Bruins prospect James Hagens does not need to leave Boston College and join the Bruins. But if Hagens is interested in leaving college and jumping right to the NHL, the Bruins can and should make that happen for their 19-year-old top prospect.
It really is that simple.
This goes beyond the fact that Hagens is Boston’s best prospect since Tyler Seguin. And the fact that, again, he doesn’t have to leave Boston College and join the Bruins. And it even goes beyond messing with the ‘chemistry’ of the team in what’s been a surprising season for the Bruins and with the playoff race as tight as can be.
Just think about where the Bruins were when they drafted Hagens last June.
It was widely accepted that Hagens was going to have to be the Bruins’ savior down the middle, and likely in a top-line role. Hell, people were already penciling permanent marker’ing him as the go-to center for David Pastrnak. That’s still the long-term vision for all involved, one would think. But right now? And on this team? The Bruins couldn’t ask for a better potential landing spot for Hagens.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – FEBRUARY 9: James Hagens #10 of the Boston College Eagles skates against the Boston University in the first period during NCAA hockey in the championship game of the annual Beanpot Hockey Tournament at TD Garden on February 9, 2026. (Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images)
Playing more wing than center at Boston College this season, Hagens’ move to the wing almost coincides perfectly with the lone revolving door on the Boston roster, which just so happens to be third-line left wing. The Bruins currently have Lukas Reichel, recalled from Providence on an emergency basis less than a week ago, in that spot with Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie as his linemates. Before Reichel’s recall, the Bruins were rotating Mikey Eyssimont and Alex Steeves in this spot. If you can’t “upset the apple cart” (a term Bruins general manager Don Sweeney loves to use) by putting your top prospect ahead of those players or working him into the mix at the very least, you have to question why you even draft players at all.
And given what the Bruins have gotten out of their second line of Mittelstadt-Zacha-Arvidsson, and with Pastrnak doing Pastrnak things on the top line, plugging Hagens into a third-line role — and with two veteran, dependable talents as his linemates — is the kind of friendly landing spot you could only dream of nine months ago.
The Bruins also have a glaring need for more speed and skill, and especially on their power play, where Hagens’ skating and creativity could thrive for the Bruins.
The world is not on his shoulders in this projected role, and the Bruins have by all means already surpassed just about everyone’s expectations out of them. Giving your fanbase a real-time glimpse into the future, and in a supporting cast member kind of role, may be enough to give ’em a full-on hockey boner down the stretch.
And the Bruins’ standing in the aforementioned playoff race should also have nothing to do with the decision here. The Bruins brought Marc McLaughlin into the fold as a college free agent while in the thick of a playoff race in 2022 and put him right in their lineup. Ryan Donato signed his deal and reported right to the NHL while still enrolled in classes at Harvard in 2018. It can and has been done multiple times under this regime, and the Bruins’ need for what Hagens can bring outweighs anything and everything that Donato and McLaughlin brought to the club in those seasons.
Jun 27, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; James Hagens is selected as the seventh overall pick to the Boston Bruins in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft at Peacock Theater. (Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)
This is also just how it goes these days.
We are in the era of players having more power than ever before. It’s not the ‘inmates running the asylum’ as much as it’s understanding what you have and doing what you can to foster the relationship in a healthy and productive manner. Isaac Howard, a first-round pick of Tampa in 2022, wasn’t afraid to request a trade because he couldn’t see eye to eye with the Bolts. Same for Cutter Gauthier, the fifth overall pick in 2022, when it came to refusing to play for the Flyers. As well as Rutger McGroarty, the 14th overall pick in 2022, when the Jets did not grant him the path he desired. In case you’re wondering, all three players ultimately got their way and were traded.
Now, do I think Hagens and the Bruins are at this point? Not even close. But players no longer fear that nuclear option like they once did. This is why a ‘standoff’ about the development path is a card that should be stashed at the back of the deck.
Of course, as we sit here on Monday, Mar. 23, there’s nothing concrete to indicate what exactly the plan is on either side. While the sides met over the weekend, multiple sources have indicated to 98.5 The Sports Hub that there’s a part of Hagens that is legitimately undecided as to what he wants to do. Hagens is fiercely loyal to Boston College, and this was an undeniably disappointing year for the Eagles. Hagens and the Eagles did win the Beanpot, which was one of the goals Hagens outlined for himself following his selection by the Bruins last June. The Eagles fell woefully short of reaching the other goal Hagens had established (winning a national championship), though, as they didn’t even qualify for this year’s tourney.
In essence, if Hagens is leaving Boston College and foregoing the rest of his NCAA eligibility, he wants to make sure it’s to accomplish his goal of playing in the NHL.
And play in the NHL as soon as possible, which is something he’s frequently mentioned when talking about his desire to play in this league.
The Bruins, for what it’s worth, appear to think things differently. The Bruins prefer their prospects starting out in Providence and then going from there. They could turn to Hagens and say, “Well, Charlie McAvoy started in the AHL. And so did Pastrnak.” But those situations might as well be a 100 years old compared to our current world.
And based on the impression I’ve gotten from people around the situation, Hagens is not against going to the AHL. This isn’t like a pounding the table, hell no we won’t go kind of vibe or thinking he’s above it. But the preference would be that he begins his professional career in the NHL, as has often been the case for prospects of his ilk.
It might be the only way to get him to leave Boston College right now, in fact.
This is, again, something that the Bruins are more than capable of making happen.
And something that they ultimately have no reason not to make happen. Especially when they believed in Hagens (and his confidence) enough to pick him with their highest natural draft pick in almost 20 years in the first place.