Josh Harding was humbled by being named the NHL's 2013 recipient of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, and the Wild goaltender already is organizing ways to give back.
In conjunction with Friday's announcement, Harding launched the website for Harding's Hope (hardingshope.org) — his new charity he hopes brings awareness to and benefits those afflicted with multiple sclerosis.
Harding's life was turned upside down last fall when he was diagnosed with MS. But the 28-year-old refused to let the debilitating autoimmune disease end his hockey career.
"I just won an NHL award. It's something that I never thought I'd do in my life ever. And it happened with MS," Harding said. "I played five playoff games. I didn't know if I'd ever play a playoff game. And that came with MS.
"I want people to believe that goals are possible. Just because you get the label of a disease doesn't mean you're not going to complete your goals. That's what I hope people take out of this."
Harding, drafted in the second round in 2002, is the first Wild player to ever win a voted-on, end-of-the-year NHL award. The Masterton is given annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey. The trophy is named after former North Star Bill Masterton, who died in 1968 after an on-ice injury.
"There were some ups and downs," Harding said. "Some days it would have been easy to throw in the towel. … But I've been playing hockey since I was 4. I'm not going to let something come in the way."
Harding missed two months last season after complications from a medication to treat his MS. But he returned in April and wound up starting each game of the Wild's first-round series with Chicago after Niklas Backstrom suffered a sports hernia minutes before Game 1.
