Caroline Rose Harvey (born October 14, 2002) is an American college ice hockey defenceman for Wisconsin and member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. Widely regarded as one of the best defensemen in the world, Harvey was named Best Defenseman at the 2023 and 2025 World Championships, becoming only the second defenseman in history to lead the United States in points at an Olympics or World Championship.
Harvey made her Olympic debut at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing at age 19, winning a silver medal as the youngest player on Team USA's roster. Internationally, she has won two World Championship gold medals (2023, 2025) and three silver medals (2021, 2022, 2024), and has been selected to three World Championship All-Star teams. At the 2023 World Championship, she led the tournament in scoring with 14 points and was the first skater to lead the United States in both points and ice time at a major tournament.
At Wisconsin, Harvey is a three-time NCAA national champion (2023, 2025, 2026) and has set numerous program records for defensemen. In her junior season (2024âÂÂ25), she recorded 63 pointsâÂÂthe most by a defenseman in a single season in Wisconsin historyâÂÂand became the program's all-time leading scorer among defensemen with 137 career points. Harvey has been named Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Defender of the Year three times, and won the Patty Kazmaier Award in 2026.
Born in New Hampshire to Martha and David Harvey, Harvey was raised with her older brother, Nolan, and an older sister, Grace. She earned the nickname "KK" by those close to her because her older sister Grace could not pronounce "Caroline" when she started talking. Harvey's parents took her to the ice rink as a toddler, placing her in a carrier facing the ice while her brother Nolan learned to play hockey. According to her father, "Her eyes would go back and forth as an infant, and that's how she really got her first start." Harvey began skating at age three and told her aunt at that age that she would make the 2022 U.S. Olympic Team in women's hockeyâÂÂa prediction she would later fulfill.
Harvey was the only girl who wore a hockey helmet for learn-to-figure-skate lessons at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Her parents wanted her to become a sound skater before beginning hockey, reasoning that figure skaters had the best technique. Once she began playing hockey, Harvey initially wore jersey number 3, the same as her brother NolanâÂÂa number that held special significance for the family because Nolan was born premature at three pounds. Harvey later switched to number 4 because 3 was taken, and the number 4 was associated with defensemen, famously Boston Bruins legend Bobby Orr. As a youth, Harvey demonstrated exceptional dedication to training. Between ages 10 and 13, she engaged in boxing training at Ramalho's West End Gym in Lowell, MassachusettsâÂÂa facility that served as a setting for the 2010 film The Fighter. She impressed Dicky Eklund, the trainer portrayed by Christian Bale in the film, who described her as tenacious and said, "She hits like a truck." Eklund wanted to enter Harvey in the Silver Mittens youth boxing tournament, but her mother decided against competitive boxing, though Harvey continued boxing training to improve her foot speed, hand speed, and endurance. At age 12, Harvey had a boxing setup in her garage, including a speed bag, which impressed her youth hockey coach when he witnessed her dedication to off-ice training.
At age 13, Harvey left home to attend Bishop Kearney High School in Rochester, New York, enrolling in the Bishop Kearney Selects hockey program. She played for the Selects Academy U16 team for two seasons before moving up to the U19 team. Harvey became known for her exceptional work ethic, with teachers arriving early to work finding her running sprints, working in the shooting room, or completing extra workouts before school. Her sprint testing numbers in her mid-teens rivaled those of veteran national team players. With the Bishop Kearney Selects U19 team, Harvey won two New York state championships.
Harvey was originally committed to play college ice hockey for the Wisconsin during the 2021âÂÂ22 NCAA season but deferred to the 2022âÂÂ23 NCAA season after being selected to represent team USA at the 2022 Winter Olympics. During the 2022âÂÂ23 season, in her rookie year, she recorded 12 goals and 26 assists in 39 games. She led all WCHA rookies with 38 points. Her 38 points were the fifth most in program history by a defender and only trailed Sis Paulsen for most points as a rookie defender. Following an outstanding season, she was named to the WCHA All-Rookie team and Second Team All-WCHA and was named the WCHA Rookie of the Year. She was also named CCM/AHCA Second-Team All-American. She became first Badger player to earn All-American honors as a freshman since Meghan Hunter during the 2000âÂÂ01 season. During the NCAA semifinals Harvey scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Minnesota to send Wisconsin to the championship game.
On September 18, 2024, Harvey was named team co-captain for the 2024âÂÂ25 season, along with Casey O'Brien. During October 2024, she led all defenders in the league with 14 points, while her 10 assists on the month ranked second among all players. She was subsequently named the WCHA Defender of the Month. During her junior year, she recorded 16 goals and 42 assists in 38 games. She led all defenders in the NCAA in scoring with 58 points, and recorded the most points by a defender in a season in program history. During conference play she recorded ten goals and 26 assists in 28 games, and was named the WCHA Defender of the Year for the second consecutive year. She finished her junior year with 18 goals and 45 assists in 41 games, and helped lead Wisconsin to their eighth national championship. Her 18 goals tied a single-season program record for most goals scored by a defenceman.
On September 11, 2025, Harvey was named team captain for the 2025âÂÂ26 season. During October 2025, she led all WCHA defenders in scoring with five goals and eight assists in nine games. She recorded at least one point in all but one game during the month. She was subsequently named Defender of the Month. During November 2025, she led all NCCAA Division I skaters in scoring with four goals and 16 assists and was named Defender of the Month for the second consecutive month. On November 29, 2025, against Mercyhurst, she recorded her 168th career point, surpassing Ronda Curtin as the WCHA's all-time defensive point scorer. She was named Defender of the Month for the third consecutive month in December 2025. During her senior year, she led all WCHA defenders in conference play in scoring with 14 goals and 31 assists in 21 games. She led all defenders in the NCAA in points (63), goals (18), and assists (45). She ranked first in the nation in assists per game (1.40) and is second in points per game (1.97). Following the season she was named the WCHA Defender of the Year for the third consecutive year, and named WCHA Player of the Year. She also won the 2026 Patty Kazmaier Award, becoming the third defender and seventh Badger overall to win the award.
Harvey first represented the United States at the U-18 level in 2018, when she was selected to play in the Under-18 Series. She competed in two U-18 World Championships with Team USA. At the 2019 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship, Harvey won a silver medal. She returned to the U-18 World Championship at the 2020 tournament, where she posted a team-high +4 plusâÂÂminus rating in five games and won a gold medal.
and through five World Championships, Harvey has won two gold medals and three silver medals and has been named to three All-Star teams. At age 18, she was the youngest player named to the United States roster for the 2021 IIHF Women's World Championship in Calgary, Alberta. She recorded one goal and two assists in six gamesâÂÂincluding her first senior-team goalâÂÂas the United States won a silver medal. Harvey returned to the World Championship at the 2022 tournament in Herning and Frederikshavn, Denmark, where she recorded three goals and five assists for eight points in seven games as the United States won a silver medal.
At the 2023 IIHF Women's World Championship in Brampton, Ontario, Harvey led the tournament in scoring with four goals and ten assists for 14 points in seven games, becoming only the second defenseman in history to lead the United States in points at an Olympics or World Championship. She was also the first skater to lead the United States in both points and ice time at a World Championship. The United States defeated Canada 6âÂÂ3 in the gold medal game, with Harvey tying the game 3âÂÂ3 early in the third period. Harvey was subsequently named Best Defenseman of the tournament by the directorate and was selected to the All-Star team. Harvey represented the United States at the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship in Utica, New York, where she tied for the tournament lead in scoring with two goals and eight assists for ten points in seven games. The United States won a silver medal, and Harvey was named to the All-Star team for the second consecutive year.
At the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship in Prague, Czech Republic, Harvey recorded two goals and two assists for four points in seven games as the United States won a gold medal. She was named Best Defenseman of the tournament for the second time in her career.
In January 2022, Harvey was named to Team USA's roster for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, becoming the youngest player on the team at age 19. The selection came at a pivotal moment, as Harvey had been prepared to enroll as a freshman at the University of Wisconsin if she did not make the Olympic roster. Harvey deferred her enrollment to join the national team for the Olympics.
During the Olympic tournament, Harvey was scoreless in seven games as the United States won a silver medal, falling to Canada in the gold medal game. As the youngest player on the roster, Harvey struggled with confidence and finding her place among her childhood idols. Following the Olympics, U.S. head coach John Wroblewski had a conversation with Harvey in Denmark before the 2022 World Championship, reminding her that she had already accomplished everything a player could by age 19 and encouraging her to play aggressively without fear of mistakes. Harvey's performance improved significantly in subsequent international tournaments, culminating in her Best Defenseman honors at the 2023 and 2025 World Championships.
On January 2, 2026, Harvey was named to team USA's roster to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. During the team's last group stage game against Canada, she recorded a goal and two assists to help lift the U.S. to a 5âÂÂ0 shutout against their rivals. In the quarterfinals of the 2026 Olympics, Harvey recorded two assists as the US eliminated host nation Italy in a 6âÂÂ0 win. It marked the first time that the United States and Italy played each other in women's ice hockey at the Winter Olympics. Harvey tied for the tournament lead in scoring with two goals and seven assists in seven games, and won a gold medal. She also led the team in average time on ice at 22:43. She was subsequently named tournament MVP, the Directorate Award as Best Defender, and named to the Media All-Star team.