Prospect Info: [2024 - 21st] Michael Hage, Chicago Steel (USHL), Committed to U of Michigan

[KevSkillz4]

I watch Hage and he reminds me of Jordan Kyrou. That's a good comparison aswell?

 

[Guess]

Was this kid a left or right winger with the Steel when he wasn't playing center (if he did play wing). We could use a 2LW so hoping it's that.

 

[River Meadow]

He was a CLEAR cut above the other players at dev camp.

On his assets alone (size, speed/skating, shooting, vision) he is flat out impressive.

Add in his story, his mental resilience in spite of what he's had to go through and how he fought through that, and his passion/desire to play for the Habs and what it means to him and his family...

 

[JeffreyLFC]

He was a CLEAR cut above the other players at dev camp.

On his assets alone (size, speed/skating, shooting, vision) he is flat out impressive.

Add in his story, his mental resilience in spite of what he's had to go through and how he fought through that, and his passion/desire to play for the Habs and what it means to him and his family...

That is exactly why I am mad at some Habs supporters that have questionned the trade up (too much! ) or were dissapointed that Eiserman was not available at our pick. Give a couple years and people will believe it was a pure masterclass move from Hughes/Gorton. You need to aim at pure talent + size + skating and that is Hage bread and butter. He will be a good one.

 

[Zilo44]

That is exactly why I am mad at some Habs supporters that have questionned the trade up (too much! ) or were dissapointed that Eiserman was not available at our pick. Give a couple years and people will believe it was a pure masterclass move from Hughes/Gorton. You need to aim at pure talent + size + skating and that is Hage bread and butter. He will be a good one.

When they traded up, I was hoping for Hage. Then Eiserman fell and I hoped we could land him but with hindsight I think I prefer Hage

 

[KevSkillz4]

When they traded up, I was hoping for Hage. Then Eiserman fell and I hoped we could land him but with hindsight I think I prefer Hage

Even if Eiserman was there at 21, MTL would still pick Michael Hage and that would be a very good decision aswell.

I like the potential of scoring with Eiserman, but I like more the competitiveness of Hage, the IQ, the two-way game, the passing ability. Hage have a huge offensive talent aswell.

This guy will be a very good one, I think we nailed it with him.

If he have the same impact of a Jordan Kyrou, wow, the rebuild will be perfect.

 

[Andrei79]

I thought he was the most skilled player on the ice. His skating is beautiful for his age, very powerful stride and great in all directions. I was impressed by his competitiveness as they tried to intimidate him in the first game only for him to completely dominate the second. Personally, I qualify players as skilled when they convert on their plays and he did. He clearly understands the game as well which is something that was very often lacking with Timmins picks.

 

[Tyson]

I thought he was the most skilled player on the ice. His skating is beautiful for his age, very powerful stride and great in all directions. I was impressed by his competitiveness as they tried to intimidate him in the first game only for him to completely dominate the second. Personally, I qualify players as skilled when they convert on their plays and he did. He clearly understands the game as well which is something that was very often lacking with Timmins picks.

I watched the scrimmage, the kid stood out in every facet. 2 years and he will be ready

 

[Andrei79]

I watched the scrimmage, the kid stood out in every facet. 2 years and he will be ready

This is the exact timeline I had in mind as well. The priority for him will be getting stronger and more powerful as well as developing pro habits. He seems to have a very good head on his shoulders though, so I'm confident he will.

 

[tnq]

When they traded up, I was hoping for Hage. Then Eiserman fell and I hoped we could land him but with hindsight I think I prefer Hage

Eiserman projected to be an unidimension player.

 

[Want My Dach x 77]

I think this kid will turn out to be very very
Drake Batherson esque.

 

[themilosh]

He was a CLEAR cut above the other players at dev camp.

On his assets alone (size, speed/skating, shooting, vision) he is flat out impressive.

Add in his story, his mental resilience in spite of what he's had to go through and how he fought through that, and his passion/desire to play for the Habs and what it means to him and his family...

i think he may have been a top 5 pick had he not dealt with (season ending injury) and freak accident resulting is the passing of his father... Add in that he is a lifelong Habs fan and I think he may indeed be the "steal" of the draft.
Now, I still would have taken Eiserman (and still would have been wrong) at #21 if he fell to us... but Im glad it has worked out the way Hugo intended as they were clearly targeting him.

 

[26Mats]

When they traded up, I was hoping for Hage. Then Eiserman fell and I hoped we could land him but with hindsight I think I prefer Hage

Even if Eiserman was there at 21, MTL would still pick Michael Hage and that would be a very good decision aswell.

I like the potential of scoring with Eiserman, but I like more the competitiveness of Hage, the IQ, the two-way game, the passing ability. Hage have a huge offensive talent aswell.

This guy will be a very good one, I think we nailed it with him.

If he have the same impact of a Jordan Kyrou, wow, the rebuild will be perfect.

Eiserman was there fore the taking if we wanted to pay the price to move up. I'm not saying we should have taken him over Hage, even without considering the cost to move up. But in time it will be interesting to see how Eiserman and Michkov compared to Hage and Reinbacher.

 

[themilosh]

Eiserman was there fore the taking if we wanted to pay the price to move up. I'm not saying we should have taken him over Hage, even without considering the cost to move up. But in time it will be interesting to see how Eiserman and Michkov compared to Hage and Reinbacher.

i think the best chance would have been to move up to #19 (as Connelly could have been taken at #21) for Habs #21 and Prospect (or 2nd 25 etc..).. This is why I believe Hugo WERE targeting Hage and figured, welp if Eiserman falls to us then take him (or trade back a spot again) to select Hage. clearly Hugo would have easily made the move if Esierman was the True target.

remember as well - I think both Michkov and Eiserman will produce more than Reinbacher and Hage, but the real scouting is in the personality (interview) fit; and so far personality is clearly a big value in ranking our picks. still would have been wild if our prospect forwards were currently: Demidov, Michkov, Eiserman - like you have to ask yourself regardless of personality would we be the best scoring team in the league?
Slaf - Suzuki - Demidov
CC - Dach - Michkov
Eiserman - Beck - Newhook

 

[26Mats]

i think the best chance would have been to move up to #19 (as Connelly could have been taken at #21) for Habs #21 and Prospect (or 2nd 25 etc..).. This is why I believe Hugo WERE targeting Hage and figured, welp if Eiserman falls to us then take him (or trade back a spot again) to select Hage. clearly Hugo would have easily made the move if Esierman was the True target.

remember as well - I think both Michkov and Eiserman will produce more than Reinbacher and Hage, but the real scouting is in the personality (interview) fit; and so far personality is clearly a big value in ranking our picks. still would have been wild if our prospect forwards were currently: Demidov, Michkov, Eiserman - like you have to ask yourself regardless of personality would we be the best scoring team in the league?
Slaf - Suzuki - Demidov
CC - Dach - Michkov
Eiserman - Beck - Newhook

Yes I would have liked to have seen that. I also would have liked that future depth chart because the depth softens the blow when certain prospects bust. But HuGo know better than me, so I don't take my interest in seeing that top 9 seriously.

Of course the goal is to win the cup, not have a bunch of individuals score the most points in the regular season.

 

[themilosh]

Yes I would have liked to have seen that. I also would have liked that future depth chart because the depth softens the blow when certain prospects bust. But HuGo know better than me, so I don't take my interest in seeing that top 9 seriously.

Of course the goal is to win the cup, not have a bunch of individuals score the most points in the regular season.

You have to look at like this... when the time comes for a Cup run...... assuming all draftees reach their expected output, "could" the trading value of both Michkov and Eiserman equal/surpass the value through trade equity, as Reinbacher (1st pair RHD) and Hage (call him top 6F)??

Personally, i think Michkov/Eiserman would have been the bigger bang picks, but i have enough faith in Hugo to accept we did the smarter thing for team cohesion/growth/strengthening/bonding.... a SC team must be ready to go to the trenches for their mates, once they accept that, the players become a team of destiny.

I think Hugo are trying to build a "Bergeron" era Bruins: solid tough team, with no particular individual stars, where every player understands that their success(es) are only achieved because of their teammates.. Slaf signing on for 8 yrs (9 more) and a ridiculously team friendly deal only confirms my theory.

 

[NewDef]

Love the kid. Insane skills. He will be better than people think he'll be.

Having said that...one word....3 letters....gym. Bulking up will be the way to go.

4 letter answer... NCAA

2 seasons will do the trick. Look at how Fowler shed body fat. How Strubble bulked up. I like the NCAA route for young players, they have time to work on skills and especially on their body.

 

[tnq]

If Suzuki is our Sakic, Huge will be our Forsberg

 

[ChesterNimitz]

4 letter answer... NCAA

2 seasons will do the trick. Look at how Fowler shed body fat. How Strubble bulked up. I like the NCAA route for young players, they have time to work on skills and especially on their body.

Playing against bigger, stronger and generally older players in the NCAA will only accelerate Hage's development or expose the limitations of his potential.

While Hage looked impressive during the development camp's scrimmage session, any immediate and undue optimism must be temped by the realization that his performance was in a 4 on 4 environment against players who were mostly not bona fide NHL prospects.

The challenges Hage will be facing in the NCAA will provide us with a much clear picture of this young player's true upside.

 

[KevSkillz4]

Great stats right there in his last 10, 15 and 25 games. Wow! Great production. That's a top 10 pick production to me at this rate.

 

[Nicko999]

TBH, I am just as exited about this pick as I am with Demidov.
Guy had an injury that messed up his development last year. This year he came back and played better and better as the year progressed. Tells me there is a lot of untapped potential still.

Could be our #2C in the future (why not #1... one can dream).

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

TBH, I am just as exited about this pick as I am with Demidov.
Guy had an injury that messed up his development last year. This year he came back and played better and better as the year progressed. Tells me there is a lot of untapped potential still.

Could be our #2C in the future (why not #1... one can dream).

Same. when I saw his highlights after the pick was announced I was pretty damn excited. Could care less about a novelty pick of Eiserman after I saw what Hage could do. The skill and compete with the back story is crazy.

Love love the pick.

 

[Skip Bayless]

I'm not gonna lie folks, I like Hage a lot. I hope he pans out as a legit top 6 C for us.

The first one in many decades.

 

[Vachon23]

I think this kid will turn out to be very very
Drake Batherson esque.

I like the Drake Batherson comparaison

 

[tazsub3]

And French média be damned he is a local kid to me and I love that . As he has the passion to succeed for a his late local father !