Mark Hardy (ice hockey)

Mark Hardy
Born	(1959-02-01) February 1, 1959 Samedan, Switzerland
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	Los Angeles Kings New York Rangers Minnesota North Stars
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	30th overall, 1979 Los Angeles Kings
Playing career	1979–1994

Mark Hardy (born February 1, 1959) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenseman who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers and Minnesota North Stars between 1979 and 1994. A professional hockey coach for 20 years, Hardy is currently an assistant coach with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL), the top-most minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Blues.

NHL Career

Hardy was born in Switzerland where his father was playing professional hockey before moving to Montreal as a child. He played four seasons of junior in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for the Montreal Juniors and was selected 30th overall by the Los Angeles Kings at the 1979 NHL Entry Draft.

Hardy is ranked 3rd in all-time scoring by an LA Kings defenseman. He played 915 career NHL games, scoring 62 goals and 306 assists for 368 points while adding 1293 penalty minutes. His best offensive season was the 1984–85 season when he set career highs with 14 goals and 53 points.

In 1992–93 Hardy and the Kings went to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in Kings' history. Hardy delivered what was called at the time an "iconic hit" in Game 3, when the Kings were down 3-0 in the second, putting Montreal Canadiens' Mike Keane through the boards with enough force to disrupt two panes of glass to change the momentum of the game. The Kings scored three second-period goals, but lost 4-3 in overtime.

Coaching Career

Retiring from the NHL as a King following the 1993–94 season, Hardy turned to coaching in 1999, serving as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Kings and the Chicago Blackhawks until 2010.

An accomplished coach in elevating overall team play, Hardy's penalty killing unit ranked third in the NHL for the ’01-02 season with an 86.6% success rate, the second best in Kings history. He served a critical role in developing Kings' Drew Doughty during his 2008 rookie season.

Hardy strengthened the Blackhawks' defensive play by lowering goals against average from 3.40 during the ’05-’06 season to 2.82 during ‘07-’08. He played an integral role in developing two-time Stanley Cup winners Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith, a two-time All-Star and Norris Trophy recipient.

He returned to the Kings organization in 2011 as an assistant coach with the club's minor league team, the Ontario Reign of the ECHL where Hardy led the team to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in club history during the 2012-2013 season. Hardy specialized in working with defensemen and penalty-killing units helping Ontario reduce its goals against each year, culminating in a club-best 191 goals against in 2013-14, and its third consecutive Pacific Division Championship since he joined the organization.

Hardy accepted his current position as assistant coach with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL), the minor league team for the St. Louis Blues in August 2014.

TV & Radio Appearances

As an invited guest hockey analyst for TV & radio appearances during the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Hardy reunited with his former Kings coach Barry Melrose on NHL Network; as a regular analyst during the Western Conference and Stanley Cup Finals on NBC Sports LA with Fred Roggin; and appeared on TSN and the Petros & Money Show on Fox Sports Radio.

International

Hardy played for Team Canada at the World Championships in 1986.

Family

Hardy is the son of Olympic figure skater Barbara Wyatt.

External links

• Mark Hardy's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database