Thomas Harley Continues the Trend of Underrated Stars
For Dallas Stars fans, guys playing hockey in Texas who are underrated is a fact of life.
You see it up and down the Stars’ lineup.
From Roope Hintz to Miro Heiskanen; today, we’re going to talk about another guy on the team who, at least offensively speaking, is a top 10 NHL defenseman.
That is Thomas Harley, who recently got to represent Team Canada as the lone Star on the roster.
Puck Moving Defenseman
PHOTO: Robert Edwards/Imagn Images
One of the hottest commodities of the NHL in the 2K20s is a defenseman who can distribute the puck. That includes breaking the puck out, quarterbacking power plays, and, of course, scoring. The Stars are lucky enough to have two defensemen who excel at that style of play. With Miro out, Harley is still providing that gameplay.
It did take a minute for fans outside of Dallas to see how talented Harley is. He is one of the best puck-moving defensemen in the NHL. Offensive defensemen are a hot commodity in today’s NHL. Harley does breakout passes, playmaking, and scoring goals (in particular, past regulation) all nightly.
Eats Up TOI
If you do a quick eye test to see the value a player brings to his team, you look at how many minutes the guy plays. With Miro Heiskanen out month to month, Harley, in particular, has stepped up. His time on ice, on average, has gone up as the Stars keep winning.
The Stars do win by committee with a team-first mindset. But when injuries happen, certain guys are looked at to make more of an impact. That is why we are seeing him pick up more minutes per game to give the Stars a better chance to win every night. Speaking of the Stars winning games, heading into tonight’s game with the New Jersey Devils, Dallas ranks third in all of the NHL standings. He has a goal tonight on the power play, too.
Represented Team Canada
One of Harley’s biggest honors of his hockey career was representing Team Canada over these last couple of weeks. It didn’t happen immediately, though. After Colorado Avalanche offensive defenseman Cale Makar got sick, Canada called Harley, who was waiting in the wings. With how good Harley was with Canada and how good he’s been with the Stars, it left many wondering why he didn’t make the opening roster before Canada played Sweden.
Harley wasn’t invisible during the four nations’ faceoff either. He had an assist in the championship game vs the United States. He made his patience to play in the tournament pay off after getting glossed over by other Canadian defensemen. Harley had the opportunity to go on a vacation over the past two weeks. Instead, the dual-citizenship defenseman took his chance at playing with Canada.
It paid off.
Syracuse, New York-born Harley, and Team Canada won the Four Nations Faceoff championship on Thursday, February 20th, vs. the other country of his citizenship in the United States.
PHOTO: Robert Edwards/Imagn Images
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Categorized:Stars