Charlotte Sonntag on Family, Finding Home at Holy Cross, and Carving Her Path To The Pros
As Holy Cross forward Charlotte Sonntag prepares for the upcoming 2026 PWHL Draft and life in the pros, she reflects on a journey of success on the ice, and growth away from the rink.
When Charlotte Sonntag was young, she spent a lot of time moving between different ski towns, starting in Vail, Colorado, and including Lake Tahoe, California, and Whistler, British Columbia. Still, through it all, hockey remained her deep passion. That passion for hockey started, as it does for many, thanks to her older siblings, who also played.
“As a kid, I just wanted to do everything they wanted to do,” Charlotte said. “We started playing, and I absolutely loved the sport.”
Our full conversation is available now on YouTube.
The relationship Charlotte has with her siblings, particularly with her older sister Katie, who she names as her biggest role model, will become a throughline in her journey. Katie played collegiate hockey at Union and Stonehill, as well as overseas in Switzerland. That experience Katie gained from each step of her career helped provide clarity for Charlotte and gave her the confidence to navigate many unknowns.
Growing up inspired by her siblings and the greats like Hilary Knight, Charlotte recalls a particular championship moment in her youth that marked the launch point for her in the sport.
“My team won the state championship, and we’re a super small boys’ team from Lake Tahoe,” she said. “I think I was 12 at the time, and we were huge underdogs, and no one thought we were going to win. I think that feeling made me realize that this is what I want to do and is why I love the game, and I want to do this for as long as I possibly can.”
Charlotte’s formative years in junior hockey were spent at Shattuck St. Mary’s, a strong program that helped lay the foundation for skills and growth both on and off the ice. Being a part of that program wasn’t easy at first and didn’t come without its challenges, but, as they always have in Charlotte’s journey, they became mere bumps along the way.
“You get to Shattuck, and it’s like everyone there just eats, sleeps and breathes hockey,” she said. “I remember my freshman year, I was so intimidated. You go, and you watch that team play, and you’re like ‘Wow, these players are incredible, and that’s who I want to be, and that’s who I want to grow and develop to be.”
The feeling of intimidation didn’t go away easily for Charlotte, but as she continued to grow and develop within the program, so too did her perspective and understanding of why the coaches wanted her to join. That mindset shift helped her to realize that, “Maybe I’m not the top goal scorer, but just try and really be good at what I’m good at, knowing that’s absolutely worth something.”
When it came time to consider where to continue her hockey career, the world was in lockdown, making travel to different campuses a nonstarter. But, as Charlotte has already demonstrated in her journey to this point, that challenge was just another bump in the road.
“It was pretty tough because it was during COVID, and we weren’t really able to visit schools,” Charlotte said. “I really think the communication with the coaches and just kind of finding a school that felt like home was super important to me.” And finding that home, much like she did during her time at Shattuck St. Mary’s, played an important role in helping Charlotte develop
into the player she was when she finished her collegiate career.
Charlotte ended up playing four years and 135 games at College of the Holy Cross, where she double-majored in Chemistry and Economics, scoring 21 goals and 39 points, and finished top-10 in many of the program’s records, including becoming the first hat trick in Crusader Hockey East Era history. She’s also a three-time Hockey East All-Academic Team, and finished with more than 500 faceoff wins and more than 60 career blocked shots. Charlotte’s ability to be an effective centre, to be strong defensively, and to score goals in big moments should have her on the radar of PWHL management teams.
“Honestly, it hasn’t quite hit me yet,” Charlotte said of the opportunity to play in the PWHL. “I mean, you look on social media, and you see all these posts of them selling out stadiums and the impact that they’ve made on the hockey world and the growth that they’ve had. Even just having that opportunity to potentially be a part of that is beyond incredible to me.”
That growth of the league, first with last offseason’s addition of two teams, followed this year by four more, has created even more opportunities for players like Charlotte to live out that dream. And knowing that this could be the next step in her career has only added fuel to her fire.
“That’s the dream to play at sold-out stadiums like that,” said Charlotte. “I think that’s what almost any hockey player wants to do, so it absolutely has added fuel to the fire just to even think about that opportunity.”
From a childhood inspired by the greats to growing up alongside her role model, Charlotte Sonntag has built a career defined by more than just the goals and points she’s put up on the scoreboard. It’s been a journey of growth, maturation, and finding home at each step along the way. And as the 2026 PWHL Draft peaks over the horizon ahead, Charlotte has never lost sight of why she loves the game and what inspires her every day she takes to the ice.
Our full conversation is available now on YouTube.