The future is now on Causeway Street.

According to an official announcement by the Boston Bruins on Wednesday, top prospect James Hagens has signed his three-year entry-level deal with an annual cap hit of $975,000. Due to NHL rules regarding Hagens’ age and service time, the contract does not slide to next year, so the remainder of the 2025-26 season will count as the first year of the deal. He will not be eligible to return to the AHL, where he had spent time with the Providence Bruins on an amateur tryout agreement (ATO).

Hagens, 19, was originally selected seventh overall by the Bruins in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft. He scored 34 goals and 84 points in 71 games over two seasons at Boston College, including a Hockey East-leading 47 points in the 2025-26 season. He scored one goal and three assists in six games with the P-Bruins.

The B’s called up Hagens at a time when they’ve cooled off in the standings. After winning four in a row to close out March, they went 0-2-2 on a four-game road trip, totaling just eight goals in four games. The B’s have three days off between games, before they welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning to TD Garden for a matinee clash on Saturday. Hagens will get as much time as an NHL newcomer could hope for to get acclimated to life at the highest level, before likely making his debut.

Entering Wednesday’s action, the Bruins hold a six-point lead over the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with three games to go. Columbus has a game in hand on Boston. The B’s are currently at 98.8% odds to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, according to MoneyPuck.

A deft skater with excellent vision and skill as both a playmaker and shooter, Hagens has a chance to give Boston an early offensive jolt, with the long-term upside of a high-end scorer at the NHL level.

Matt, a North Andover, Massachusetts native, has been with The Sports Hub since 2010. Growing up the son of Boston University All-American and Melrose High School hall-of-fame hockey player Steve Dolloff, sports was always a part of his life. After attending Northeastern University, Matt focused his love of sports on writing, extensively writing about all four major Boston teams. He also is a co-host of the Sports Hub Underground podcast and is a regular on-air contributor on the Sports Hub. Matt writes about all New England sports from Patriots football to Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins.