Josh Harding is arguably the Minnesota Wild’s most valuable player through 18 games this season, but is he deserving of a roster spot on Canada’s Olympic team this winter?
Wild head coach Mike Yeo thinks he deserves consideration, according to the Pioneer Press.
“I absolutely do,” Yeo said. “You look at numbers, you look at stats, you look at wins. He’s certainly made a case for himself, and that’s what you want.”
If Harding ends up in the mix to join Team Canada, his stiffest competition includes the following goalies with their respective goals against averages (GAA) and save percentages.
- Josh Harding – Minnesota – 1.22 GAA, .947 Sv%
- Corey Crawford – Chicago – 2.22 GAA, .917 Sv%
- Mike Smith – Phoenix – 2.87 GAA, .915 Sv%
- Braden Holtby – Washington – 2.71 GAA, .922 Sv%
- Marc-Andre Fleury – Pittsburgh – 2.07 GAA, .921 Sv%
- Roberto Luongo – Vancouver – 2.41 GAA, .911 Sv%
- Carey Price – Montreal – 2.20 GAA, .929 Sv%
Harding, as you can see above, owns the NHL’s No. 1 goals against average and the second best save percentage.
Meanwhile, the Wild placed defenseman Keith Ballard on injured reserve on Tuesday. As Ballard exits, fellow defenseman Clayton Stoner returned to practice, according to the Star Tribune.
