F Michael Hage - Chicago Steel, USHL (2024, 21st, MTL)

[LiveLongandProspal]

Will he be there at 30 for New York? I haven't delved into the prospects that much, but from my limited viewing, he looks extremely appealing.

 

[Sarava]

Will he be there at 30 for New York? I haven't delved into the prospects that much, but from my limited viewing, he looks extremely appealing.

Probably not. Seems like he's in the 15-20 range in many mocks.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Will he be there at 30 for New York? I haven't delved into the prospects that much, but from my limited viewing, he looks extremely appealing.

Not a chance.

 

[Hollel]

Reading the prospect section of this site, one would think that centers are unicorns, yet there are over 100 players in the NHL playing center

I would be curious for you to do this exercise with the amount of Wingers and Defenseman there are in the league, and then tell me how many C's are also playing out of necessity.

And I should mention this is a rhetorical exercise and yes legit top 6 C's are unicorns in the NHL lol

 

[DougBodger]

Is he at Michigan this fall?

I think someone in the top 12 jumps on this guy.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Is he at Michigan this fall?

Yes

 

[Byron Bitz]

Anyone know what team he grew up cheering for?

 

[blueberry]

Anyone know what team he grew up cheering for?

What's his favorite colour?

 

[AMScouting]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806056582167527515

 

[UpsideHockey]

Love this dude's Upside - here's our direct link to his profile:

Michael Hage - UPSIDE Hockey- 2024 NHL Draft Prospect Profile​

bit.ly/Michael_Hage

 

[MMC]

Welcome to Montreal

 

[Bubbles]

Great story. Both parents are from Montreal, and he grew up a Habs fan.

Also, Hughes confirmed they moved up specifically for him.

 

[Breakers]

That Chicago steele - Wolverine pipeline is crazy strong.

 

[danisonfire]

Great story. Both parents are from Montreal, and he grew up a Habs fan.

Also, Hughes confirmed they moved up specifically for him.

It makes sense. He would have probably been gone by our original pick at 26.

Ranked #20 by CONSOLIDATED RANKING
Ranked #24 by ELITEPROSPECTS.COM
Ranked #24 by TSN/BOB McKENZIE
Ranked #21 by TSN/CRAIG BUTTON
Ranked #29 by THN/FERRARI
Ranked #17 by THN/KENNEDY
Ranked #12 by MCKEEN'S HOCKEY
Ranked #17 by FLOHOCKEY/CHRIS PETERS
Ranked #29 by FCHOCKEY
Ranked #20 by DAILY FACEOFF
Ranked #10 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (NA Skaters)
Ranked #43 by HPR/MALLOY
Ranked #23 by DRAFT PROSPECTS HOCKEY
Ranked #20 by SPORTSNET/COSENTINO
Ranked #20 by SPORTSNET/BUKALA
Ranked #13 by RECRUIT SCOUTING
Ranked #16 by DOBBERPROSPECTS
Ranked #18 by SMAHT SCOUTING

 

[montreal]

 

[NobleSix]

Love this pick!

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

I had him #11 on my personal draft list. Solid choice for Montreal, and could be a potential 2C or even 1b center behind Suzuki.

 

[Ford Prefect]

I can see both the Hawks or Canadiens pick him with their 2nd first rounders. He fits both of their drafting styles

Good call

 

[Habs 4 Life]

Anyone know what team he grew up cheering for?

He was actually a Habs fan!

 

[CristianoRonaldo]

I can see both the Hawks or Canadiens pick him with their 2nd first rounders. He fits both of their drafting styles

Well played.

 

[Michael Farkas]

Another sort of niche video from me, I had concerns about his zone entries for most of the year. A lot of them failed to really generate much and I was worried that we might have another Liam Foudy type situation here where a player gains the zone and then [scene missing] and then the puck is going the other way somehow...and while there are still elements of that that need refinement, my late season sample on Hage is much improved.

 

[Wats]

Another sort of niche video from me, I had concerns about his zone entries for most of the year. A lot of them failed to really generate much and I was worried that we might have another Liam Foudy type situation here where a player gains the zone and then [scene missing] and then the puck is going the other way somehow...and while there are still elements of that that need refinement, my late season sample on Hage is much improved.

Which prospect over the years you've watched would you consider the best at gaining zone and generating something, for comparison.

 

[Michael Farkas]

Which prospect over the years you've watched would you consider the best at gaining zone and generating something, for comparison.

Do you want this answer to be a fair fight? Because guys like Crosby and McDavid are going to be the top of the charts, of course. But I don't want to cop out of it if that's not your intent haha

 

[Wats]

Do you want this answer to be a fair fight? Because guys like Crosby and McDavid are going to be the top of the charts, of course. But I don't want to cop out of it if that's not your intent haha

Haha yeah I guess more reasonable comparison. When you say he needs to work on it, was curious how say Kadri compared or someone else you've scouted.

 

[Michael Farkas]

Haha yeah I guess more reasonable comparison. When you say he needs to work on it, was curious how say Kadri compared or someone else you've scouted.

I don't have that level of recall for Kadri to be honest. But Trevor Connelly is a good comparable. Connelly has some more jam and pace to him. But he attempts a shot at a higher rate, but his middle- and upper-layer playmaking was worse from what I saw. And by worse, I mean, "less". The playmaking element that Connelly added to his game late in the year was a net-swing lo-hi concept. Something that Hage hardly ever does (which isn't a bad thing, it's just an observation). I'd argue that the playmaking improvements that Hage made during his draft year are a bit more scalable than Connelly's additions.

I had them pretty close together on my final list, it'll be interesting to see who can add more layers to their game faster. My guess: Connelly is more technically skilled and sticks to his game more. Hage is a little lesser technically, but has a little bit better mental game and thus, the ability to add to his game more easily.

Connelly generated a lot more from his zone entries early in the season compared to Hage. It was Hage that rose up my board late in the year, whereas Connelly more or less stayed in the same spot (pretty high, to be fair).