World champion and Olympian Richard Hart will make his national television analyst debut Thursday afternoon on Sportsnet.

Hart, the retired former third for Ontario skips Glenn Howard and Mike Harris, will team with Harris and Rob Faulds for coverage of the Canadian Open, the second of four Grand Slam events, in Kelowna, B.C.

“You know what? I’m really excited, I’m really looking forward to it,” said Hart.

Coverage begins Thursday with the first of three matches beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET — Howard versus Winnipeg’s Jeff Stoughton — on Sportsnet’s four regional channels. Sunday’s championship final (1 p.m. ET) will be the eighth show of the week.