Where does James Hagens fit on the Bruins roster?
The Boston Bruins delivered some exciting news to their fans on Wednesday when they signed top prospect James Hagens to his entry-level contract.
The No. 7 overall pick from the 2025 NHL Draft wrapped up his collegiate career at Boston College, joined the Bruins’ AHL affiliate in Providence on an ATO, and now looks poised to make his NHL debut as Boston looks to put the finishing touches on clinching a playoff berth.
With a strong forward group already in place, where could Hagens slot in to add some creativity and playmaking ability to the Bruins’ lineup?
On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed how much the Bruins could put on Hagens’ shoulders as he makes his debut before a Stanley Cup Playoff run.
Tyler Yaremchuk: The Bruins seem to be well on their way to clinching a playoff spot. I don’t think it could quite happen tonight, but they could get really, really close to it happening tonight. And some news yesterday that they’ve officially signed James Hagens, the seventh overall pick from the 2025 draft. They’ve signed him to his three-year, entry-level contract. A couple weeks ago, obviously the news was that he had signed an ATO. They sent him down to Providence for a bit. He had a nice little run down in the AHL. had four points in six games in his first taste of professional hockey, and bring him up to the big club here. And again, you don’t do this unless you have plans of giving this guy a legitimate look and hoping he can impact things in the playoff picture. I guess where I’m curious with the Bruins and Hagens, is kind of where does he slide? Do they have visions of him being a center? Are they going to try him on the wing? They’re running Lindholm, Zacha, and Fraser Minten down the middle right now… I’m curious where Hagens slots and what kind of a role they have for him… Either way, Boston adding potentially some scoring punch here ahead of the playoffs.
Carter Hutton: If you’re going to bring this guy up, you’re going to burn the year, sign the contract, have him be an impact player. You want him to play, because at the end of the day, like last year I think of Ryan Leonard coming up with the Washington Capitals. And he was like their trade deadline acquisition because, you were trying to win a Cup with Washington. I don’t think Boston’s trying to win a Cup this year. I think you’re making the playoffs. It’s kind of bonus money. You know, you can go in and try to make some noise, but realistically, I don’t really think they consider them the threat with this lineup that they have. So why not gain him some experience and get him some things that might help you in two and three and four years down the road? So I do think he will play a good standpoint, because the last thing you want to do is bring him up, put him in a role where it’s going to stunt his growth as a player as he starts to develop into a full-time NHL guy.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…