James Hagens
2025 NHL Draft Eligible
H/W: 5-foot-10 177 pounds
Date of Birth: 2006-11-03
Stats to Date: 7-22-29 (27 GP)
The Boston College Eagles were among the top teams in the NCAA last season, led largely by their elite first line of Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, and Gabriel Perreault. Smith led the NCAA in scoring and graduated to the NHL with the San Jose Sharks this season. The Eagles haven't missed a beat though, as superstar youngster James Hagens has stepped in and played big minutes up the middle for the NCAA juggernaut.
Hagens has been the crown jewel of his age group with the US National Team Development Program for several years and entered this season as the consensus favourite to be selected first overall in the 2025 NHL Draft. Last season, he led the USNTDP U18 team in scoring, outpacing the likes of Cole Eiserman, Cole Hutson, and Teddy Stiga, all who were drafted in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. Hagens has the 5th highest career point totals in USNTDP history with 187, behind only Jack Hughes, Cole Eiserman, Will Smith, and Clayton Keller. He holds the single tournament scoring records for the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge (21 in 7 games) and IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship (22 in 7 games). This year, while he is over a point-per-game as a freshman, there have been some struggles. The Boston College powerplay has been surprisingly inconsistent, despite running the same alignment and having 3/5 returning personnel. Hagens has been a mainstay, though his calm demeanor has not seamlessly fit into Cutter Gauthier’s spot on the right circle and Ryan Leonard looks out of place on the left side, where Will Smith was previously. It seems like this year’s unit struggles to find the urgency that last year’s group had and as a result, last year’s second ranked powerplay is 52nd in the nation (as of writing). Another area where Hagens’ skillset could help improve the Eagles powerplay is on zone entries, where with his elusive skating he could be relied upon as a puck carrier more.
Hagens is a playmaking center that can fill a variety of roles. It's obvious that he can be the focal point of an offense, as proven by his history with the USNTDP, but he is also able to fit into more of a supporting role within a line such as what he's done this season at Boston College. His great hockey IQ is a big reason why he's able to do this. Hagans reads the game very well whether he has the puck on his stick or not. He's excellent at moving the puck quickly and effectively and has excellent hands to pick up loose pucks along the boards or around the net. Physically, he has some work to do, as he prefers to reach with his stick rather than get any bumps in, which is reflective of his smaller size.
At the NHL level, Hagens is projected to be a top-line centre and a regular on the powerplay. His IQ and passing ability make him a natural play-creator in all situations. As he gets stronger and more explosive, it isn’t hard to imagine him giving NHL blueliners fits with his elusive skating style. It’s clear that whoever drafts Hagens will be getting a key offensive piece for years to come
Skating:
James Hagens’ skating is one of his defining traits, allowing him to evade defenders and create scoring chances with ease. While he may not blow by opponents with pure straight-line speed, his excellent edgework and ability to change direction quickly make him elusive to defend. Particularly on the rush, his agility allows him to create space and force defenders to change directions, often opening up passing lanes for him. Right now he accelerates with crossovers or by gliding on his edges, which is great when he is carrying the puck up the ice, but hurts him in a footrace. It would be nice to see him add a bit more strength and explosivity to his lower body, which would increase his straight-line acceleration and turn his skating into an absolute threat.
Here is an example of how Hagens can use his skating to his advantage. He is not going to blow by anyone straight away, but he can use changes of direction to evade defenders due to his excellent edgework. A slight shoulder fake to the right while turning his toes to the left quickly gives him an enormous amount of space. Good IQ play stopping below the goal line to intercept the pass and backhanding a blind pass right on his teammate’s tape.
Again, Hagens uses his excellent edgework and ability to change direction quickly and decisively to create some space for himself on the rush. He’s as smooth as they come when it comes to opening up his hips and maintaining the speed that he has while giving himself different angle options to attack from.
In this clip we have Hagens applying pressure on the forecheck. In the straight-line footrace he really is not able to make up much ground on the defender. His stride mechanics look pretty good, so perhaps this is more of a strength and explosiveness issue, which are a pair of things that can easily be trained and improved. Also, it’s not like he is working from a place of weakness, his speed just is not an advantage at this point.
Hagens is able to blow wide around the defender here, which is nice to see. He recognizes that he is basically alone and cuts straight to the net from the corner, evading the stick check with a slick little stick lift. Even though he’s moving pretty quickly, he still is able to poke in his own rebound as he flies by the net.
Grade: 57.5
Shot:
This season, Hagens has not scored as much as many expected based on his goal-scoring rates in previous seasons. That can be attributed to a few different things, one being that he started the year between two veteran superstars in Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault, so there was certainly a level of deference early on. He also has just shot less in general, as last season he regularly put up 7-10 shot attempts per game, whereas this year he is averaging just over four shot attempts per game. This is mostly reflective of moving up to the NCAA against older and stronger competition, and Hagens’ reluctance to simply “throw it on net”, instead being more selective with his shooting.
James Hagens is not going to be a 50-goal guy in the National Hockey League, but that doesn’t mean his shot isn’t a threat. He can beat goalies clean from medium range on a wrister, largely thanks to his quick release. Due to his sublime passing skills, defenders and goaltenders are mostly expecting him to pass, and most of the time on the rush he does, but he is a sniper when he needs to be. One of Hagens’ most impressive skills is his control on retrievals, and that is reflected in his shots off pass receptions as well. He is able to get wristers off really quickly, even if he is receiving a bad pass or going downhill. On his offside he uses a one-time slap shot sometimes, but usually fakes a slapper for a pass.
Hagens is primarily a playmaker, however his release is pretty quick, which can surprise goalies at times. On a 2-on-1 with one of the NCAA’s top goal scorers in Ryan Leonard here, Hagens shows that he can rip the puck himself, beating the goalie clean on an unobstructed shot off the rush.
Here is another example of Hagens releasing the puck very quickly. He finds open space and puts himself in a spot to receive the pass, before taking a stride toward the net and letting a long wrister go.
Hagens doesn’t use a slapshot too often, but he does use it a bit in open space on the right circle. He seldom scores on it, but he does use it enough that opponents need to respect it at least enough to open up some passing lanes for him backdoor, which is what his preference is in most situations where he winds up.
Sometimes being skilled at one-timers doesn’t mean pounding slapshots on your off-side, but instead simply being able to get a shot off immediately, even on awkward passes. Such is the case here, where Hagens receives a pass right at his left foot while going downhill. Hagens still has no problem corralling the pass and immediately putting it on net.
Grade: 55
Skills:
James Hagens has off-the-charts first touch ability, easily gaining total control of loose or bouncing pucks. This is great for retrievals along the boards, intercepting passes, and finding pucks around the net. He processes the game so quickly that he often will not only control wild pucks, but often pass them straight to an open teammate, which can catch defenders by surprise. Hagens also is not shy about threading passes through miniscule openings, which can lead to some turnovers but often leads to very dangerous scoring opportunities for teammates.
Hagens also has excellent deking ability against defenders and netminders alike, a further testament to his great puck control. He is excellent at transporting the puck up the ice, often starting with the puck near his own goal line. When he is up at top speed, he sometimes bobbles the puck when he tries to deke through opponents, but usually ends up picking the puck back up again anyway. He also processes the game so quickly that he can make small and precise adjustments that are often the difference between a scoring chance and a failed rush.
Hagens is probably the top of the draft class when it comes to quickly establishing control of the puck. Here he gets a bouncing puck and casually uses a couple touches to settle it down and moves it to a teammate. When he goes after a 50/50 puck seconds later, he deftly grabs the puck and uses his body to shield it from his opponent.
When he is in tight, few have better hands than Hagens. He is patient and uses his right skate to block the pokecheck here, and has no problem depositing the puck past the netminder’s outstretched pad.
Again here, Hagens establishes immediate control of a puck that is in the air. Perhaps he is a bit fortunate to get his stick in the way of that breakout pass, but to have the wherewithal to bat the puck to his teammate for a goal is elite hand-eye and awareness.
This clip showcases his skating as well as his shot, but I think Hagens’ ability to make controlled adjustments on the fly is what shines here. He uses a moving screen and adjusts the release angle of his shot in order to avoid the pokecheck.
Threading passes through or just out of the reach of defenders is no problem with Hagens.
Hagens shows in this clip that he doesn’t panic under pressure, even when he is forced to his backhand. He makes a backhand cross-ice saucer pass look extremely casual here, right on the tape of course.
Grade: 60
Smarts:
A huge standout trait for Hagens is the way he processes the game. As a puck carrier, he is constantly scanning the ice and uses his agility to create space not only for himself, but for his teammates as well, as opponents are forced to turn their toes or alter their stick positioning to keep up.
Hagens is versatile enough that he is able to be equally successful as a line driver or as a support player in a trio. He is almost never caught out of position. Offensively, he often will stay high, always remaining an option to distribute the puck while being in position to responsibly apply pressure against a breakout. In his own zone he does an excellent job of providing support and staying in the middle of the ice, sorting through defensive assignments while ready to transition the other way.
Hagens recognizes early in this clip that this is not a very dangerous rush chance. A 2-on-2 played tight with back pressure ahead of any support, he needs to create a bit of space. A little move to the outside and the outward spin is enough to make the backchecking forward turn his feet up ice in anticipation of a pass to the trailer, leaving Hagens’ teammate that is driving the net in a 50/50 battle. Hagens puts the puck to the net in what is now a dangerous scoring chance and it ends up in the back of the net.
Again in this clip Hagens is able to draw attention from multiple defenders on a rush chance where he is outnumbered, but due to a crafty move and a spin to the outside, he’s got the net driver open on the back door.
Hagens loves to fake a slapshot windup on the powerplay for this exact play, and he regularly takes advantage of the distraction to easily pass to the back door.
In this one Hagens picks the puck up from the side of the net cleanly and instantly is looking up ice. He finds his teammate at the far blueline and feeds it right onto his tape, it takes a lot of confidence to make a play like this from your own zone less than two minutes into a game.
Here is a great positional shift from Hagens (#12 Blue). He is almost always moving, finding open ice, providing an outlet for teammates, or drawing defenders away. A slight mistake when he dives below the goalline and ends up in his teammate’s lane but otherwise a very solid example of Hagens’ spatial awareness.
Hagens has another nice shift here where he provides support all over his defensive end and then the puck follows him all over the offensive zone. Even when he coughs the puck up he ends up getting it right back a split second later.
Grade: 62.5
Physicality/Compete:
Anyone can look at Hagens and tell he is not very big, but his play on the ice certainly shows that he is fully aware of his lack of size and strength. Hagens prefers to reach and use his elite retrieval skill pretty much any time there is a 50/50 puck, which means as long as his stick doesn’t get there first, it isn't too difficult for opponents to outmuscle him on pucks. When defending, he is almost always in the right spot, but most nights has virtually no interest in playing the body, instead preferring a stick check, which is insufficient a lot of the time. His effort can also be questionable at times when he is away from the puck. Hopefully with some added strength he becomes more willing to engage physically, which would make him a much more effective defender.
Hagens is F3 on the rush here, and sure his teammates have a great chance, but he should really be trying to get ahead of the second defenceman in case there is a rebound. The first corner retrieval goes smoothly, quickly passing to the point. When he goes to the corner to battle for the puck for a second time, he gets easily outmuscled and proceeds to straighten his back after and coast. His effort without the puck is an area that Hagens has a lot of room for growth.
Again, it isn’t like he’s not trying here, but you would love to see Hagens engage physically at any point in this clip. Instead he insists on just reaching and hoping a stick check will be sufficient defensively. Lots of room for improvement here.
Grade: 50
OFP: 57.875
A note on the 20-80 scale used above. We look at five attributes (skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ and physicality) for skaters and six for goalies (athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling). Each individual attribute is graded along the 20-80 scales, which includes half-grades. The idea is that a projection of 50 in a given attribute meant that our observer believed that the player could get to roughly NHL average at that attribute at maturity.