NHL, Hartje support Detroit Skating Club to grow girls hockey

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. -- Elle Hartje has never known a life without hockey.

Now the forward from New York Sirens of the Professional Women's Hockey League is trying to make that a reality for girls in her hometown.

"There were a lot of women who came before me that made my career possible, and I really owe them a lot," she said Tuesday during her hockey camp at Detroit Skating Club. "That's why it is so important to me to give back to the community."

DSC planned for 30 campers but ended up with 36 girls in attendance.

"The turnout has just been phenomenal," said Nicolette Franck, one of the founders of the Learn to Play Hockey program at Detroit Skating Club. "We probably had to turn some girls away, because there was so much interest."

The NHL helped support the camp, including scholarships provided through its NHL Unites program.

"The NHL is committed to growing girls hockey across North America," said Rob Wooley, executive director of the NHL Foundation and vice president, legislative affairs. "Through the NHL Unites platform, we're proud to support Elle Hartje's camp and help more girls access experiences like this through need-based scholarships.

"Together with the NHL Foundation's grantmaking and the NHL/NHLPA Industry Growth Fund's investment in grassroots hockey, we're creating more opportunities for girls to play, grow and thrive in our game."

The scholarships added to the attendance, with 10-year-old Kelly Seguin able to visit from Florida. As a fan of the Sirens, she was excited to meet Hartje but has done more than that.

"I think my mom told me about a week ago that I was going to be able to go," she said. "We're making new friends and learning a lot of stuff."

For Hartje, the camp is the next step in a lifelong love affair with hockey.

She was born in Detroit on April 13, 2001, when her father, Tod, was near the end of his pro career, finishing with Toledo of the ECHL in 2002-03.

"With my dad playing professionally, it was kind of natural that he put us in skates right away," she said. "Breathing, walking and skating were basically our first three things."

Hartje played against boys until she was 14, then played for two of the powerhouse programs in Detroit hockey.

"I played for a year with Little Caesars, then two years at Belle Tire," she said. "It's really amazing how girls youth numbers have grown. Now they have the option to grow up playing with girls and develop and get better.

"That really wasn't an option when I was growing up. You had to play against boys if you wanted to progress."

With both parents and her older brother all having attended Harvard University, Elle was expected to follow in their footsteps.

Instead, she ended up going against the grain, to Harvard's biggest rival.

"I kind of felt I should go to Harvard, but my parents knew I loved Yale, and they told me to pick my own course," Hartje said. "I really fell in love with that campus -- it was obvious that's where I wanted to go."

She was expecting her hockey career to end after her time with Yale.

"There were professional leagues -- plural -- but it wasn't a sustainable living," she said. "You had to have other jobs, and that didn't seem like a path I was going to take."

By the time Hartje finished her degree, the PWHL was up and running. She's played two seasons with the Sirens as a defensive forward and two PWHL Takeover games in Detroit. The first, New York's 4-1 victory against the Minnesota Frost at Little Caesars Arena on March 16, 2025, set a new attendance record (14,228) for a professional women's hockey game in the United States.

She's been one of the most visible players on each occasion.

"I remember just being overwhelmed the first time, because we set the U.S. attendance record at that game -- it was really emotional for me to do that here at home," she said. "This year, I got to soak it in a little more, and I just had so much fun."

Because of that, many observers expected Hartje to be one of the faces of the league's expansion team in Detroit. She chose to stay with the Sirens.

"I love New York, and I think we have something special there," she said. "I love being a part of a team and helping to make it successful -- something I really prided myself on at Yale -- and I really want to see that through.

"I would probably love to play in Detroit at some point, but right now I'm excited about getting to play here more than once a season."

She's also happy to be helping girls in her hometown.

"It's so cool they have the PWHL to dream about, instead of knowing in the back of their heads that hockey is going to end prematurely," she said. "Now they can play as long as they want, and we're giving them a chance to look up to some role models."