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A top prospect made major Boston Bruins news by officially inking an NHL entry-level contract on Wednesday ahead of the 2026 NHL playoffs.<\/p>\n
Major Boston Bruins<\/a> news hit the airwaves on Wednesday, with the announcement that the organization\u2019s top prospect had officially inked an NHL entry-level contract (ELC).<\/p>\n Plenty of speculation hit the airwaves when James Hagens left Boston College after the NCAA season to join the Providence Bruins on an Amateur Try Out contract (ATO). At the time, the purpose was clear. Hagens would try his hand at the pro game.<\/p>\n But by heading to the AHL instead of the NHL, the door remained open for a return to the NCAA. While there really isn\u2019t any precedent of an NCAA player turning pro and then heading back, the option was there for the 19-year-old.<\/p>\n Hagens, the seventh-overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, scored 23 goals and 47 points in 34 games with Boston College this season.<\/p>\n He then made Bruins news by suiting up for six games in Providence, scoring a goal and four points. That seemed good enough for Hagens to feel confident in taking a shot at the NHL.<\/p>\n The Bruins have three games remaining in the regular season. The club looks entrenched in the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. So, there\u2019s certainly a chance for Hagens to see some regular-season action ahead of the 2026 NHL playoffs.<\/p>\n The biggest question will be where Hages could fit into the lineup. But wherever he plays, Hagens will have plenty of opportunities to continue making Bruins news.<\/p>\n Hagens Makes Bruins News with ELC<\/p>\n Hagens made big Bruins news with his ELC. On the surface, there was nothing special about the deal. Boston signed Hagens to a three-year deal carrying a cap hit of $975K<\/a>.<\/p>\n The deal also includes over $1 million in performance bonuses. It\u2019s not uncommon for ELCs to include performance bonuses. Even if the targets seem out of reach, the money is included to give rookies a chance to make a higher salary than they otherwise would.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also worth mentioning that, because Hagens signed the contract at this point in the season, he has to play in the NHL. That\u2019s why it\u2019s big Bruins news. Hagens cannot go back to the AHL at this point. Additionally, the first year of his contract will officially count, despite not playing the requisite 10 games to \u201cburn\u201d the first year of his contract.<\/p>\n Still, it\u2019s a small price to pay for the organization. This Bruins news is most certainly welcome, particularly since the club needs all the reinforcement it can get ahead of the NHL playoffs.<\/p>\n What to read next: Bruins Sign Top Prospect to AHL Contract for Key Reason<\/a><\/p>\n Where Hagens Fits into Bruins Lineup<\/p>\n Hagens will likely get a shot somewhere in Boston\u2019s middle six. Generally speaking, young would-be centers start out on the wing while they learn the ropes of NHL play.<\/p>\n Gradually, teams move rookies from the wing to center. That would certainly be the long-term plan for Hagens. As it stands now, it\u2019s unlikely that Hagens transitions to center, especially during the playoffs.<\/p>\n But there is one situation in which Hagens could make Bruins news. If an injury should befall a center, the club may give the New York native a shot down the middle. While it might be a little unusual to experiment with Hagens in the playoffs, it wouldn\u2019t be the craziest idea in the world.<\/p>\n Moving Hagens to a spot down the middle would certainly be Bruins news. But then again, highly talented youngsters have transitioned very well into the NHL.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tNestor Quixtan<\/a> Seasoned NHL analyst and baseball writer focused on covering clubs across each league with news, analysis, and insights. Originally from Toronto, Canada, Nestor’s singular experiences and background have enabled him to bring a different take on the sports world as a whole. Nestor’s fondness for baseball and hockey set the tone for his love and passion for writing about sports. More about Nestor Quixtan<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Bruins\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty A top prospect made major Boston Bruins news by officially inking an NHL entry-level contract on Wednesday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":548225,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5099],"tags":[154,95,5132,530,5,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-548224","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boston-bruins","8":"tag-boston","9":"tag-boston-bruins","10":"tag-bostonbruins","11":"tag-bruins","12":"tag-hockey","13":"tag-nhl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116371623617262021","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}