Harpur is a gangly shutdown defenseman who skates well for a big man. His stride is long and smooth and his lateral mobility is impressive. His transitions are fluid and he does not lose momentum. He needs to improve on his first step as he develops. His hands are soft and he is con dent when he has the puck. He is not overly creative with the puck, but he makes strong consistent plays when he has the puck. He consistently makes crisp tape-to-tape passes breakout passes, which lead to quick transition hockey for his team. He has great vision, and makes high percentage passes rarely giving the puck away. He poses a heavy shot from the point. He is good at finding shooting lanes to get pucks to the net, leading to rebound chances for his teammates. He plays a very physical in your face style of hockey. He finished his checks with enthusiasm, without taking himself out of position, and plays the body hard in his own zone. Harpur plays hard in the corners, and makes life miserable for opposing forwards. He shows a high hockey IQ and makes smart decisions. His defensive game is where he really excels on the ice. He is hard to beat one-on-one, and he drives opposing forwards wide never giving them an easy path to the net. His gap control in off the charts, as he surprises opposing forwards who thing they have time. His anticipation in his own end is good. (May 2013)