I don’t get the allure for a player like Hagens of playing CHL.
It’d actually probably be the stupidest thing he could do.
This is all about positioning himself for his draft year now, considering he won’t be at the NTDP that season.
Why would he go somewhere that would take away his chance to play AHL right after being drafted? There’s not a discernible enough difference between playing for London Knights or Chicago Steel to take away that very valuable option.
Because as good as Hagens is, look at Hughes. Hagens is better and likely ends up a little taller, but he’s similarly pretty weak for his size. If he shows up to the NHL at 160 pounds, he might struggle his first season m, and having the AHL option could be helpful.
You could ask Patrick Kane that question and he would probably say the high-profile of playing for a team like London in the CHL helped boost (or at least solidify) his draft stock. He stepped right into the NHL as a 19-year-old and didn't have to worry about that CHL-NHL agreement that keeps players out of the AHL. (Hagens, like Kane is a late birthday, so will be 18 in his draft year, too.)
Hagens will have an extra year to develop before his draft year that Hughes didn't because he was drafted right after his U18 season. Because of this, I think it's better to draw parallels to Kane, than Hughes.
You say there's not a discernible enough difference between Chicago and London for developing players, yet history doesn't support you. While the USHL has really improved its depth of talent lately (and Chicago is a model franchise in that league) I am struggling to find the name of a player who went straight from the USHL to the NHL at 19. There are many players who have gone from the CHL to the NHL at 19 and quite a few who've even done it at the age of 18. (Before anyone jumps all over me, I'm not bashing the USHL. It has a long proven history of developing players who go to college and play in the NHL. There just haven't been many -- or any -- who have gone directly from that league to the NHL. (If anyone knows of such a player, I'm sure someone will let me know and I will appreciate that.)
This is not to say that Hagens could NOT do that, but how can you wonder about the allure of a proven development path and suggest one that few -- if anyone -- have ever taken? I guess if you really think that he'll need that year in the AHL at 19 then it's worth considering, but I would have to say that USHL is a distant fourth in his draft-year options behind European pro, college and CHL.
There are definitely good arguments to be made for NCAA or pro in Europe, but it's not inconceivable or foolish of him to be considering the CHL route.
