F James Hagens - Boston College, NCAA (2025 Draft)

[CheckingLineCenter]

Harvard also tends to recruit a lot of future classes heavily early on (who wouldn’t want to, in theory, say you are going to Harvard) but they also tend to bleed recruits, especially top recruits, the closer you get to actually being able to announce classes.

Don’t get me wrong, they still produce a lot of talent but they will lose a chunk of the guys who are committed 2, 3 and 4 years out.

Correct. Technically you can only commit to the admissions process at an Ivy League school and a lot of guys don’t get in.

Obviously in a sport like hockey with a professional league (vs lacrosse, soccer etc) some of that bleeding is simply talented players going to BU, Michigan, etc.

 

[Lavar Ball]

Buddy I'm just providing the sources. You can believe what you want to in your own little world GrizzGreen. In reality the difference in most of the Ivy League schools is razor thin anyways.

I'm not agreeing with GrizzGreen but lets not act like there is one universal and accurate list of the best Universities in NA/USA. I could post three other sources with a different order right now

 

[MTU34]

Harvard also tends to recruit a lot of future classes heavily early on (who wouldn’t want to, in theory, say you are going to Harvard) but they also tend to bleed recruits, especially top recruits, the closer you get to actually being able to announce classes.

Don’t get me wrong, they still produce a lot of talent but they will lose a chunk of the guys who are committed 2, 3 and 4 years out.

Hagens will be an interesting case if he does commit to Harvard. He will clearly be ready to play collegiate hockey by the fall of 2024 but he’s such a late birthday that he’d have to accelerate and arrive on campus at age 17. Which is not unheard of at BC or Michigan but I’m not sure that’s been done at Harvard before? There’s a good chance his older brother will be 19 or 20 before stepping foot on campus.

Beniers is a late birthday who accelerated and was committed to Harvard up until the Ivy League cancelled sports because of covid so theoretically it’s possible for someone to accelerate and head to harvard early

 

[WarriorofTime]

Ivy League schools are still substantially easier for Jocks to get into than regular students, but yeah you still gotta be a good student and prepared to be treated like a regular student in an academic sense. It's not like say Michigan, which is a great school in its own right, that'll take any dumb lug that plays a sport well and puts them on the "athlete track" if they want it. So the academics are definitely more of a hurdle for a player that wants to commit to an Ivy.

 

[bigdog16]

I'm not agreeing with GrizzGreen but lets not act like there is one universal and accurate list of the best Universities in NA/USA. I could post three other sources with a different order right now

Oh I 110% agree. My point, and the general consensus you will find from most the lists, is that all the Ivies, UM, and others will be ranked higher than any Canadian University. Which was all I was trying to prove. It was in response to a poster saying a degree from UM isn't any more useful than one from Toronto.

 

[BKarchitect]

Beniers is a late birthday who accelerated and was committed to Harvard up until the Ivy League cancelled sports because of covid so theoretically it’s possible for someone to accelerate and head to harvard early

Cool, I didn’t realize Beniers was a Harvard commit at one point.

 

[Mathieukferland]

Are we seriously getting into a "my country's universities are better than yours" dick-measuring contest?

You must be new to HF

 

[Corso]

Oh I 110% agree. My point, and the general consensus you will find from most the lists, is that all the Ivies, UM, and others will be ranked higher than any Canadian University. Which was all I was trying to prove. It was in response to a poster saying a degree from UM isn't any more useful than one from Toronto.

I really hate to wade in here but rankings are for the most part based on post graduate research and there are many different types of rankings and ranking services.

For example QS world rankings has both Toronto and McGill over the University of Michigan

QS World University Rankings 2024

Explore QS World University Rankings® 2024 of 1400 institutions based on 8 key ranking indicators- academics, faculty/student ratio, international student & more.

www.topuniversities.com

Where The Times Higher Education has only Toronto over the University of Michigan

World University Rankings

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023 include 1,799 universities across 104 countries and regions, making them the largest and most diverse university rankings to date.

www.timeshighereducation.com

But and a BIG BUT HERE, what a ridiculous way to look at a university. There are so so so many more factors that come into play when picking a college (major, geographic area, cultural fit ect ect) than some rankings based mainly on the strength of doctoral programs. Let's be honest here, strength of academics is almost an after thought for the high end NHL bound athletes. Hagens will not pick Harvard of Yale or the UofM or the London Knights because of educational opportunities. He will decide on the strength of the hockey program and it's development model first and foremost! Academics, if even thought of, will be at the bottom of the list.

So yeah, piss off on the whole educational aspect because I've been around long enough and have been an intense follower of college athletics to know that the NCAA is a massively corrupt body and an education for a "student athlete" is far different than an education for a regular student and very very very few high end athletes choose a school because of it's world academic rankings.

 

[William H Bonney]

No one gives a f*** about college rankings.

 

[sigx15]

I’m a big BC fan and hope he ends up there but on the other hand, just seeing what a shitshow this thread has devolved into, apart of me hopes he goes to Europe for his gap year like Matthews just to break people’s brains

 

[JotAlan]

I’m a big BC fan and hope he ends up there but on the other hand, just seeing what a shitshow this thread has devolved into, apart of me hopes he goes to Europe for his gap year like Matthews just to break people’s brains

I think he's more likely to go to ohl than europe, because in europe he will miss almost half of the season because he has a november birthday.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I think he's more likely to go to ohl than europe, because in europe he will miss almost half of the season because he has a november birthday.

Is this true? I've seen it stated before, but what is the exact reason why he couldn't play?

 

[sigx15]

Is this true? I've seen it stated before, but what is the exact reason why he couldn't play?

Ya I have no idea where this is coming from. Plenty of players have played professionally in Europe before their 18th birthday. It happens in Sweden and Finland all the time. Is there some rule I don't know about where US or Canadian players aren't allowed to do it in Sweden or Finland like Europeans are?

 

[Postulates]

Ya I have no idea where this is coming from. Plenty of players have played professionally in Europe before their 18th birthday. It happens in Sweden and Finland all the time. Is there some rule I don't know about where US or Canadian players aren't allowed to do it in Sweden or Finland like Europeans are?

It would be work visa related i believe

Swedish and Finnish players can play at their age because they're citizens iirc

https://thehockeynews.com/news/report-visa-issue-may-prevent-top-prospect-auston-matthews-from-playing-in-switzerland

 

[sigx15]

It would be work visa related i believe

Swedish and Finnish players can play at their age because they're citizens iirc

https://thehockeynews.com/news/report-visa-issue-may-prevent-top-prospect-auston-matthews-from-playing-in-switzerland

How did Pastrnak play in Sweden when he was 17 then?

 

[Postulates]

How did Pastrnak play in Sweden when he was 17 then?

czechia is in the European union

 

[mphmiles]

Same issue as is really common in young soccer prospects I assume.

American/Canadian kids can't join European soccer academies/teams until they turn 18, unless they have a European passport. The workaround for a guy like Pulisic who went to Germany at 15 is his grandparents were from Croatia, and thus he was eligible for a Croatian passport.

Matthews missed the first 4 games of the season and then made his debut in the Swiss League on September 18th 2015- one day after his 18th birthday.

 

[JotAlan]

Is this true? I've seen it stated before, but what is the exact reason why he couldn't play?

I believe that because of the work visa as mentioned below. If it really is like that he will miss half of the season and that would be terrible for his development.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

You must be new to HF

Nope, been here on and off for almost 20 years, I was speaking rhetorically about how pathetic that is.

But you have a point, I should know what I'm dealing with by now lol

 

[bigdog16]

I believe that because of the work visa as mentioned below. If it really is like that he will miss half of the season and that would be terrible for his development.

He would play in the same amount of games whether he went to Switzerland or NCAA. Just looking at NLA schedule last year he would have played in 30+ games. NCAA teams play anywhere from 30-36. I don’t see why Europe wouldn’t be an option at this point.

 

[WarriorofTime]

He would play in the same amount of games whether he went to Switzerland or NCAA. Just looking at NLA schedule last year he would have played in 30+ games. NCAA teams play anywhere from 30-36. I don’t see why Europe wouldn’t be an option at this point.

A team would have to be willing to take him on for missing a bunch of games and knowing he was going to jump to the NHL. These teams can limited number of spots for non-domestic players. Hagens would have to be content missing a lot of time and being behind the curve when he joins a team that has already been up and running and may struggle to get up to speed and get the 1st line/Powerplay time he would want.

It's "possible" but it's probably just not particularly worth it for either side.

 

[bigdog16]

A team would have to be willing to take him on for missing a bunch of games and knowing he was going to jump to the NHL. These teams can limited number of spots for non-domestic players. Hagens would have to be content missing a lot of time and being behind the curve when he joins a team that has already been up and running and may struggle to get up to speed and get the 1st line/Powerplay time he would want.

It's "possible" but it's probably just not particularly worth it for either side.

He is still able to skate, practice, train with the team. Just can’t play any games until he is 18.

I get it from the European team’s point of view its a risk taking a kid like that in. But he is likely going to be one of the top imports in the league.

Its definitely worth it for Hagens, a way better level of play and same amount of games as NCAA, all while getting accustomed to the pro lifestyle. But i could see how a European team might be weary.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

How did Bedard play in Sweden without a work visa?

 

[bigdog16]

How did Bedard play in Sweden without a work visa?

Wasnt playing pro

 

[WarriorofTime]

How did Bedard play in Sweden without a work visa?

I think he only played in Swedish juniors.