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

[William H Bonney]

Three of the elite prospects in the next wave for the 2024/2025 drafts played each other this weekend with the NTDP U17 vs Chicago Steel having a weekend series. In the 2 games:

1. James Hagens: 7 points (1g, 6a)
2. Macklin Celebrini: 6 points (5g, 1a)
3. Cole Eiserman: 5 points (5g)

Of course, other top players already are or will be in play, and there's a long way to go, but those drafts look exciting with guys like this leading the way.

 

[Ryan Van Horne]

Hagens shows he can snipe, too, on a feed from Eiserman.

 

[JLFGoNicsGo11]

From what I’ve seen just so far from the u17 domination the good year this year in the games they had in the USHL and their first showing in today’s u18 game vs Latvia it’s Eiserman and Hagens over Celebrini and Misa for me at this point Those twos vision and creativity with each other is unreal ! So exciting and entertaining to watch ! I will say maybe I am biased a little being American lol

 

[Oak]

Hagens shows he can snipe, too, on a feed from Eiserman.

Nice shot but I mean how bad is the D on some of the teams these kids play?

 

[Bonin21]

That D man is 20 and committed to the national champions, so he's probably at least serviceable.

 

[JiggsNY]

 

[JLFGoNicsGo11]

Most dominant US U18 team I’ve ever seen

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I was disappointed with how his WJC18 went. He was getting a lot of good chances, but couldn’t convert anything. Given the level of prospect he is, more should be expected of him, but I still believe in the player. Thought he got a little unlucky more than anything.

He had a great overall season. Flat out dominant most of the time. Did well overall with the adjustment to the U18’s throughout, but also showed some room for improvement.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he threatened that single-season NTDP points record next year, and he’ll have a chance to make the USA WJC team, although it may be a year too early. We’ll see. If he remains on track for 1OA in 2025 or to be that caliber of player, you’d like to think those two things are reachable for him next season.

 

[Nabrules]

I was disappointed with how his WJC18 went. He was getting a lot of good chances, but couldn’t convert anything. Given the level of prospect he is, more should be expected of him, but I still believe in the player. Thought he got a little unlucky more than anything.

He had a great overall season. Flat out dominant most of the time. Did well overall with the adjustment to the U18’s throughout, but also showed some room for improvement.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he threatened that single-season NTDP points record next year, and he’ll have a chance to make the USA WJC team, although it may be a year too early. We’ll see. If he remains on track for 1OA in 2025 or to be that caliber of player, you’d like to think those two things are reachable for him next season.

Agreed! This guy oozes so much potential.

 

[S E P H]

How special is he? Is he Matthews level good or are we expecting somebody better?

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

How special is he? Is he Matthews level good or are we expecting somebody better?

I think it's unlikely to expect much better than Matthews. A slight amount better would probably be the absolute limit, and it might be unreasonable to expect him to reach the level of Matthews. Will depend how his next few seasons go.

It's a lazy comparison to make, but he has a bunch of similarities to Hughes as a player, but there's reason to think he could be a little better. He's a better defensive player at the same age, and there's an expectation he could still be growing physically, as his 18 year old brother is 6'0 (and he's listed at 5'10). We'll see how tall he is once he's drafted.

If he doesn't really grow, he'll most likely just be a slightly better version of Hughes (defense being the main difference), but sure, it's possible he's like a cross of Hughes, a left-handed Point, with maybe the physical components of a slightly taller and similar style player like Zegras. Those are probably the easiest players to compare him to. If you want a slightly convoluted comparison to a non-center, think of Marner as a left-handed center with slightly better shooting/skating. The playmaking, stick-skills vision, offensive and defensive sense are similar there to Marner.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

How special is he? Is he Matthews level good or are we expecting somebody better?

Hagens is a #1 overall caliber prospect and will be in that discussion in his draft year but he's just not in the same league size/strength wise with Matthews which is the main difference between the two. Great player with great skills though and seems to take his craft seriously.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Hagens is a #1 overall caliber prospect and will be in that discussion in his draft year but he's just not in the same league size/strength wise with Matthews which is the main difference between the two. Great player with great skills though and seems to take his craft seriously.

Neither is Bedard, and most consider him to at least be in the same discussion as Matthews.

Hagens will probably never be as big and strong as Matthews, but I don't see it as unreasonable that he plays at like 6'0 190 or something like that eventually, and he already has pretty good defensive habits for his age. So I wouldn't completely assume he'll just be a one-way player that struggles in physical components of the game. It's possible, but he could be a complete center with no evident weaknesses, if everything goes right. It's really too early to know what will happen. He's only 16, and his next few years will give us a better idea.

 

[93LEAFS]

Hagens is a #1 overall caliber prospect and will be in that discussion in his draft year but he's just not in the same league size/strength wise with Matthews which is the main difference between the two. Great player with great skills though and seems to take his craft seriously.

I think Matthews is probably the biggest forward prospect to go 1OA since Ovechkin. His combo of skill/size is insanely rare. Matthews wasn't just on the taller side at his draft date but was filled out. It's pretty rare to see 6'2+, 210+ prospects at their draft date.

 

[S E P H]

Hagens is a #1 overall caliber prospect and will be in that discussion in his draft year but he's just not in the same league size/strength wise with Matthews which is the main difference between the two. Great player with great skills though and seems to take his craft seriously.

Talking more about talent than frame or comparison style.

 

[mphmiles]

Talking more about talent than frame or comparison style.

I think he means that Matthews' size/frame combined with the the skill level he possessed made him a pretty unique level of prospect behind only guys like McDavid and Bedard in recent years.

 

[Ryan Van Horne]

I think it's unlikely to expect much better than Matthews. A slight amount better would probably be the absolute limit, and it might be unreasonable to expect him to reach the level of Matthews. Will depend how his next few seasons go.

It's a lazy comparison to make, but he has a bunch of similarities to Hughes as a player, but there's reason to think he could be a little better. He's a better defensive player at the same age, and there's an expectation he could still be growing physically, as his 18 year old brother is 6'0 (and he's listed at 5'10). We'll see how tall he is once he's drafted.

If he doesn't really grow, he'll most likely just be a slightly better version of Hughes (defense being the main difference), but sure, it's possible he's like a cross of Hughes, a left-handed Point, with maybe the physical components of a slightly taller and similar style player like Zegras. Those are probably the easiest players to compare him to. If you want a slightly convoluted comparison to a non-center, think of Marner as a left-handed center with slightly better shooting/skating. The playmaking, stick-skills vision, offensive and defensive sense are similar there to Marner.

And throw in a dash of Patrick Kane, too, who was his idol growing up, but is of course a defensively responsible centre rather than a one-dimensional right winger.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Talking more about talent than frame or comparison style.

Talent-wise he is in the same tier. He can do it all offensively.

 

[Postulates]

how would yall categorize his skating im leaning towards great but not quite elite

 

[sigx15]

how would yall categorize his skating im leaning towards great but not quite elite

I think his edgework is elite, speed isn't elite yet, still has a little room for improvement in his stride. He's grown a ton in the past 2 years so I don't see his skating as a finished product yet. He has everything there to be an elite skater, just more of a matter of putting it together for me

 

[Mathieukferland]

How special is he? Is he Matthews level good or are we expecting somebody better?

It’s a bit hard to get a read on the late NTDP guys, cause it’s hard not to view them in step with their birth year (in this case 2006) rather than their draft year. That being said, I think he has the highest ceiling of any USA 2006 (including his linemate eiserman) due to his skating.

Perhaps defer to the other guys who watch the USHL more but in my u18 viewings I think he can be a high-pace offensive buzzsaw that could be a point a game player in the NHL. Stylistic comparison would be Barzal/Cooley.

 

[S E P H]

I think he means that Matthews' size/frame combined with the the skill level he possessed made him a pretty unique level of prospect behind only guys like McDavid and Bedard in recent years.

I got a weird assessment of American prospects, like I would draft Eichel over Matthews and draft Jack Hughes over both of them. I know that might not be super correct in terms of evaluation of them, but that is my personal preference (big fan of IQ and Jack is simply superior in that category). If what @Pavel Buchnevich says is true that he might be in Hughes territory, then he's gotta be far and away the best chance of 1st overall at this point in time.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

His skating isn’t like McDavid pure speed and he’s not necessarily the biggest player, but he’s so light on his skates. He’s like a figure skater with twists, turns, spins, and how effortless he changes directions with no wasted movement.

I would say it’s a negligible amount worse than Hughes for skating. Hughes has maybe a little more pure speed, not a ton. But the edges are pretty similar, and he has far from bad speed. Definitely wouldn’t call his skating a weakness. Is it top 5 in the NHL caliber? No, but it doesn’t detract from his game and is actually pretty good. His skating is probably most similar in recent years at the NTDP to someone like Cooley.

 

[Postulates]

It’s a bit hard to get a read on the late NTDP guys, cause it’s hard not to view them in step with their birth year (in this case 2006) rather than their draft year. That being said, I think he has the highest ceiling of any USA 2006 (including his linemate eiserman) due to his skating.

Perhaps defer to the other guys who watch the USHL more but in my u18 viewings I think he can be a high-pace offensive buzzsaw that could be a point a game player in the NHL. Stylistic comparison would be Barzal/Cooley.

it really is hard to not view him with Eiserman especially because of Eiserman's August birthday

 

[DatDude44]

Kids sick, reminds me of Cooley