BOSTON — The future is about to arrive for James Hagens. On Monday, the Boston Bruins prospect skated and skilled his way around the TD Garden ice to help Boston College win the Beanpot Tournament championship over Boston University, 6-2. It was BC’s first win in the four-team tourney since 2016.
Hagens was named tournament MVP. He had two assists in the win. He scored two goals and an assist in the tournament-opening Feb. 2 victory over Harvard.
Hagens was happier about the title than he was about his award.
“It was all about the win,” Hagens said. “To get that trophy, to get the Beanpot with the group of guys we have, it was something that was really special.”
In short order, perhaps in April if BC goes on a playoff run, Hagens could be back on Garden ice in a Bruins jersey. He will not look out of place.
The No. 7 pick of the 2025 NHL Draft is 19 years old. Hagens has room to grow, literally, when it comes to putting on muscle, being stronger on pucks and getting more steam behind his shot. He will find out, probably the hard way, just how dangerous NHL players are in small spaces. There will be plenty of men with mortgages happy to dump the teenager on his backside and take the puck off his stick.
But the flammable forward already has attributes that will make him stand out in the NHL the minute he pulls on the Black and Gold. He accelerates like nobody’s business. He transports pucks with ease. He creates offense when the play appears to be stuck in quicksand.
All of this will make Hagens most welcome when he decides it is his turn to become a professional.
“James is always able to create offense,” BC coach Greg Brown said. “You get drafted that high for a reason — the offensive side of the puck, which is the hardest thing to do. But what we’ve really been impressed with is how he’s rounded out his game.”
Hagens is the highest Bruins pick since 2010. That year, they selected Tyler Seguin second.
In July 2010, the month after the Bruins made the selection, Seguin reported to development camp at Ristuccia Arena, the team’s former practice facility. The parking lot at the Wilmington rink was overflowing. Fans eager to see the future swarmed to see the explosiveness, speed and shot that Seguin, 18 at the time, already claimed as part of his resume.
Hagens shares all of those qualities.
His shot may not be as heavy as Seguin’s at this point. Perhaps Seguin was sturdier in close-quarters ice.
But Hagens’ strengths are ones that every NHL club pursues but doesn’t always secure. He makes plays under pressure. He transitions instantly from defense to offense. Even when he’s defending, Hagens goes after pucks so quickly that he scares opponents just with the threat of going on the attack.
“We want to put him out now when we’re protecting a lead against the other team’s top players because he’s really added so many dimensions of detail,” Brown said. “So it’s not only that he’s creating chances and getting his points. We know he can do that. He’s really much more well-rounded now. Credit to him for working hard on that stuff. Because that’s not the enjoyable part of the game. He’s been huge and will be huge going forward for us.”
In the first period, Hagens had a helper on fellow Bruins prospect Andre Gasseau’s tying goal. It was a big one. Before that, BU had been pushing. Gasseau’s net-front strike gave the Eagles life.
In the second, Hagens recorded his second assist, again on the power play. He started with the puck low in the offensive zone. When he considered his options, Hagens saw Lukas Gustafsson open up top. The defenseman’s wrister got through Mikhail Yegorov to give BC a 3-1 lead. It would be the game-winning goal.
Hagens could have had more. Earlier in the second, he slipped a two-on-one pass to Brady Berard. Yegorov robbed Bedard’s backhand bid with a glove save. On another second-period shift, Hagens made a clever stick check on Sascha Boumedienne at the defensive blue line and opened himself up for an odd-man rush. Hagens raced toward the offensive zone, got inside the right faceoff dot and let a snap shot fly that Yegorov turned aside.
Hagens did all this while playing out of position. The natural center has been playing left wing this season. Part of it is to take some defensive responsibilities off his to-do list and let him focus on offense. But it’s also been Brown’s strategy to balance his lineup.
Hagens is just fine with playing left wing. He has his team above individual accomplishment.
“Just exciting to be able to get this trophy, not only for us, but for our school and all the fans that showed up today,” Hagens said. “It means a lot.”