BRIGHTON -- The time is now for James Hagens. The 19-year-old rookie got nearly all the firsts for his pro hockey career out of the way last season but will have another one this week when he plays in his first NHL rookie camp for the Black and Gold.
Hagens is expected to be a leader and an impact player for the rookie crew headed to Buffalo for the prospect showcase with Riley Duran, Dans Locmelis, Ty Gallagher, Swiss player Attilio Biasca and former Merrimack goalie Max Lundgren among the other notables on the Bruins roster.
The games will be played against the Buffalo Sabres prospects on Sunday and Monday and streamed on the Boston Bruins website for those hoping to get a glimpse of the talented teenage prospect. There should be plenty of curiosity about where he stands headed into a season where he’s expected to capture a roster spot on the NHL club and apply the multitude of lessons that he learned last season during brief pro stints in both Boston and Providence.
"I feel like the more you play, the confidence will come,” said Hagens after Friday’s opening rookie camp practice at Warrior Ice Arena. “But it's about being trusted out there. I know these guys all have my back and you work toward hopefully all of them knowing you have their back as well. It's exciting times.
“Everybody is back and you just hope you can make the team now. You just try to put your head down, show up every day and try to work your hardest.”
The B’s are obviously hoping that Hagens takes the same trajectory as Fraser Minten last season, as he utilized being an experienced go-to guy at rookie camp and built that into a springboard toward locking down a center spot on Boston’s roster ahead of a very strong 17-goal rookie campaign that ended up earning him a seven-year, $ 50-plus-million contract just this past week.
“I was actually with him that day when all of that happened,” said Hagens of Minten’s new deal. “I was really happy for him. That’s a lot of money.”
Hagens was solid in his brief go-round during a whirlwind season in which he played for five different hockey teams and five different levels of competition, but it seemed just as clear that he struggled to keep up with the speed and physicality of the game when Stanley Cup playoff hockey arrived.
That was to be expected as he sat as a healthy scratch for the final three postseason games before a solid stint for Team USA at the IIHF World Championships last spring.
Hagens finished with one assist in five games played for the Bruins, including three playoff games, and showed flashes of the speedy, smart playmaking force that he’s projected to become at the NHL level. But there are undoubtedly things the Bruins would like to see from Hagens in rookie camp, while giving him a strong runway to take off and get a head start on everybody else at main NHL camp, which begins in the middle of next week.
“We’re really excited about his potential. He obviously has that high offensive acumen that you love to see in a player, but the one thing that’s going to be a challenge for him is getting inside,” said Providence Bruins head coach Trent Whitfield, who will be manning the bench for the rookie camp in Buffalo. “He has the ability to make plays in small areas. Now he has to bring that physicality in his game a little bit more consistently getting inside and getting to the paint.
“But as far as being able to make plays, you could see it in the small-area games. He can come up with pucks and make those small little three or four foot passes in the offensive zone. So that’s really exciting. He is going to play a lot and really get a chance to get his feet under him. It’s a great opportunity for him to come into [NHL] camp in great form.”
The good news is that Hagens took the brief lessons at the end of last season and applied them into his summer training while building up to 185 pounds headed into camp. The sleek forward will never be a bruiser and it’s going to be a challenge withstanding the physical pounding of an 84-game NHL regular season schedule.
But Hagens has put himself in the best possible position to succeed, and he's excited to get things going and start living up to the expectations laid on a seventh overall pick in the draft.
“Obviously I’m excited to play games again. To be back on the ice it feels great,” said Hagens. “To be here over the summer and learn from those guys how to act and what their everyday life looks like, it’s been really helpful for me. You’ve got to be ready and be prepared. Training camp is shorter this year, so there is less time to really make an impression.
“Honestly, this is the best I’ve ever felt going into a season in my entire career. Staying here over the summer helped me a lot. Being around the player and being around the trainers, you just soak in everything that they tell you. Strength goes hand-in-hand with everything and working with the skill coaches on the ice. You get better at everything you need to and in the gym, you get bigger, stronger and faster.”
While it’s great that Hagens is feeling at his optimal level heading into camp, it will be about making an impact on the ice during games, using the tools and skills he’s flashed throughout his career to this point. It remains to be seen who he is going to play with, what position he’ll play between winger and center, and what kind of role he’s going to have on the power play out of the chute, but Hagens looks and sounds like a young player that’s ready to take it all on this season.
And maybe even earn himself the kind of contract that his new buddy and teammate Minten got this week after showing what happens when player development goes right for a talented youngster in the B’s organization.