Elle Hartje is ready to join the New York Sirens and prove she belongs in the PWHL Elle Hartje is from Detroit, Michigan, and was a star at Yale University. She was drafted in the fifth round (25th overall) by the New York Sirens, and looks forward to starting her first season in the PWHL. I know since you played at Yale, New York isn't going to be too unfamiliar to you. Are you happy to be staying pretty close to that area? Yes, you know, maybe there will be a team in Detroit one day. That would be super exciting, too. But this is probably almost the next best thing, definitely. I was so excited to get selected by New York. A lot of my friends who also just graduated, it's sort of a pipeline, Yale to New York. And so they're all living in the city and living together. And so obviously there's a lot of unknowns going into this year and a lot of things that I'm going to have to learn as I go, so having that little bit of a comfort zone with my support system and friend group – because I was, no matter what, going to move away from my family. There is no team in Detroit, like you said, and this is the next best thing. It's sort of my family away from home. I was with a lot of those people and friends for four years at Yale, so being close to them and being able to lean on them is going to be really nice. In talking to some of the NCAA graduates, they're finding this off-season is really long because right around this time you'd probably be going back to get ready for the season. Is that true for you as well? Yeah I definitely am, so I'm glad that some other people share that sentiment. I haven't played a game, a real competitive game since March, and I'm seeing all of my teammates back at Yale getting ready. The ice got in a few weeks ago, so they've been skating there. And so, you know, that's just all good to see. But everyone has to move on eventually, and I'm just super grateful that there is somewhere to move on to in the hockey world and that I didn't have to hang up my skates because I think that would just be something I couldn't even handle. But yes, this off-season is the longest I can remember ever having. So, you know, it's important to just make sure that we're having fun with it and enjoying the process of training and getting ready for the year and not taking it for granted. Are you doing any anything differently as far as off ice training, playing summer sports or have you skating? Yes. So, first of all, today I am going to this Little Red Wings event, which I'm really excited for. As you mentioned earlier, I was the only one this year from Michigan drafted, so I really wanted to make sure I was involved in the community and sort of showing up for that girls' hockey support. And I think last year with the game that was in Michigan and Detroit, you saw how many people showed up and what a hockey-loving community Detroit is. So I definitely want to make sure I'm helping to grow that even if I'm the only one right now, I'm sure that others will join me. Aside from just community events and coaching and stuff, yes, I've been on the ice a lot. I want to make sure I'm staying in hockey shape and this summer is just really important, I think, for any rookie going into the league. We keep hearing how fast the pace is and how high the level is, and so I just don't want to leave any stone unturned going into camp and make sure that I really feel confident in where I'm at. So I've been on the ice quite a bit, working out at my gym five days a week, and then a lot of us Americans were just in Lake Placid for a little training camp together. So that was really nice to kickstart our training and kind of rejuvenate the love of being together and getting to compete a little bit. Everybody agrees that New York had a fantastic draft with some really great-looking rookies coming to the team, one of which is yourself. How much do you know about the team, the players that were already there, or that were drafted along with you in June? Yeah, I think that the hockey women's hockey community is relatively small, so you grow up hearing about a lot of these people. And especially my draft class, we were all – most of us were playing NCAA, so we were sort of in that same pool of competition and playing against each other, hearing about each other. So I do know quite a few people, and like I mentioned, the New York team geographically is very close to Yale, so I was actually able to go see a couple of games in New York last year. So I would say of all of the teams, I am the most familiar with New York. Like you said, we got the number one draft pick, Sarah Fillier, and I played against her for my whole college career. She was at Princeton, I was at Yale, so I'm very familiar with her game, and as well as we got a couple other ECAC picks, so I'm intimately aware. Lots of pre-scout of them. But I'm just really excited to get there and finally get to play with them versus against them. What do you think your game especially can bring to the team? What's in the the Elle Hartje package that you can contribute to the lineup? Yes, I think that the first thing I would point to is my versatility in various situations. As I mentioned, there's just so much talent in the league, and so you really have to be adaptable and be able to play in whatever situation they need you in. And I think a lot of us are coming from teams or programs where we were the go-to in every situation. And so just learning to fit into whatever role is given of you, I think I'm sort of adaptable in that way. And also there's just a lot of goal-scoring potential with the players in New York. And I love that because based on my playing career and history, I love to dish out the puck and I really see the ice well. So I'm really excited to play with some people who have that scoring touch and are able to finish and see what we can accomplish together. And then also, I think with such strong offensive ability across the six teams, obviously you need great defense to counteract that. And I take the most pride in my defensive game and I think that it's cliche, but the best offense is a great defense and it really kickstarts your offense, and so I think it's important that I really honed in on those skills over the past four years and focused on the D zone and, you know, trying not to play in the D zone if possible. I know you said you watched a few PWHL games last season. What was your overall impression? I think the biggest few differences I noticed are first of all – this is pointed to a lot – but the physicality, and I think that's why the summer is so important for all of us coming into the league to prepare our bodies and get ready for that. And the second difference that I would point to is the depth of talent on all the teams. I think a lot of collegiate teams have that top-end talent, but then once you get further down the roster, there's a bigger discrepancy so you're kind of able to key in on one or two lines, whereas in this league, every shift someone's capable of doing a highlight reel play that's going to end up on SportsCenter. So I think that contributes to such a fast, physical, and exciting pace of play and game, so I'm just excited to get the ball rolling. Do you like the team name and colors? I'm actually wearing one of the sweatshirts they gave us at the draft. I love the teal. I think it's so cute. So I'm excited to explore what I can do for walk-in outfits with the color scheme. And in case people aren't putting two and two together, Elle had the Detroit Lions jacket on at the draft that got so much attention – and you said that was your sister's jacket. It is, yes, so it's going to be a collaborative effort this year for my walk-in outfits. I think it's really fun that we can express ourselves in that way just because obviously in hockey it's very uniform. We're all wearing sort of the same stuff out there on the ice, so this is fun to show that we all have different personalities and different styles and give an insight into who we are as people versus just behind a cage, or behind the glass for the fans. Full interview on the Puck Drop podcast: https://youtu.be/_CYWEEffcbI [https://youtu.be/_CYWEEffcbI]
