Thomas Harley is a top-pair defenceman, now the Dallas Stars are realizing it

Your first impression of Thomas Harley is likely going to depend on what you read off his wry smile. 

It's a mix between a grin and a smirk. 

If it reads smirk to you, you might first think of Harley as smug or conceited. A bit egotistical, perhaps, even irritating. 

But if it reads as a grin, you'd find confidence and amusement. A willingness to laugh at any situation, the type of person who can find the good in any bad situation. 

For Harley, who has ascended this season to become the Dallas Stars second elite defenceman, it's a reflection of the healthy mix of confidence and ego he's flashed on the ice in recent weeks. 

He closed out the Stars' first half of the season with four two-point games in a week, including back-to-back overtime winners where he had the chutzpah to simply take over t