Thanks for this! caveats that it's summer etc etc etc... my thoughts
- Fits right into the Smith spot on the Leonard/Perreault line, they're gonna rip this year.
- Maybe it's recency bias or maybe it's just the strong impact of Perreault/Leonard but it's pretty easy to directly compare the Smith vs Hagens contribution. Hagens is faster and more explosive than Smith, similarly tenacious on the forecheck, more defensively engaged and responsible, but made more mistakes e.g. on the breakout/NZ transition. A fair few giveaways at his own blue line or at the hashes that will get punished at higher levels. Doing all this before a day of his freshman year, though.
- Willing to mix it up, was definitely a "pest" on his shifts vs SWE.
- Good in the dot, a good sign especially at his size/age.
- Generally quieter game vs FIN even though he scored.
Other sidenotes: Leonard still playing a lot of hero hockey - his year may look a bit like Gauthier last year where he's got the edge on skill/strength/speed and so he just tries to do a lot himself because why not. Bit of a tweener -- maybe he needed a half an extra year in the NCAA but it feels like the full year is maybe too much? ... Perreault always looks dangerous but/and he and Leonard are also due for some bonehead turnovers just because they're playing around out there, but will need to cut that out to make smarter plays at higher levels ... Buium popped esp on the PP, looked v comfortable running point. Hensler didn't pop much in either game for me but he also didn't seem to be matched with the Hagens line very much, so not a lot of footage.
