Dallas Stars defenseman Thomas Harley will reportedly serve as a stand-by for Team Canada, meaning that he would be first up if there’s another injury to their defense core (as per Chris Johnston of The Athletic). Canada lost Shea Theodore to injury last night in the opener to the 4 Nations Face-Off and will not get him back as he has been ruled out week-to-week due to an upper-body injury.
Canada already has Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim in Montreal, getting ready for Canada’s game against Team USA. However, beyond him, they no longer had a safety net and needed to get another player in place to serve as insurance.
Harley will travel to Boston tomorrow to serve as a stand-by in case they suffer another injury on the backend. It could provide a good experience for the 23-year-old, who is likely on Canada’s radar for the 2026 Olympics and other tournaments in the future. Although the role of a stand-by in this tournament is a little unorthodox as Harley can’t take part in practice or formal meetings unless Canada loses another defenseman.
Harley is actually a dual citizen of Canada and the United States, but he has played for Canada in the past in both the World Under-18’s as well as the World Juniors and has built an impressive resume as a pro thus far. In his breakout campaign last season, Harley posted 15 goals and 32 assists in 79 games while playing a shade over 21 minutes a night. This year has been more of the same as Harley has dressed in 53 games, tallying nine goals and 20 assists.
Harley > Sanheim
Ridiculous. Sanheim is much better in every aspect of the game. Maybe watch more than just your favorite team.
What game are you looking at buddy? If you look at “every aspect of the game” … actually Harley is already showing that he is the better D-man, aannd he’s like 5 years younger. Maybe you need to watch more hockey in general before you pipe up.
Agreed. Harley though, can sometimes be a D-zone liability – especially at the end of longer shifts or in games where he’s played big minutes. I do like him more than Sanheim for this tourney, and thought Harley was one of the biggest snubs.
Agreed…
The kid is only 23 and can only get better. I understand that he is on a stronger team, but they don’t have the best defensive depth either. He is holding his own at his age. This new crop of defense growing (and coming) is a lot to get excited about.
Sanheim is ok, but you know what you got. Harley is just scratching the surface. Defense doesn’t start really sprouting till the age of like 25-26 or older.