Harvard Hockey's Utility Man

Meet Tod Hartje, Mr. Versatility.

Need a fourth-line center? Or a first-line wing? A penalty-killer? An assist man? A goal-scorer?

Give Hartje a call.

"Tod is a very versatile player," Harvard Coach Bill Cleary says. "He kills penalties, has played on the power play, takes the regular shift. Tod always puts in a solid performance."

The junior center has skated on all four lines this season--if any Crimson forward gets an injury, expect Hartje to be shifted around.

Mike Vukonich has mono? Hartje will do his job. Lane MacDonald can't play at RPI? Don't worry, Hartje will switch to wing. He adapts to any situation.

Shorts falling off in the middle of the shift? Hartje will adjust--just give him a few minutes to pull them up between plays.

"I almost lost my breezers one game," Hartje says. "I had to keep pulling on them out on the ice."

What, Coach? Hartje needs to skate two lines while Allen Bourbeau's out with an injury? No problem.

"In the Garden I double-shifted [Hartje], playing him with Lane and C.J. [Young] When Allen was out," Cleary says. "He's a big strong player whom we can count on to do those things."

And, like the days when he tagged along behind his big brothers to the local rink in Anoka, Minn., Hartje was just thrilled to get play with the "big guys."

"It was great getting to be out there with Lane and C.J.," Hartje says. "It's unbelievable when you think about playing with guys with that kind of talent."

Playing with a former Olympian (MacDonald) and the Crimson's top goal-scorer (Young) may be a thrill for Hartje, but living with them--the three are Kirkland House roommates--has a drawback or two.

Meet Tod Hartje, telephone operator.

If things don't work out with the Winnipeg Jets--who hold Hartje's rights--he can always get a job as MacDonald's personal secretary after graduation.

Hello? The Boston Globe? Just a minute, I'll get Lane. Sports Illustrated? Hold on, he'll be right with you. The general manager of the Hartford Whalers? Sorry, he's not in right now. May I take a message?

"It's true those guys are getting all the publicity and all the attention," Hartje says. "And it's me answering the phone calls from all those newspapers and saying 'Here, C.J., here Lane.'"

"But they don't act like they're better players than you are," he continues. "They make it really easy for the rest of us not to feel inferior."

If anyone has had to deal with being pushed out of the spotlight, it's been Hartje. The first-line center between Steve Armstrong '88 and Andy Janfaza '88 last year, Hartje expected things to change with the return of MacDonald and Bourbeau.

He expected to get moved around--maybe to the second line, or even back to the third line, where he skated freshman year.

Meet Tod Hartje, fourth-line center.

"If you had told me three years ago that I would go from three to one to four, I would have said `God, I'd be miserable that year. I'd hate hockey.'"

But, as usual, Hartje adapted to the change.

"Tod handled it very well," MacDonald said. "He didn't let it affect his game or affect the rest of the team."

"I'd be lying if I didn't say it was tough at first," Hartje admits. "I had to let it sink in, what was going to happen. What really helps is that Duke [linemate Paul Howley] and Eddie [Presz] are both so easy to play with. They have great attitudes; they love hockey. They're both just happy to be there."

The year has been far from miserable. Harvard is the NCAA playoffs for the fifth consecutive season, battling Lake Superior State at Bright Center tonight for a ticket to the semis in St. Paul. And Hartje, just two wins away from a Final Four appearance in his home state, is playing the strongest hockey of his career.

"This is probably [Hartje's] best year with us," Cleary said. "His skating is strong, his puck control is good and he's made some big plays. Tod really adds some offensive punch to [the green line]."

Meet Tod Hartje, Santa Claus.

In Harvard's 5-1 triumph at St. Lawrence in January, Hartje delivered a pair of perfect passes to Presz, who sparked the Crimson with two goals.

"Eddie Presz always calls [Hartje] Santa Claus because he comes up with these passes out of nowhere that are incredible," Howley says. "Sometimes it's like he has eyes in the back of his head."

Howley credits Hartje's gift-giving with the drastic improvement in both his and Presz's point production this season. Hartje's 20 points are pretty lopsided--16 assists and only four goals.

"Last year we were like goons," Howley says. "We had about two goals and 30 penalty minutes. Eddie and I posted the same stats as [former Bruin and current L.A. Kings left wing] Jay Miller."

With help from Hartje, the fourth line has become the "money line"--paying off dividends and pleasing the crowd.

"A lot of people like to watch that line," Cleary says. "They work hard, bounce a few people around and they get some big goals."

Meet Tod Hartje, native Minnesotan. He's thinking of heading back home real soon.