Dave Breen remembers meeting an eight-year-old Caroline Harvey for the first time inside his rink in North Andover, Mass. 15 years ago.
He’d just given Harvey a private skating lesson, after someone told him about a talented young girl who was looking to work with someone.
Breen was talking to Harvey’s father after the session, and the girl asked if she could go stickhandle on the ice while her father was chatting. She stood in the doorway, stickhandling a puck, until they were done.
Most kids would ask their parents to go home or they’d watch TV in the lobby, Breen said. Not Harvey.
“I’d never seen that before, especially with somebody who was so young,” said Breen, who is the program director of Micro Ice Training Centre about 19 kilometres northwest of Salem, N.H., where Harvey is from.
That work ethic has helped Harvey become one of the top defenders in women’s hockey.
The 23-year-old was the Olympic MVP and part of a talented, young American team that defeated Canada for gold in February.
The next month, she was named the winner of the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top female player in women’s NCAA hockey, after putting up 2.14 points per game this past season.
To top it off, Harvey helped the University of Wisconsin Badgers to a national championship — the third NCAA title of Harvey’s career.
Now, Harvey is poised to become the first-overall pick in the PWHL Draft, which is set for Wednesday in Detroit. The Vancouver Goldeneyes hold the first selection.
It’s a new challenge for the defender, who thrives on competition. After winning at every other level, Harvey is now driven to help her team win a Walter Cup.
“It’s another goal,” Harvey said in an interview with CBC Sports. “There’s nothing more I’d want than that, for whatever team I land on, is for us to win a Walter Cup. I will do anything to make that happen.”
A strong foundation
Harvey is a generational defender who should transition seamlessly into the PWHL.
She’s a smart, offensive-minded defender who can orchestrate a rush up the ice. Her offensive ability shined at the Olympics, where she tied teammate and fellow defender Megan Keller for the scoring lead (nine points in seven games).
Harvey is a defender who you can expect to see all over the ice. It’s what made her fall in love with the position: the opportunity to quarterback the play, with the entire ice sheet as her canvas.
“Over time, obviously the idea of a modern D has changed where you’re not just a defender,” she said. “You’re a fourth attacker and you produce offence as well. I just like feeling I can be a part of every aspect of a game, whether that’s killing penalties, being on the power play, being the fourth attacker or being the start of a rush.”
Her game revolves around strong, smooth skating. It allows her to be deceptive on the ice, never offering a hint to opponents on what way she might attack.
She’s also got the speed to get back to the other end of the ice to defend if the rush is broken up.
“Over the last few years, especially, I’ve been trying to work on my blue line work, work on little fakes, like looking off,” Harvey said. “It’s all in the repetition and practice every day, honestly.”
Another area of focus has been preparing for the PWHL’s physicality. Taking, and giving, more hits is one of the biggest adjustments from college hockey to the pros.
“I’m practicing that a lot and just finding ways to implement it in my game,” Harvey said. “But also not changing my game all too much because I want to stay consistent with how I’m playing, and just keep refining those skills and keep building every day.”
‘The best skater I’ve worked with’
Breen has seen some of that work up close. He’s worked with Harvey since that first lesson 15 years ago. Now, those sessions happen when Harvey is home in the summer, in between what’s become a busy travel and promotional schedule.
With the draft coming soon, he found himself reflecting on Harvey’s ascension. He found a photo on his phone of Harvey working on crossovers one July night in the rink five years ago, when Harvey was just 18.
“She’s very talented skill-wise,” Breen said. “She works on that constantly. But she is the hardest worker out there.”
Harvey boasts an efficient stride, with good knee bend and the strength to push hard, according to Breen.
That deceptiveness that has made her so dangerous on international ice? That comes from all the time spent honing her edge work over the past few years.
“I’ve worked in the NHL and technically, she’s the best skater I’ve worked with,” Breen said. “It’s forced me to come up with different things and better ways to coach and teach her.”
A talented draft class
Harvey is part of strong 2026 PWHL draft class full of talented players from that golden U.S. Olympic team. The first five picks could all come from Team USA.
“It’s really high-end talent at the top,” Vancouver Goldeneyes GM Cara Gardner Morey said. “There are several players throughout the whole first round, even into the second round, who I think are going to make an immediate impact in our league.”
That list also includes Harvey’s best friend and Wisconsin teammate, Laila Edwards, a versatile player with size who can play forward or defence.
“She’s so incredible,” Harvey said about Edwards. “I think she can slow the game down or also turn on the jets kind of like no other.”
Gardner Morey said last week that the team was still conducting interviews and needed to see how expansion played out before deciding who to take with the number-one pick.
But it would be a shock if it was anyone but Harvey.
It’s not something Harvey likes to dwell on. She’d rather talk about team success than individual accolades. Working alongside a team to lift a trophy is what drives her.
“I’m just excited to go through the draft with a lot of close friends, but especially my best friend,” Harvey said. “I’ll be happy for where she lands and obviously we’re hoping to be pretty close even though we know we’ll be on different teams.”
She’s taken some time off this summer to soak up those moments with her friends and family.
But there’s anticipation and excitement for what comes next and where she’ll be playing. After years at Wisconsin, a place she credits for holding her to a high standard every day, it’s something new.
“What excites me most is just it’s going to be a totally different experience and I’m super excited for that change,” Harvey said. “I embrace change and I take it as a challenge, and I’m excited more than anything.”
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