When James Hagens attended Bruins’ development camp earlier this month, the Boston College centerman who was drafted No. 7 overall by the B’s had said several times that he wanted to be a Bruin as soon as possible.
But while there has been no official announcement, Hagens sure made it sound like he’s headed back to Chestnut Hill for another season in a story published Wednesday.
Speaking to NHL.com’s Mike Morreale at the World Junior Summer Showcase in Minneapolis, the 18-year-old Hagens outlined his goals for the upcoming season at the Heights.
“I want to be able to win a Beanpot, be able to win a national championship,” he said. “Everyone has their roles, but our team goal is winning. That’s what we want to do. We fell short last year, but it’s hopefully going to happen this year.”
Hagens returning to BC would be no surprise. It is understandable that Hagens gushed about wanting to be Bruin as quickly as possible in the whirlwind days just after being drafted. Most high draft picks exude the same kind of enthusiasm in those immediate heady days.
But GM Don Sweeney had intimated from the outset that the club’s preferred route for Hagens, who immediately shot to the top of the B’s prospect lists, was to return to BC in 2025-26, where he can continue to hone his abundant skill and take a greater leadership role with the Eagles.
“He’ll probably look to generate a bit more, look to have a shoot-first mentality at times,” said Sweeney at the time of the draft. “He had a chance to play with (current Washington Capital) Ryan Leonard, who can really fire the puck. Chances are, especially as a young player, you look to make sure he has the puck in his hands plenty of times. He did a really good job of that and distributing. But they have lost a lot of players. It will be a good opportunity for several of our guys who are at that university to take that step. He’ll be right at the front of that line. He’ll have the hard matchups against the other top lines in college hockey. It will be a good test for him.”
Hagens entered his freshman season at BC as the projected No. 1 pick but his stock dropped a bit when he didn’t have an explosive season, just a very good one. He centered the first line with Leonard and Gabe Perrault (another first round pick now with the Rangers) and was a point-a-game player with 11-26-37 totals in 37 games.
BC coach Greg Brown is looking forward to seeing continued growth from Hagens in his sophomore season.
“The things he does well, he’ll be able to carry and translate for BC but also right into the NHL,” Brown told Morreale. “Like any young player going to the NHL, you have to bring your floor up, and that means getting bigger, stronger and faster. But then it’s about the details you need to play with to be successful, and again, that just takes time. He has a great hockey brain. He reads things quickly and clearly, so I think just the evolution of his game will be more of that this year.
“He’ll make decisions that are either going to be good or they’re going to be neutral. They’re not going to be negative.”
The Eagles will be like another Bruins’ farm club in 2025-26. Along with Hagens, 2025 second round pick Will Moore, 2024 first round pick Dean Letourneau, 2023 second rounder Kristian Kostadinski, 2021 fifth rounder Oskar Jellvik and 2021 seventh rounder Andre Gasseau will be Greg Brown’s lineup.
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