that level,” Hextall said. “If you want to say there’s a concern, he has not played at a high level. So people call that a risky pick because he hasn’t played at a high level. Quite honestly, it’s a tough evaluation no doubt about it, but I feel confident in our scouts. They do a great job and we felt very strong about it.”

O’Brien, meanwhile, knew that reputation was out there but remained confident in himself. He scored 80 points in 37 games at Thayer and was playing for the Cape Cod Whalers.

“It doesn’t matter to me,” O’Brien said. “I play the same everywhere I go. I think after playing with the U.S. team and some USHL games and some college games, that’s why I got picked where I got picked. Not just because I played prep school and I know it’s hard for teams to compare and contrast to the OHL to the Q to the USHL. It’s tough.”

Jake Wise, center, 5-10, 195: The Blackhawks selected the Reading native at No. 69 in the third round. Wise, who’s committed to Boston University next season, was ranked No. 52 by TSN. The Blackhawks feel they lucked out with Wise that late in the third round, picking up a player who scored 11 goals and 32 assists in 38 games with the U.S. under-18 team.

“It’s unbelievable,” Wise said. “I love Chicago as a city and to go to the Blackhawks is incredible. I think, I don’t know why, I always had a gut feeling I’d end up there. They were the first team I talked to last summer. I just always thought I’d go there and I couldn’t be happier.”

Liam Gorman, center, 6-2, 188: The 18-year-old Arlington native was a force at St. Sebastian’s last season with 33 points in 30 games. Pittsburgh drafted him No. 177 overall with the intention of keeping him as a bit of a project development. Gorman isn’t going to Boston University until 2019-20, but his size is what drew a lot of teams to him in the draft process.

John Leonard, left wing, 5-11, 183: The UMass product and Springfield native finished his freshman season with 13 goals and 15 assists, and was picked No. 182 by the San Jose Sharks. The pick came via the Nashville Predators, which the Sharks acquired in February when they traded Troy Grosenick and Brandon Bollig. Leonard is likely to return to UMass after a stellar first season. His 13 goals were the fourth-most by a Minutemen rookie in the Hockey East era.

Riley Hughes, right wing, 6-1, 174: Hughes was the second-to-last pick of the draft when he went No. 216 overall to the Rangers. A native of Westwood, the St. Sebastian’s School standout is committed to Northeastern in 2019-20. His father, Kent, is an NHL agent. He’s scored 32 goals in his first two seasons at St. Seb’s, and had 21 goals and 15 assists in 30 games last year.