Hayden finished his senior season tied for eighth among goal scorers in Division I hockey, and tied for 59th among point leaders. He was also a beast on the power play, with 12 of his 21 goals coming with the man advantage. That’s tied for fifth nationally in college hockey.
Another area to get excited about Hayden, particularly in terms of projecting him at the next level, is that he’s an absolute shot machine. The forward led Yale with 174 shots on goal, and nobody else on the team had more than 84. Hayden was operating on an entirely different level offensively for the Bulldogs, and averaging nearly 5.3 shots per game is nothing to scoff at...
As team captain at Yale, Hayden said he used Jonathan Toews as inspiration for how to approach the position.
“You look at Chicago, I think Jonathan Toews is considered the best captain in the league for a reason,” said Hayden. “He’s got a ton of respect in the locker room from what I understand, and he shows it on the ice. For me, I think it’s about setting the tone with my play and trying to lead by example with energy.”
He’s also aware of the Blackhawks’ recent push toward getting younger, which obviously bodes well for his prospects of landing a gig soon.
“It’s very encouraging. I’m pretty close with Motter, Schmaltzy [Nick Schmaltz], Vinnie [Hinostroza] and Hartzy,” Hayden said. “I’ve spent time with them the last few summers. They’re doing a good job. Yeah, definitely encouraging to see that.”...
Hayden just finished a very good year, he’s built like a truck, and he’s already 22 years old. This isn’t quite the same as throwing Nick Schmaltz into the fire at age 20 following an offseason of relative down time.
