Elena Orlando (born June 15, 1992) is an American ice hockey defender, currently playing with the Connecticut Whale of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). A stay-at-home defenceman and one of eight original PHF players still active, she is the 5th longest-tenured player in league history.[1]
| Elena Orlando | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
(1992-06-15) June 15, 1992 (age 30) San Jose, California, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| PHF team Former teams |
Connecticut Whale New York Riveters IF Sundsvall Hockey Quinnipiac Bobcats | ||
| Playing career | 2010–present | ||
Growing up in California, Orlando originally began playing roller hockey until an ice rink was built in her neighborhood, at which point she switched to ice hockey along with her brother.[2]
In high school, she attended Shattuck-Saint Mary's, where she played as both a forward and a defender and won the national championship in 2009. She was invited to the USA Hockey national development camp in 2008 and 2009.
From 2010 to 2014, she attended Quinnipiac University and played with the Quinnipiac Bobcats, scoring 11 points in 85 NCAA Division I games. She scored her first NCAA goal in a 2–1 defeat to the Colgate Raiders on October 30, 2010.[3] At Quinnipiac, she also played for the university's women's rugby programme.
After graduating, she signed with IF Sundsvall Hockey in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (at the time known as Riksserien).[4] She would pick up 2 points in 5 games with Sundsvall, adding another 9 points in 14 relegation playoff games as the club managed to save its top-flight spot.[5]
After the NWHL was founded by Dani Rylan in 2015, she returned to North America to sign with the New York Riveters on a $10,000 contract.[6] She would only play one year for the Riveters, picking up one point in seventeen games, before signing with the Connecticut Whale on a $12,000 contract.[7] She won the NWHL Foundation Award in 2017.
She picked up 3 assists in 24 games in the 2019–20 season, more than doubling her career total, and was named to Team Packer for the 2020 NWHL All-Star Game.[8]
Outside of hockey, Orlando works as a nurse.[9]
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2014–15 | IF Sundsvall Hockey | Riksserien | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2015–16 | New York Riveters | PHF | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2016-17 | Connecticut Whale | PHF | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2017-18 | Connecticut Whale | PHF | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2018-19 | Connecticut Whale | PHF | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2019-20 | Connecticut Whale | PHF | 24 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| PHF totals | 85 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 34 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||||
| Riksserien totals | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | ||||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)