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

[sigx15]

Something interesting I noticed. He has 16 goals in 16 games and none are on the PP. Obviously a big part of the U17 game plan is Hagens running the PP on the half wall with the team looking for Eiserman to be the shooter (hence his 9 PP goals), but it still surprised me he hasn't scored on the PP yet. He's thriving potting goals at 5-on-5 which is a huge plus IMO when projecting his long term potential.

I think he'd score more on the PP if he played the other side but you obviously want Eiserman there because he's such a monster shooter. It's always so hard to play the same side of the PP that you shoot on. He doesn't have the opportunity for 1 timers and quick shots the way he would if he was on the right side. Their PP looks a little janky sometimes because of it but I think he handles it well

 

[Oak]

Way too early to talk about the ‘25 draft seriously but Mooney’s ceiling is probably higher than Hagens and Misa. The kid is slick

Hagens yes. Misa, no way.

Big problem with Mooney is that he is 15 and still 5'7" so unless he gets a growth spurt soon idk how far the kid will go. I haven't watched him play since last year, but expecting to be another CC is asking a lot even though he is a top prospect.

 

[Ryan Van Horne]

Hagens yes. Misa, no way.

Big problem with Mooney is that he is 15 and still 5'7" so unless he gets a growth spurt soon idk how far the kid will go. I haven't watched him play since last year, but expecting to be another CC is asking a lot even though he is a top prospect.

Interesting. I don't really have a read on Hagens/Misa vs. Mooney yet, but I prefer Hagens over Misa by quite a bit -- even taking into consideration the one-year age difference.

I didn't see a lot of jam from Misa at the U17 tournament. He was also careless with the puck in his own zone. He coughed up two hairballs that led directly to goals by the opponent.

Not questioning his offensive talent, which is obvious, but he's pretty one-dimensional from what I've seen.

 

[BuiumSaveUs]

I'd compare Mooney to a Jack Hughes.

Great skater, Insane puck skills, one of the best players in transition I have seen at his age, and reads the ice like few players his age.

I don't know who I would compare Hagens to, Jack Eichel but a better skating stride? That's a tough one.

That would be something to behold

 

[Lavar Ball]

 

[LeProspector]

This kid is the next Patrick Kane

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

This kid is the next Patrick Kane

But he plays center and defense.

 

[LeProspector]

But he plays center and defense.

This kid is the next King Clancy

 

[Ryan Van Horne]

But he plays center and defense.

So, he's a better prospect than Kane was at the same age?

 

[Leviathan899]

This kid is going 1st in 2025, no doubt about it. Misa is good but not on the same level as Hagens

 

[Leviathan899]

dont forget too though the NTDP program is a team for the year that plays together all year so their chemistry in tournaments like this are a bit of an advantage...not down playing Hagens or Eiserman at the tournament....just saying the Canadiens teams are thrown together with not much time to gel and the USA team is set so it would be easier to making amazing IQ plays when you know how your teammates move and have set plays that are practiced over and over for the past 2 months.

Yeah that’s fair, the Americans, especially with a strong birth year like the 06’s, always do well against Canada in the u17’s recently. Any year where the Americans have a strong birth year combined with being together day in, day out since September, then Canada splitting its talent between 3 squads and being thrown together 4 days before tournament begins, it’s no surprise this states team carved them up real good. But despite that, Hagens and Eiserman are absolute studs, back to back 1st OA picks for USA hockey in 24/25. Some other real good players on this team too, Hensler will be a high pick in 25 too

 

[Leviathan899]

I could understand the argument if there was a trend of ntdp players not translating to the NHL but that hasn’t happened

It’s definitely cyclical, depending on the birth year. The 02’s were a good year for Canada at this tournament and a weaker one with the Americans, and canadas three teams did well against them, despite the chemistry factor. This 06 American team is gross though. The 04’s and 01’s really Damn good birth years too. I remember seeing all those guys, Hughes, turcotte, Caufield, Zegras, Boldy, york at the one camp prior to the u17 year and you knew that team would be a wagon.

 

[Ryan Van Horne]

This kid is going 1st in 2025, no doubt about it. Misa is good but not on the same level as Hagens

A lot of runway between now and June 2025, but right now, I project Hagens to be the better NHLer, too. Will be fun to watch.

 

[Leviathan899]

There have been no competitions with the best since 2014 and already in 2016 the best Americans were too young to play the World Cup with USA.

Today, what would correspond to an American Olympic squad is very close to Canada. As for the Europeans, if you make a Team Europa, it exceeds Canada with fewer licensees.

Integrating a top 5 draft is more and more complicated for an elite Canadian talent. Last year Wright slipped to 4th, in 2018 if it hadn't been for Arizona's reach on Hayton there wouldn't be any Canadians in the top 5 for the first time in history. It will probably happen in this decade.

You should no longer be surprised to see 2 Americans in the top 5. It has already happened. It will become commonplace and one year, there will be 3. It will inevitably happen. It's over the drafts with top 5 entirely composed of Canadians. It will never happen again.

Canada will always remain an elite nation but it's no longer an isolated country, far above the others. The gaps are closing at all levels and that's fine. It's good for the inclusion and diversity of the league.

Kinda funny saying this though when the top ten this year has more Canadians then any nation, based on consensus rankings, not to mention the top 2 picks being Canadian more than likely lol could even go 1,2,3 if things play out a certain way. But I do get what you’re saying, but it’ll probably never flip and be American dominated like you think. USA hockey is going to grow, but I don’t think there is as much growth coming in the next 10 years compared to what we saw the last 10 years. But yeah, definitely could see some years where the American birth year is high end that 2-3 go top 5. It would happen in 2024 if Hagens wasn’t a late bday. But they’ll go back to back 1st OA in 24/25.

They're different draft years, are they not? Would they come in the same year?

That would be pretty damn sweet.

Eiserman may never touch college at this rate

 

[Leviathan899]

No, I don’t think it makes any sense. Who had the rights of Eichel and Matthews? Should they have joined those teams?

It likely wouldn’t have made a difference either way. Both would have ripped up the chl for a year and then went to the NHL. Didn’t hurt Mcdavid or Tavares to play junior. But each route has its pros and cons. There seems to be some widespread disdain for the CHL on HFboards the last few years and it boggles my mind. You constantly see posts referring to it as a kids league as if these players are all small children with no hockey talent. When some of the NHL’s best talent has come from these leagues. You see it all the time and it’s laughable, not singling you out at all but just giving my 2 cents.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

It likely wouldn’t have made a difference either way. Both would have ripped up the chl for a year and then went to the NHL. Didn’t hurt Mcdavid or Tavares to play junior. But each route has its pros and cons. There seems to be some widespread disdain for the CHL on HFboards the last few years and it boggles my mind. You constantly see posts referring to it as a kids league as if these players are all small children with no hockey talent. When some of the NHL’s best talent has come from these leagues. You see it all the time and it’s laughable, not singling you out at all but just giving my 2 cents.

The CHL is the best junior hockey league. I have nothing against the league, but I think the players should be allowed to play AHL directly after being drafted and should be more willing to play pro in their draft year, which probably isn’t the fault of the CHL. It’s likely an overall mindset that needs to change.

 

[scoutman1]

Yeah that’s fair, the Americans, especially with a strong birth year like the 06’s, always do well against Canada in the u17’s recently. Any year where the Americans have a strong birth year combined with being together day in, day out since September, then Canada splitting its talent between 3 squads and being thrown together 4 days before tournament begins, it’s no surprise this states team carved them up real good. But despite that, Hagens and Eiserman are absolute studs, back to back 1st OA picks for USA hockey in 24/25. Some other real good players on this team too, Hensler will be a high pick in 25 too

oh agreed Hagens and Eiserman are amazing...been following Eiserman since Shattuck...Hagens was great but I never really understood how great he is till he started u17 this year...i agree Hagens at this moment in time is a better prospect than Misa.

 

[Ryan Van Horne]

ICYMI, here is a compilation of James Hagens' highlights from the World Under-17 challenge. Put together by Billy Sullivan.

There have been lots of superlatives about Hagens' skills, but I really like the details in his game. He's pretty good on faceoffs, too, and you can tell he takes them seriously and works on them, which is a key to getting better at them. He switches to a right-handed grip on the draw sometimes, too, which you can see in the game against Sweden in this clip at the 3:38 mark.

 

[JiggsNY]

I wonder how a potential potential 1OA candidate playing in the ECAC his draft year would be viewed. Versus Misa in his third OHL year.

 

[William H Bonney]

I wonder how a potential potential 1OA candidate playing in the ECAC his draft year would be viewed. Versus Misa in his third OHL year.

I don't think it'd matter. By the time his draft rolls around the scouts will have seen him in 2 full NTDP seasons, likely 2 U18s, potentially 2 WJCs, and an NCAA season. The fact that he's a late birthday means scouts will have been able to see him in a more more diverse group of situations than most NCAA Hockey aligned prospects. I think NHL teams would just be happy they get to see a potential 1OA in the NCAA pre-draft rather than worrying if the ECAC is the best option for him.

Even if he's prioritizing Harvard, it's still a long road to accelerate his studies to get into Harvard early.

 

[Bonin21]

If it can't be Minnesota, go to Harvard.

 

[Ryan Van Horne]

If you're going to use hockey to get a college education, Harvard is a great place to go. If you're going to be one and done, I'm not sure it's the best place given the strength of the conference. Not weak, but there are stronger conferences and schools that will provide more of a test. It will be interesting to see what he chooses.

On an unrelated matter, I've noticed his production has dropped off since the world under-17 challenge. He had two goals and two assists in seven games after that before heading over to Switzerland for Four Nations. He played fine there, but since returning from that, he has two assists in four games, which is well below his pace.

Does anyone who has seen any of his games since then have any insight? Is he playing well and just snakebit? I noticed recently that he and Eiserman are no longer playing on a line together.

 

[Wildabeast]

If you're going to use hockey to get a college education, Harvard is a great place to go. If you're going to be one and done, I'm not sure it's the best place given the strength of the conference. Not weak, but there are stronger conferences and schools that will provide more of a test. It will be interesting to see what he chooses.

On an unrelated matter, I've noticed his production has dropped off since the world under-17 challenge. He had two goals and two assists in seven games after that before heading over to Switzerland for Four Nations. He played fine there, but since returning from that, he has two assists in four games, which is well below his pace.

Does anyone who has seen any of his games since then have any insight? Is he playing well and just snakebit? I noticed recently that he and Eiserman are no longer playing on a line together.

He and eiserman have been playing on separate lines recently...

 

[Fyodorov]

 

[Fyodorov]