"Being one of the younger guys, me and one of my friends had the last pick at numbers. We both wanted 17. He won rock, paper, scissors or something," said Harkins. "I had the last pick with about three numbers and I always liked Jarome Iginla, so 12 was the one. It stuck from there on out."
The number 12 will be the third set of digits Harkins has worn with the Jets. He wore 56 when he came to training camp right out of the 2015 NHL Draft, where he was taken in the second round.
When Marko Dano arrived late in the 2015-16 campaign, Harkins changed to 58, which he's worn ever since.
The fact the choice was his to make this time is special.
"It's honestly more having the chance to choose than it is getting a number you want. That's just something that I wanted to have the opportunity to do," said Harkins. "It's a pretty cool moment to choose something at that level. It's pretty special."
Harkins is coming off a pretty special season in his own right. The 2019-20 campaign was the last year of his entry-level contract, and Harkins made it count.
His 31 points in 30 games with the Manitoba Moose matched his point total (from 71 games) in 2018-19, which earned him his first AHL All-Star nod. He made his NHL debut and recorded his first point on Dec. 21, 2019 against the Minnesota Wild, then added his first NHL goal against the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 6, 2020.
On top of that, he added his first postseason goal when he snapped a wrist shot past Cam Talbot in Game 2 of the Qualifying Round against the Calgary Flames.
After a season like that, Harkins was hopeful a new contract offer would come from the Jets. The two sides agreed to terms on the two-year, one-way deal on Oct. 27.
"For me, it was my first time going through something like this. I just tried to stay patient," said Harkins. "I was pretty confident the whole time we'd get something done. It was just a matter of when. I'm happy to have it done and put that to the back of my mind again."
Despite that - and the opportunity to change his number - Harkins isn't approaching this coming training camp any differently.
"I'm going to try and come in and first of all make the team - definitely no gimme for me yet - so I'll try come to camp ready, show well, and get a spot on the team first of all,' he said. "From there, you want to try and chip away and gain a bigger role eventually. That's my plan right now."
With a new contract and a new number under his belt, Harkins is excited to get things going. While he's leaving 58 in the past, there will always be great memories associated with it.
"Since I switched to 58 with the Jets I felt like the tide kind of turned for me. I'll always appreciate that number," he said. "12 for me has always been a good number. Hopefully that's the same with the Jets."
