Team USA was eliminated from the World Junior Championships on Friday and will not win its third consecutive title. However, the Boston Bruins were represented well with two of the US team’s top three performers.
The United States was defeated by Finland 4-3 in overtime, ending their hopes of a championship, but a pair of Bruins prospects shone during the IIHF World Junior Championships.
Center James Hagens and winger Will Zellers were two bright spots despite the disappointing result. Hagens contributed two goals and five assists with a plus-2 in five games played and won nearly 60 percent of his faceoffs, while Will Zellers registered five goals and three assists with a plus-6 and was tied for fifth among points leaders. Zellers also tallied three game-winning goals.
The Bruins have had one of the bottom-ranked prospect pools in the NHL in recent years, but Hagens and Zellers have instantly climbed to the top of the rankings for Boston. Hagens, who is a sophomore at Boston College, was drafted with the seventh overall pick by Boston in the 2025 NHL Draft. Zellers was acquired in a trade from Colorado as part of a deal for center Charlie Coyle at the trade deadline last March. Center Casey Mittselstadt and a second-round draft pick in 2025, which turned out to be defenseman Liam Pettersson, landed in Boston as well.
The 19-year-old Hagens has scored ten goals and contributed eight assists in 18 games for the Eagles this season. The New York native has 55 points in 53 collegiate games. Zellers, also 19 years old, Â is a freshman at the University of North Dakota and was a third-round selection of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2024 NHL Draft. Zellers has ten goals and five assists in 18 games with North Dakota.
Hagens is widely considered the Bruins’ top prospect and could sign an entry-level deal with Boston after his sophomore season. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound forward currently plays with five other Bruins’ prospects at BC. Oscar Jellvik, Andre Gasseau, Kristian Kostadinski, Dean Letourneau, and Will Moore also suit up for Boston College.
Zellers was the USHL Player of the Year last season while playing for the Green Bay Gamblers. The 6-foot, 180-pound forward recorded 71 points in 52 games, tallying a league-leading 44 goals and 27 assists with a 1.37 point-per-game average, the highest mark for any skater that season. Zellers also contributed 10 goals and 12 assists on the man advantage. Despite missing 10 games in the regular season, Zellers took a league-leading 214 shots with a 20.6% shooting percentage. The Maple Grove, Minnesota native recorded 133 points in 66 games with Shattuck Saint Mary’s Prep during the 2023-24 season.
Zellers projects to play at least one more season at North Dakota before turning pro. The Bruins need some young talent to develop into NHL contributors. Last season, Boston had zero players in the World Juniors. This season, Boston had two of the better performers, and the future is looking bright in the coming years for the Bruins.
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