A young rearguard is heading to the opposite end of the country.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, PWHL San Jose announced that the team has signed defender Hadley Hartmetz to a two-year contract that will run through the 2027-28 season.<\/p>\n
Hartmetz is the sixth signing made by the expansion team in the Bay Area and the first in Phase 3. She joins the team\u2019s initial signings<\/a> made during the second phase of the Expansion Roster Distribution Process, which include Kristin O\u2019Neill<\/a>, Maddi Wheeler<\/a>, Anne Cherkowski, Corinne Schroeder and Rory Guilday.<\/a><\/p>\n The 25-year-old spent the first two seasons with the Boston Fleet, the team that took her in the seventh round, 40th overall, of the 2024 PWHL Draft<\/a>. However, she was left unprotected at the end of Phase 1 of this year\u2019s expansion process, as general manager Danielle Marmer elected to protect<\/a> goaltender Aerin Frankel, as well as defenders Megan Keller and Haley Winn, before re-signing Susanna Tapani <\/a>earlier on Wednesday. <\/p>\n Hartmetz is the second member of the Fleet to have been signed by an expansion team, as Alina Muller signed a three-year contract with Hamilton during Phase 2.<\/a><\/p>\n The Pennsylvania native had a rough start to her rookie season, as a lower-body injury suffered in the 2024 NCAA Women\u2019s Hockey National Championship Game kept the Ohio State Buckeye out of action until March 2025<\/a>. She ended up playing just two games at the end of the 2024-25 campaign. <\/p>\n Hartmetz appeared in all but three regular-season games this past year, registering seven assists. She posted a plus\/minus of +7 while averaging 12:54 of ice time. She didn\u2019t score any points in the Fleet\u2019s four-game series against the Ottawa Charge, which saw the second-seed suffer a small upset.<\/p>\n In 29 regular-season contests in her young pro career, Hartmetz has yet to score a goal. <\/p>\n Prior to joining the PWHL, Hartmetz won two national titles with the Buckeyes.<\/p>\n San Jose can sign two more players during this phase. Phase 3 of the expansion process continues through 3 p.m. ET on June 12.<\/p>\n