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

Steve Kournianos

@thedraftanalyst
Hagens with a hell of a primary assist tonight on Perreault's 1-0 breakaway goal against No. 10 Providence.

This guy ranked Ian Mitchell ahead of Cale Makar
Oh, it's you again. You pop out of the toilet every two or three years and bring up this midseason ranking I had from almost eight years ago, knowing full well I was not entirely sold on Makar until the spring and moved him to fourth overall -- which is where he was drafted. I don't know whether it's sad or flattering that you have that little insignificant nugget bookmarked.

Just one point.

You separate the CHL leagues, but keep the NCAA as a single entity. That is a slightly sneaky way to skew the numbers to support your argument.

I personally don't care where players come from, but you should compare the NCAA and the CHL the same way. Either as a single entity, or by separate leagues/conferences.

You may not care, but NHL teams have drafted less CHL prospects per draft since 2017 than at any point in history while taking more NCAA-bound kids than ever before.

It should be implied that it's quality over quantity. The CHL and its 60 teams makes up about 36 or 37 percent of the NHL draft since 2017 while the USHL -- all 16 teams worth -- make up about 18 percent in that same span, yet the top-scoring numbers among players drafted since 2017 are pretty much equal.

But this was an OHL vs NCAA debate anyway. I think the WHL is a superior development league.
 

wickedwitch

Registered User
Mar 21, 2010
1,495
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For Hagens' sake, I don't love the Perreault-Hagens-Leonard line. Obviously, they're going to produce great numbers and Hagens is genuinely making major contributions, but it often feels like Hagens isn't playing his game -- he's trying to fit into Perreault/Leonard's game. I think from just watching his play, he looked better when he wasn't with Perreault and Leonard.

But I also don't think they're going to move Hagens, because he's the only good choice to play with Perreault and Leonard. So hopefully, he'll be able to adapt to that role.
 

Wieters

Registered User
Mar 2, 2024
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For Hagens' sake, I don't love the Perreault-Hagens-Leonard line. Obviously, they're going to produce great numbers and Hagens is genuinely making major contributions, but it often feels like Hagens isn't playing his game -- he's trying to fit into Perreault/Leonard's game. I think from just watching his play, he looked better when he wasn't with Perreault and Leonard.

But I also don't think they're going to move Hagens, because he's the only good choice to play with Perreault and Leonard. So hopefully, he'll be able to adapt to that role.
This is a good point. Hagens will inevitably rack up points on that line, but he is playing third fiddle to Perreault/Leonard, which shouldn't be a surprised given that they are two of the most dominant players in college hockey. I do think it's a testament to Hagens' ability to mesh with his linemates that he has seamlessly taken on that role considering that he would be the centerpiece on pretty much any other line. He certainly is not a selfish player.

It would be nice to see Hagens occasionally reunited with Teddy Stiga on the same line. They were fantastic together on the NTDP and really raised each others' games.
 

MTU34

Registered User
Oct 6, 2020
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For Hagens' sake, I don't love the Perreault-Hagens-Leonard line. Obviously, they're going to produce great numbers and Hagens is genuinely making major contributions, but it often feels like Hagens isn't playing his game -- he's trying to fit into Perreault/Leonard's game. I think from just watching his play, he looked better when he wasn't with Perreault and Leonard.

But I also don't think they're going to move Hagens, because he's the only good choice to play with Perreault and Leonard. So hopefully, he'll be able to adapt to that role.
Without Smith back I think it makes a lot of sense for BC to split Perreault and Leonard 5v5.

Not that I’m a BC fan, but I’d love to see them run Stiga-Hagens-Leonard for a bit. I think that’s a better fit for Hagens and it moves some scoring punch down the lineup. Problem then is finding the right combination for Perreault
 

Castle8130

Registered User
May 9, 2017
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Only 2 kids I can see passing him are Schaefer and Martone if Martone hasn't done that already. Hagens is incredibly skilled and intelligent. The only concern is that he may never develop enough strength to maximize his abilities. I'm talking about shot power and winning battles to get to the center of the ice
 

JotAlan

Registered User
Apr 21, 2020
447
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A lot of people are starting to leave this kid aside, putting Martone first (I prefer Misa).
Don't sleep on James Hagens. 50% in faceoffs with 11 per game, best +- in the country, 1.3ppg with 2.9 shots per game with a rate of 3.4% (I doubt he will finish the year with less than 10%. The goals will start to come and when they do, be careful, your numbers could explode.
 
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Deep Blue Metallic

Bo knows hockey.
Mar 5, 2021
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... The only concern is that he may never develop enough strength to maximize his abilities. I'm talking about shot power and winning battles to get to the center of the ice
We hear this about every undersized center. Finesse counts for those guys, not strength. Shot placement, not power.

Jack Hughes is never going to overpower anyone to get to the slot, but he does so routinely.

(No, I'm not equating Hagens to Hughes.)
 
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Castle8130

Registered User
May 9, 2017
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We hear this about every undersized center. Finesse counts for those guys, not strength. Shot placement, not power.

Jack Hughes is never going to overpower anyone to get to the slot, but he does so routinely.

(No, I'm not equating Hagens to Hughes.)
Well Hughes is a couple inches bigger than Hagens and his skillset is vastly superior to Hagens. There is more of a concern with Hagens being a franchise caliber talent because of that. Strength has limited a lot of players potential in the past and winning the center of the ice can be a significant factor when deciding between top end prospects. Even Jack Hughes hasn't established himself as a true #1 CENTER in the league yet
 

WhiskeyYerTheDevils

yer leadin me astray
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Well Hughes is a couple inches bigger than Hagens and his skillset is vastly superior to Hagens. There is more of a concern with Hagens being a franchise caliber talent because of that. Strength has limited a lot of players potential in the past and winning the center of the ice can be a significant factor when deciding between top end prospects. Even Jack Hughes hasn't established himself as a true #1 CENTER in the league yet
False.
 

Rabid Ranger

2 is better than one
Feb 27, 2002
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Well Hughes is a couple inches bigger than Hagens and his skillset is vastly superior to Hagens. There is more of a concern with Hagens being a franchise caliber talent because of that. Strength has limited a lot of players potential in the past and winning the center of the ice can be a significant factor when deciding between top end prospects. Even Jack Hughes hasn't established himself as a true #1 CENTER in the league yet
Imagine stuffing this many errors in such a short paragraph.
 

scoutman1

Twitter - scoutman33
Feb 19, 2005
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Well Hughes is a couple inches bigger than Hagens and his skillset is vastly superior to Hagens. There is more of a concern with Hagens being a franchise caliber talent because of that. Strength has limited a lot of players potential in the past and winning the center of the ice can be a significant factor when deciding between top end prospects. Even Jack Hughes hasn't established himself as a true #1 CENTER in the league yet
Jack Hughes has not established himself as a true #1 Center...lol...WHAT??

Also just because Hagens is not deek through an entire team and super flash does not mean he is any less of a player like your saying he is....Hagens has the ability to create plays and the vision to execute those plays like not too many players can do; Hagens is very strong on the puck and has explosiveness out there and can find and dart to open ice with ease...Hughes and Hagens play two different games.
 

Pavel Buchnevich

"Pavel Buchnevich The Fake"
Dec 8, 2013
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Jack Hughes refused to measure in at the combine. He was last listed at 5’10.

Hagens going into his draft year is being listed at 5’10.5.

By the most recent measurements we have of them as prospects, Hagens is taller.

How could anyone come to the conclusion that Hughes is a few inches taller?
 
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frontsfan67

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Dec 3, 2022
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Just saw a stat on EP. He has a shooting percentage of 3.4% at Boston college. 2022-23 he had a 27.5% in the NTDP AND 2023-24 it was 18.5% in NTDP.

What’s going on with Hagens?
 
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Brodeur

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
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Just saw a stat on EP. He has a shooting percentage of 3.4% at Boston college. 2022-23 he had a 27.5% in the NTDP AND 2023-24 it was 18.5% in NTDP.

What’s going on with Hagens?

Shooting percentage can fluctuate more than we expect. Matt Boldy was 2% (1 goal on 51 shots) to start his freshman year at BC.

Brady Tkachuk shot 6.1% during his draft year at BU which led a few people to prematurely conclude that he had no finish.
 

Castle8130

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May 9, 2017
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Wasn't Jack Hughes an off and on again winger this past season? I'm pretty sure he has yet to have a full season playing the position CENTER.

Literally first google search "Jack Hughes, a superstar for the NEW JERSEY DEVILs, has played on the wing for most of the 2023-24 season"
 

WhiskeyYerTheDevils

yer leadin me astray
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Wasn't Jack Hughes an off and on again winger this past season? I'm pretty sure he has yet to have a full season playing the position CENTER.

Literally first google search "Jack Hughes, a superstar for the NEW JERSEY DEVILs, has played on the wing for most of the 2023-24 season"
He's a center, watch the games.
 
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