00-01 Mike Harder Hartford Wolf Pack Jersey

February 4th, 2008 | Posted in American Hockey League, Hartford Wolf Pack |

This is the 2000-01 Hartford Wolf Pack home jersey of Mike Harder.

This is my most recent acquisition; something I picked up last week in a deal with John Gannon.

Prior to joining the Wolf Pack for the 1999-2000 season, Harder put up some very respectable numbers for the Rochester Americans with 31 goals and 48 assists in 79 games.  The Amerks went all the way to the Calder Cup finals but fell to the Providence Bruins.

Signing with the Rangers/Wolf Pack after the season, there were high hopes for Harder, but an injury bug and centers Derek Armstrong and Ken Gernander ahead of him on the depth chart, his ice time was limited.  He managed a still respectable 18 goals and 21 assists in 56 games.

The Wolf Pack surged to the Calder Cup finals in 2000 and played against Harder’s former team, the Rochester Americans.  This time, Harder was on the victorious side.  At the Wolf Pack’s championship celebration, Harder is remembered for tearing his, then number 9, jersey off, swinging it in the air, and then remaining shirtless for the duration of the ceremonies.

Harder was back for the 2000-01 season, this time wearing this number 13 jersey, perhaps in an attempt to “forget” the previous season.  Unfortunately for Harder, with Armstrong and Gernander still in the mix, he was battling it out for a third line job.

Apparently unhappy with his ice time, he was eventually loaned midseason to the Louisville Panthers in exhange for Dave Duerden and Chris Kenady who both had limited NHL experience.

Like all 2000-01 Wolf Pack jerseys, this SP airknit set 1 jersey has the name sewn on to an airknit nameplate.  It’s a size 54 and features the Dodge Ram sponsor patch sewn on to the right hand side.  The SP logo is embroidered in white on the back hem next to the AHL’s primary logo patch.  The AHL’s lower case secondary logo patch is sewn to the back of the neck.

The jersey shows decent wear, the usual black marks on the hem and some board burns and unrepaired holes on the sleeves.  Harder wasn’t the biggest guy out there, but he wasn’t afraid of the corners either.

This is the only #13 Hartford Wolf Pack jersey in my collection.  Besides Harder, only Mike York (1998-99) and Richard Scott (2003-04) have worn the number.