It has been a fun year of predicting Olympic rosters, whether it’s here at The Hockey Writers, other media outlets, or just your run-of-the-mill water cooler chit-chat.
Players like Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Cale Makar were shoe-ins to make the team. No debate there. Others, like Sam Bennett, Mark Scheifele, Thomas Harley, and Wyatt Johnston, were heavily debated, not to mention the non-stop discussions about goaltending.
Related: Canada Announces 2026 Olympic Men’s Hockey Roster
On Dec. 31, we all learned who would be representing their country for Team Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina in February. Much like with Team USA, only one member of the Dallas Stars will be wearing the red and white, and that will be Harley.
Let’s talk about it.
Harley On Team Canada After Terrific Performance at the 4 Nations Face-Off
Harley was originally left off Team Canada’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off last February, and with no disrespect intended to Harley, it didn’t really raise an eyebrow. Harley has been the best-kept secret in Dallas for a couple of years, but it wasn’t until last year’s tournament, and the rest of the season and the playoffs, that the rest of the league and its fans took notice of the 24-year-old Stars defenseman.
When Shea Theodore was hurt at the 4 Nations, Travis Sanheim stepped in as Canada’s seventh defenseman. When Makar fell ill, Canada was allowed to bring in Harley, who was supposed to be in Cabo for a little R&R. He made the trip to Montreal just in case he was needed, but there was no guarantee.
“If there’s any question of what this tournament means to guys, that’s the biggest example right there,” McDavid said before Canada’s final round-robin game against Finland. “You think of Sid (Crosby) battling through injury to be here. You think of Harley, a few hours away from being in Cabo to being here and being part of the group and maybe not getting that opportunity to play. It shows what it means to be a part of this group, to be a part of this tournament. Good on him. We’re happy to have him here.”
Harley fit like a glove on a team full of superstars a year ago, and fits like a glove now, as well.
While Harley’s numbers are down this season, mostly due to injury, he has turned into one of the more reliable offensive defensemen in the NHL over the last few seasons. In 157 games between 2023-24 and 2024-25, Harley had 31 goals and 66 assists for 97 points, and a plus/minus of plus-60. That last stat makes some analysts’ eyes roll, but a number as high as plus-60 has to be given some recognition.
Harley’s Impact Goes Beyond 5-on-5
Team Canada is fully stocked with D-men who can run a power play, so it’s hard to know exactly how much time Harley will get with the man advantage. However, if they choose to use him in that role, they won’t be disappointed.
Miro Heiskanen has been the power-play quarterback for the Stars for years now, but last season, the PP struggled, leading up to Heiskanen’s injury on Jan. 28 that kept him out until the playoffs. Last season, until Jan. 28, they ranked 23rd in the NHL at 19.2%.
When Heiskanen went down, Harley stepped in as the go-to guy on the first PP unit. From Jan. 29 until the end of the regular season, the Stars’ PP was sixth in the NHL with a 27.1% success rate.
Harley’s power-play stats might not jump off the scoresheet like the other defensemen on this roster, but if he needed to, he is more than capable of leading a unit from the back end.
Johnston Left Off Roster, But His Time Will Come
It’s hard to know exactly how close Johnston was to making Team Canada, but based on his play in his first three and a half seasons, he was definitely deserving of at least being in the conversation.
In 109 regular-season games, Johnston has 109 goals and 114 assists for 223 points, which includes 20 goals and 46 points in 41 games this season. He’s tied for seventh in the NHL in goals and leads the league in power-play goals with 14.
Former NHLer, Stanley Cup champion, and current DLLS analyst Craig Ludwig made an excellent point about why Johnston is not on Team Canada, and I agree.
This season, Johnston has 23 power-play points, which is exactly half of his total points, and is just two back of the 25 he had last season. Out of those 23 points, 14 of them are goals, which means he has scored only six goals 5-on-5, which points directly to what Ludwig was talking about.
Johnston is a budding superstar and a massive part of this Stars team, not only now, but for the future. As he grows as a player, so too will his chances of making Team Canada in the future.
Stars Well Represented In Milano
As of now, the Stars have six players representing their countries and Dallas in the 2026 Olympics. Jake Oettinger will be one of the three netminders for Team USA, while Mikko Rantanen, Esa Lindell, Roope Hintz, and Heiskanen will all lace up for Team Finland.
While Johnston’s being left off of Team Canada was disappointing, Jason Robertson’s being left off of Team USA made even bigger waves. But that’s a conversation for another day.
So, Stars fans, while cheering for your respective countries, you’ll have lots of your favorite team’s players to cheer for on the side.
