Elle Hartje, a Detroiter who played AAA for Little Caesars and Belle Tire, was picked 25th overall by PWHL New York in this year’s draft
Detroit might not have a PWHL team yet, but it will be represented in the league’s players next season.
With the 25th pick in the draft, PWHL New York selected Detroit native Elle Hartje. Before playing college hockey as a center at Yale, the 23-year-old Hartje played AAA for the Detroit area USA Eagles, Little Caesars and Belle Tire programs. She was also a star tennis and soccer player for Detroit Country Day.
Hartje’s game emphasizes defensive play, but don’t mistake that for a lack of offense. She scored 168 points in 129 games at Yale. Those stats made her the leading scorer in Yale history.
"I would really point to my 200-foot game with an emphasis on the D-zone, which might be a surprise to some people who haven't seen me play," Hartje told THN. "I really believe that the defense is the start to a great offense, and so as a center, that starts in the face off circle. I take a lot of pride in my face off and that was something we focused on in my time here at Yale."
Hartje comes from a big hockey family. Her sister, Sasha, played for Little Caesars and played college hockey at Long Island University. Her father, Tod, was a national champion with Harvard in 1989 and once played for the Red Wings’ former farm team, the Adirondack Red Wings. She also is proud of her Detroit roots, showing off her Detroit Lions fandom by wearing a Lions jacket across the draft stage.
Hartje was New York’s sixth pick in the draft. The team selected Princeton forward phenom Sarah Fillier first overall. This draft class should give New York plenty of help to improve upon its last place finish in the league's inaugural season.
In that first season, six Michiganders played in the PWHL: forwards Shiann Darkangelo (Brighton), Taylor Girard (Macomb), Madison Packer (Detroit) and Abbey Roque (Sault Ste. Marie), as well as defenders Megan Keller (Farmington Hills) and Mellissa Channell (Plymouth). Should she make the New York roster and the rest stay in the league, she’ll make it seven, which would give Michigan the third highest representation of any U.S. state in the league.
Hartje’s accomplishment is another triumph for women’s hockey in the state of Michigan. While the state might not have its own team in the PWHL, it can be sure to be represented by the Michiganders — now including Hartje — who play in it.