Harley ‘more settled’ with Team Canada at Olympics, playing big role

MILAN -- You could see the confidence in Thomas Harley. You could hear it.

It was the first period of Team Canada’s Group A preliminary round game against Team Switzerland at Santagiulia Arena on Friday. The Canadians led 1-0 when forward Tom Wilson dropped the puck to center Connor McDavid along the right-wing boards.

Trailing the play on the left side as a defenseman, Harley yelled McDavid’s name and slapped his stick on the ice. He was wide open.

He wanted the puck.

McDavid threaded a pass through two defenders from right to left. Harley received the puck in the left circle and shot it between the pads of Swiss goalie Akira Schmid to give Canada a 2-0 lead at 10:54.

“Unsurprisingly, he saw me, put it on my tape,” Harley said after Canada’s 5-1 win. “I kind of flubbed the shot, but it went in, so I’ll take it.”

What’s it like to score a goal for your country in the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026?

“Scoring goals is always fun,” Harley said with a little smile. “Scoring goals in the Olympics is that much better.”

The 24-year-old has come so far, and he’s in position to go further.

He didn’t make Canada’s initial roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off last season and was headed for a vacation when he was summoned to Montreal as a potential emergency replacement.

The morning before a game against the United States at Bell Centre on Feb. 15, almost exactly a year ago now, he wasn’t allowed on the ice at the same time as defenseman Cale Makar, who was a game-time decision with an illness.

Makar couldn’t play, so Harley jumped into an intense rivalry game in a best-on-best tournament, blocking three shots in 18:17 in a 3-1 loss. He played in the rematch in the championship game at TD Garden in Boston on Feb. 20, assisting on a goal and blocking two shots in 21:56 in a 3-2 overtime win.

Peter DeBoer -- an assistant for Canada, then Harley’s coach with the Dallas Stars -- said it was the best thing that ever happened to him.

“It was almost like a switch flipped within him, like, ‘Hey, I can play at this level with these guys and be effective,’” DeBoer said. “When he came back, I mean, he was at a different level.”

Harley had 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) in his first 16 games for Dallas after 4 Nations, and he finished the 2024-25 regular season with NHL career highs in goals (16), assists (34) and points (50) in 78 games.

He had 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 18 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

For the Olympics, Harley has been part of Team Canada since the announcement of the full roster Dec. 31. He has 23 points (five goals, 18 assists) in 45 games for Dallas this season.

“He’s got that quiet confidence to him, and these kids that are blessed skaters …” coach Jon Cooper said, his voice trailing off. “He’s headsy. He knows where to go, where to be, and he’s got a little snarl into his game. So, you like that about these guys, and he was a no-brainer for us.”

This time, Harley got to travel with his teammates on the charter to Milan, visit the Olympic Village with them and take the ice with them from Day 1.

“Yeah, a little more comfortable with it,” Harley said. “A little more settled, so that’s nice. I can practice with the guys, so that’s good.”

He laughed.

This time, he didn’t have to jump into a game against Team USA, either. He had two assists in a 5-0 win against Team Czechia on Thursday before playing against Switzerland on Friday.

The Canadians already have won Group A, clinching a bye into the quarterfinals, but have one more preliminary round game against Team France on Sunday (10:40 a.m. ET; Peacock, USA, ICI Télé, CBC Gem, RDS2, CBC).

“I played against the U.S. twice, and that was kind of the best of the best of the best,” Harley said. “[Czechia] and Switzerland are very good teams, but they’re not quite there. But I think as this tournament continues and gets better, it’s going to become very similar [to 4 Nations in terms of speed].”

Harley has impressed his defense partner, Drew Doughty, a 36-year-old veteran who won Olympic gold in Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014 as well as the Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings in 2012 and 2014.

“I love playing with him,” Doughty said. “Yeah, he’s still pretty young. He’s got a lot of hockey left in him. He’s just good at everything. He’s sound defensively, good at breaking pucks out, can score. He’s a great player.”

Dallas has known that for a while.

“I don’t think anyone was really surprised last year when he jumped into that 4 Nations team for him,” said U.S. goalie Jake Oettinger, a Stars teammate. “It’s something that we see every day, the confidence. He’s obviously really skilled, really smart, so it’s not surprising to see him thriving with guys like that.”