When the Edmonton Oilers met the Dallas Stars in the 2024 Western Conference final a year ago, Thomas Harley largely flew under the radar on a blueline that was led by Miro Heiskanen and also featured grizzled veterans Esa Lindell, Chris Tanev and Ryan Suter.
This year, Harley is proving impossible to ignore.
Just ask the Winnipeg Jets, who watched Harley end their season with his power-play winner on Saturday night.
That was Harley’s fourth goal and 11th point in 13th playoff games, putting him one point behind Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard for the post-season scoring lead among defenseman through two rounds.
For the first 10 games of the playoffs, the Stars leaned hard on Harley while Heiskanen finished rehabbing his knee injury. His role didn’t change much when Heiskanen returned. An all-situations guy, Harley led all skaters league-wide in minutes played through the first two rounds.
At just 23, he’s starting to carve out a spot among the top defenders in the league, after just two full NHL seasons.
“I didn’t even know who he was, really, when I got here last year,” said Stars center Matt Duchene, who arrived in the fall of 2023. “Knew he was a tall, lanky defenseman who wore No. 55, but immediately, you’re like ‘Holy. This guy is very good.’ ”
Drafted 18th overall in 2019, Harley made his NHL debut in the 2020 playoff bubble, getting into one game on the Stars’ road to the Stanley Cup final. He spent most of the next three seasons in the AHL with the Texas Stars, but was called up in the spring of 2023. And after dressing for all 19 Dallas playoff games before falling to the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2023 conference final, he never looked back.
According to Duchene, the 6-foot-3 Harley came back bigger and stronger this season.
“Good weight, because he’s a string bean,” Duchene said. “He puts on some bulk, and all of a sudden, he looks bigger out there. He looks more like a man – you know, he’s still young, right? And he’s playing more like a man every day.”
Harley may not have been a household name among fans, but Hockey Canada had him on speed dial when the flu started to take its toll on the team’s roster at the 4 Nations Face-Off last February. As a last-minute replacement, Harley capably subbed for Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar in Canada’s round-robin game against the United States – and maintained his composure during what might have been one of the wildest hockey games of all-time.
Then, he replaced Josh Morrissey in Canada’s finale win, assisting on Nathan MacKinnon’s game-opener and logging nearly 22 minutes of ice time.
No big deal.
“His disposition’s hilarious,” Duchene said. “He’s just very, very calm. Nothing bothers him. He’s just plugging along and doing his thing, and he’s an absolute stud.”
On top of the 4 Nations, Harley’s post-season resume is growing quickly, too.
He was the sixth defenseman selected in 2019, but when the puck drops for Game 1 in Dallas on Wednesday, Harley will be logging his 53rd career playoff game. Next highest from his draft class are Bowen Byram and Philip Broberg, at 27 games each. Kaapo Kakko is the top forward, with 44 games.
Harley’s 24 playoff points also lead his draft class. Cole Caufield is second, with 16, and Byram is the second-place defenseman, with 12.
As Harley continues to demonstrate his growth in these playoffs, don’t be surprised to see him back in the mix for Team Canada when it’s time to name the roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics. And if he’s challenging Heiskanen for top spot in the Stars’ D-corps — well, that’s a good problem for coach Peter DeBoer to have.
“He’s a No. 1 D-man in this league,” Duchene said. “We’re lucky to have two of them with him and with Miro. It’s going to be really fun to watch him and what he can do in this league, and he’s doing it already.”
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