Harley steps in and steps up as Morrissey misses 4 Nations final due to illness
Published
Team Canada was without one of its top defencemen for the 4 Nations final as Josh Morrissey missed the game due to illness.
Thomas Harley took Morrissey's spot in the lineup and wound up playing a key role in the 3-2 overtime win over the United States.
Harley saw 21:56 of ice time, the third-most among Canadian defencemen and drew the primary assist on Nathan MacKinnon's opening goal.
Not named to Canada's roster initially, the 23-year-old blueliner was put on standby after Shea Theodore was injured in Canada's opening game. He was then called upon for Canada's first game against Team USA when Cale Makar was ruled out due to illness. He saw 18:17 of ice time and was minus-1 in that 3-1 loss.
Harley has nine goals and 29 points in 53 games with the Dallas Stars this season, averaging 22:39 of ice time per game.
Makar led Canadian defencemen with 28:17 of ice time in Thursday's championship game, just ahead of Colorado Avalanche teammate Devon Toews (27:27). Drew Doughty saw 20:54 of ice time, with Travis Sanheim finishing with 18:29, just ahead of defence partner Colton Parayko at 17:49.
Morrissey, 29, skated in all three of Canada's games in the round robin, where he did not register a point.
The Winnipeg Jets blue liner has seven goals and 46 points in the regular season.
Morrissey is teammates with the Jets, forward Kyle Connor, was a healthy scratch for Team USA. Connor - the leading scorer amongst American skaters in the NHL this season with 69 points - played in all three round-robin games and tallied one assist.