Thomas Harley
Morgan Geekie and Thomas Harley.jpg
Harley with the Dallas Stars in 2023
Born (2001-08-19) August 19, 2001
Syracuse, New York, U.S.
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 193 lb (88 kg; 13 st 11 lb)
Position Defense
Shoots Left
NHL team Dallas Stars
NHL Draft 18th overall, 2019
Dallas Stars
Playing career 2020–present

Thomas Harley (born August 19, 2001) is an American-born Canadian professional ice hockey defenseman for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 18th overall by the Stars in the first round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

Personal life

Harley was born on August 19, 2001, in Syracuse, New York,[1] to Edmonton-born parents Brian and Stephanie.[2] He was born into an athletic family as his father and three siblings all play ice hockey. His father played for the University of Alberta while his older brother Stuart played for the Milwaukee School of Engineering.[3] His youngest brother Greg plays Junior "A" ice hockey for the Hearst Lumberjacks.[4] Harley's older sister Emilie played college hockey for Robert Morris University before being drafted into the Premier Hockey Federation.[5] While Harley played much of his youth hockey in Syracuse, he is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada.[3]

Playing career

Junior

Growing up in Syracuse, Harley and his brother Stuart were often coached by their father on their respective teams.[6] Although Harley originally played forward, his father converted him to defenseman to fill a gap in the lineup.[7]

Mississauga Steelheads

Harley was selected by the Mississauga Steelheads of the Ontario Hockey League in the first round, 14th overall, during the 2017 OHL Priority Draft. In the 2017–18 season, Harley played his first game with the Steelheads on September 22, 2017, earning no points in a 4–3 loss to the Ottawa 67's. Harley earned his first career point, an assist on a goal by Albert Michnac, in a 4–3 loss to the Saginaw Spirit on October 15. Harley scored his first career OHL goal on December 8 against Kai Edmonds of the Barrie Colts in a 3–2 loss. Harley recorded his first OHL career multi-point game on February 23, earning two assists in a 4–0 win over the Niagara IceDogs. In early March, Harley had a three-game point streak, earning four assists in those games. Overall, in 62 games during his rookie season, Harley scored one goal and 15 points. Harley made his post-season debut on March 22, earning no points in a 6–2 win over the Barrie Colts. One week later, on March 29, Harley recorded his first career playoff point, assisting on a goal scored by Cole Carter in a 5–4 loss to the Colts. In six playoff games, Harley earned two assists.

Harley saw much improvement in his second season with the Steelheads in 2018–19. On September 23, Harley recorded his first career three point game, earning three assists in an 8–6 loss to the Niagara IceDogs. Harley would record five more three point games during the season with the Steelheads. On December 31, Harley recorded his first multi-goal game of his OHL career, as he scored two goals against the Windsor Spitfires in a 9–5 victory. In 68 games, Harley scored 11 goals and 58 points. On March 22, Harley recorded his first career multi-point playoff game, earning two assists in a 5–2 loss to the Sudbury Wolves. In four post-season games, Harley earned four assists. Harley was named the winner of the Bobby Smith Trophy, named to the OHL Scholastic Player of the Year. Harley was also named to the OHL Third All-Star Team.[8]

Harley returned to the Steelheads for the 2019–20 season. He opened the season with points in each of his first 10 games, as he scored seven goals and added 10 assists during this streak, earning 17 points. On December 20, Harley scored two goals and two assists, earning his first career four point game, in an 8–2 win over the Barrie Colts. In 59 games, Harley scored a career-high 18 goals and added 39 assists for 57 points.

Professional

Dallas Stars

Leading up to the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Harley was ranked 11th among all North American skaters eligible for the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.[9] He was praised by The Athletic's Corey Pronman and Mitch Brown for his transitional play and creativity.[10] Harley was eventually selected by the Dallas Stars in the first round, 18th overall, at the NHL Entry Draft.[11] Following the draft, Harley attended the Steelheads training camp before playing in the Traverse City annual rookie tournament. While he struggled in his first game, Harley finished the tournament impressing Dallas scouts.[12] Harley then attended the Stars' training camp, where he drew comparisons to Dallas defenceman Miro Heiskanen from head coach Jim Montgomery.[13] During preseason games, Harley had opportunities to play alongside Heiskanen and veteran John Klingberg while averaging over 20 minutes of ice time.[14] He also worked with then-assistant coach Rick Bowness on how to improve defending offensively, including stopping turnovers.[15] On September 23, 2019, the Stars signed Harley to a three-year, entry-level contract.[16] After being cut from the Stars roster ahead of the 2019–20 season, Harley immediately returned to the Steelheads for their season.[14]

When the NHL resumed play for the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, Harley was named to the Stars' taxi squad and stayed with them in the Edmonton bubble. Due to the pandemic, Harley took a three-day road trip from Syracuse to Edmonton in order to join the team.[17] During the two months between his last Steelheads game and the taxi squad, Harley added 10 pounds of muscle due to working out consistently.[15] He remained on the team's taxi squad until John Klingberg and Taylor Fedun were deemed unfit to play in the Stars' Western Conference seeding round-robin game against the Colorado Avalanche.[18] Harley was placed in the lineup on August 5 alongside Esa Lindell and subsequently made his NHL debut that night. He finished his debut with 14 shifts through 10:58 of ice time as the Stars fell 4–0.[19] Harley remained on the sidelines for the remainder of their games as Dallas met with the Calgary Flames in the first round.[20] As the Stars qualified for the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals, Harley became the youngest player on either team's roster.[17]

When the NHL returned for the 2020–21 season, Harley was one of six players assigned to the Stars' taxi squad to start the season.[21] However, he was re-assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Texas Stars on January 29.[22] Harley made an immediate impact with the team while playing on their top defensive pair with Joseph Cecconi while also killing penalties and playing on their first power play unit.[23] He recorded his first professional goal in overtime on February 8 to help lift the Stars to a 3–2 win over the Iowa Wild. The goal also extended his point streak to three consecutive games to begin his AHL career.[24] Through his first five days with the team, Harley accumulated two goals and three assists.[23] Harley finished his rookie season leading all AHL defensemen with eight goals and ranked second in assists with 17. Although his 25 points helped him lead all league rookies, the Stars finished the 2020–21 season with a 17–18–3 record.[25]

Harley playing for the Texas Stars in 2022.

Harley returned to the Dallas Stars training camp ahead of the 2021–22 NHL season but was again reassigned to the AHL before the final roster was announced.[26] Despite struggling at the start of the season, Harley was recalled to the NHL level on November 1 after playing in six AHL games and recording one point.[27] Although the team had a sufficient number of forwards and defensemen, head coach Rick Bowness stated that he brought Harley in to "bring an element which could help the Stars create more goals."[28] Harley made his NHL regular season debut the following night against the Winnipeg Jets. He finished the game with 15:09 of ice time, one shot on goal, four shot attempts, two hits, and two blocked shots.[29] He skated in three more NHL games, registering five shots on goal while skating an average of 14:11 per game, before being returned to the AHL on November 11.[30] Harley skated in 11 more games for the Texas Stars, adding six more assists, before being recalled to the NHL level again on December 17.[31] He skated in a few more games for Dallas before being reassigned to their taxi squad on January 15.[32] Harley recorded his first career NHL point, an assist, on February 28 in a game against the Buffalo Sabres.[33] He added his first career NHL goal later that season on April 28 against the Anaheim Ducks.[34] Harley finished the regular season with one goal and three assists while averaging 13:41 in ice time through 34 games. He also played a total of 27 games in the AHL and recorded 11 assists.[35]

Harley at the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic Game.

Ahead of the 2022–23 season, Harley was expected to become an NHL regular and take some of John Klingberg's responsibilities as an offensive defenseman. However, following a trade for Nils Lundkvist and an unimpressive training camp, Harley spent the majority of the 2022–23 season in the AHL with the Texas Stars.[36] After being cut from training camp, Harley was limited to six NHL games at the conclusion of the Stars' regular season.[37] Upon joining the Stars in the AHL, Harley was removed from teams' power-play unit for their first six games in order for him to focus more on his defensive capabilities. This resulted in him playing on the team's second penalty kill unit and tallying five points in 11 games.[36] With his assistance, the Star's penalty kill unit allowed just 18 goals in 144 chances from October to mid-January and scored seven shorthanded goals. Harley also accumulated eight goals and 22 points through 38 games during this time.[38] Harley's efforts were recognized by the league with his first-ever selection for the 2023 AHL All-Star Game.[39] Harley finished with 10 goals and 24 assists as he missed the final six games of the season after being called up to the NHL. He remained with the Stars as they competed in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, tallying one goal and added eight assists in 19 contests.[37]

International play

Although Harley holds dual citizenship, he has chosen to represent Canada at the international level. When speaking of the decision, Harley stated that while his family lived in New York, he was raised as a Canadian.[6] Harley first played for Canada when he represented Team Canada Black at the 2017 World U-17 Hockey Challenge.[40] He recorded no points over five games as the team placed seventh overall.[1] The following year, he represented Team Canada at the 2019 IIHF World U18 Championships where the they placed fourth.[41] During the tournament, Harley tallied one goal and three assists for four points.[1]

Although he represented Team Canada at the U18 Championships, Harley was one of the final cuts made to the Canadian roster ahead of the 2019 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[42] Harley returned to Team Canada's selection camp the following year and was named to the final roster to compete at the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[43]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeague GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
2016–17Vaughan KingsGTMMHL 335192412 —————
2017–18Mississauga SteelheadsOHL 621141514 60220
2018–19Mississauga SteelheadsOHL 6811485924 40444
2019–20Mississauga SteelheadsOHL 5918395733 —————
2019–20Dallas StarsNHL ————— 10000
2020–21Texas StarsAHL 388172531 —————
2021–22Texas StarsAHL 270111136 —————
2021–22Dallas StarsNHL 341346 —————
2022–23Texas StarsAHL 6610243424 —————
2022–23Dallas StarsNHL 60222 1918914
NHL totals 401568 2018914
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place2021 Canada

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2017 Canada Black U17 7th 50000
2019 Canada U18 4th 71348
2021 Canada WJC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 71010
Junior totals 192358

Awards and honours

Award Year
OHL
Third All-Star Team 2019
Bobby Smith Trophy 2019 [8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Thomas Harley". Elite Prospects. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  2. ↑ Matheson, Jim (December 2, 2020). "Thomas Harley has Edmonton roots with world juniors at Rogers Place". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  3. 1 2 "10 things to know about Stars defenseman Thomas Harley, including his dual citizenship". The Dallas Morning News. June 23, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Gregory Harley". Elite Prospects. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Emilie Harley". Elite Prospects. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Pyette, Ryan (July 30, 2019). "Born and raised in U.S., defenceman will have no country but Canada". London Free Press. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  7. ↑ Yousuf, Saad (June 27, 2019). "Soft-spoken Stars first-round pick Thomas Harley has potential to make plenty of noise". The Athletic. Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  8. 1 2 "Steelheads' Thomas Harley named OHL Scholastic Player of the Year". Ontario Hockey League. May 7, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  9. ↑ "North American Skaters Round 1" (PDF). National Hockey League. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  10. ↑ Shohara, Kyle (June 18, 2019). "2019 Draft Prospect Profiles: Harley, Newhook". National Hockey League. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  11. ↑ Kramer, Lindsay (June 21, 2019). "Jamesville's Harley taken by Dallas in first round of NHL draft". The Post-Standard. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  12. ↑ Shapiro, Sean (September 15, 2019). "Stars training camp observations: Gurianov's rise, Harley's first impression and early installations". The Athletic. Archived from the original on September 21, 2023. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  13. ↑ DeFranks, Matthew (September 15, 2019). "'He looks like Miro': Thomas Harley continues to impress at Stars training camp, earning praise from Jamie Benn and Ben Bishop". Dallas News. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  14. 1 2 Colpitts, Iain (October 2, 2019). "'Special to watch': Mississauga Steelheads' Thomas Harley soaks up experience with Dallas Stars". Mississauga News. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  15. 1 2 DeFranks, Matthew (July 20, 2020). "Defensive improvement needed for Thomas Harley to make NHL debut during Stars' postseason run". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on September 21, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Stars sign defenseman Thomas Harley to three-year, entry-level contract". National Hockey League. September 23, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  17. 1 2 Kennedy, Ryan (September 17, 2020). "MEET THE ONLY TEENAGER LEFT IN THE BUBBLE". The Hockey News. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  18. ↑ DeFranks, Matthew (August 6, 2020). "Stars defenseman Thomas Harley shows offensive potential in NHL debut". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  19. ↑ Yousuf, Saad (August 6, 2020). "'It was nerve-racking': Inside Thomas Harley's surprise NHL debut". The Athletic. Archived from the original on September 21, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  20. ↑ "2020 Stanley Cup Playoff Preview: Flames vs. Stars". Sportsnet. August 9, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Stars announce 2020-21 opening night roster". National Hockey League. January 21, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  22. ↑ "DALLAS STARS LOAN DEFENSEMAN THOMAS HARLEY TO TEXAS". Texas Stars. January 29, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  23. 1 2 DeFranks, Matthew (February 14, 2021). "How Stars prized defenseman Thomas Harley is making most of AHL stint to become complete player". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  24. ↑ "TEXAS TAKES 3-2 OVERTIME WIN AGAINST IOWA TO END ROAD TRIP". Texas Stars. February 8, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  25. ↑ "STARS FINISH SEASON WITH 3-2 WIN OVER WILD". Texas Stars. May 15, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Stars reduce training camp roster to 28 players". National Hockey League. October 10, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Stars recall defenseman Thomas Harley from Texas". National Hockey League. November 1, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  28. ↑ Heika, Mike (November 1, 2021). "When his time comes, Thomas Harley says he's more than ready". National Hockey League. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  29. ↑ DeFranks, Matthew (November 3, 2021). "Stars notebook: Jamie Benn scores first goal vs. Jets; Thomas Harley impresses in season debut". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  30. ↑ "DALLAS STARS RECALL FORWARD RILEY TUFTE FROM TEXAS; REASSIGN DEFENSEMAN THOMAS HARLEY". Texas Stars. November 11, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  31. ↑ "Stars recall forward Riley Tufte and defenseman Thomas Harley from Texas". Texas Stars. December 17, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  32. ↑ "Stars reassign defenseman Thomas Harley to taxi squad". National Hockey League. January 15, 2022. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  33. ↑ "Stars' Thomas Harley: Earns first NHL point". CBS Sports. February 28, 2022. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  34. ↑ "Robertson beats emergency replacement goalie, Stars win". ESPN. April 30, 2022. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  35. ↑ Heika, Mike (August 12, 2022). "Will the 2022-23 season be a breakthrough campaign for Thomas Harley?". National Hockey League. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  36. 1 2 DeFranks, Matthew (November 9, 2022). "Stars' AHL experiment with defenseman Thomas Harley has started to pay off". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  37. 1 2 Kramer, Lindsay (July 13, 2023). "Role as NHL regular is within reach of Jamesville's Thomas Harley: 'This is not the time to stop working'". syracuse.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  38. ↑ "Two-way game has Harley flourishing with Stars". American Hockey League. January 25, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  39. ↑ "TEXAS STARS FORWARD RILEY BARBER AND DEFENSEMAN THOMAS HARLEY NAMED AHL ALL-STARS". Texas Stars. January 11, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  40. ↑ "Canadian Rosters Unveiled for 2017 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge". Canadian Hockey League. October 26, 2017. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  41. ↑ "CANADA FINISHES FOURTH AT 2019 IIHF U18 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP". Hockey Canada. April 28, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  42. ↑ "Canada cuts nine players at world junior selection camp". Sportsnet. December 12, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  43. ↑ "Harley Named to Team Canada WJC Roster". Canadian Hockey League. December 11, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
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