It was pretty clear that 19-year-old James Hagens understood the assignment in Buffalo at the Prospect Showcase over the last few days, and then went out and showed exactly what the Bruins wanted him to show.
Hagens led the B’s rookies to a pair of wins in two tries against the Sabres prospects over the last 48 hours, including a tour de force four-goal masterpiece in Monday afternoon’s 4-3 overtime win over the Sabres at the First Niagara Center. Hagens snapped off three power-play goals during regulation, featuring a pinpoint wrist shot, and then scored a water-bottle-blasting special for the game-winner in the 3-on-3 extra session to send Boston home as the big winners.
Hagens wins it. 4 goals today. Wow. 4-3 final pic.twitter.com/j3pmIL1qbg
— Robert Chalmers (@robbatwo) September 14, 2026
“He comes out and he generates offense, and it’s just an elite shot,” said Providence Bruins head coach Trent Whitfield, who was leading the B’s crew of prospects in Buffalo for the preseason games. “Six goals in two games…what else is there to say? He makes plays, he’s not afraid, he gets in there and competes at the net. And scores four goals. Not much else to say other than he’s in good form going into [NHL] camp, so that is great.
“He’s got a good head on his shoulders, he competes hard and he does everything that you ask him to do. He’s coachable. He does all that stuff right. I’m not concerned about James. He’s just going to keep getting better and keep getting stronger. His skating will get better. His shot is going to keep getting better. It’s just going to be a process for him like it is with all young kids. There are grown men that have already gone through what he’s going through now. But I’m just excited for him and what’s to come.”
If somebody were to draw up exactly how the Black and Gold would have wanted Hagens’ rookie camp appearances to go over the last few days, they probably wouldn’t have even dared to dream it would be this good in terms of a confidence-builder headed into main NHL camp.
The expectation was that he would stand out among his rookie and prospect peers, but instead he showed the star quality that made him the seventh overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, and he's giving the organization hope he’ll be an offensive impact player for the Bruins sooner rather than later. The whole menu of lethal wrist shot, top-gear skating speed, and playmaking hockey smarts were on display in Buffalo, and he was playing with the kind of unflinching confidence that wasn’t quite there during his first pro stint last spring.
“It was awesome…to be able to play hockey again, it feels great,” said Hagens to reporters in Buffalo after the Prospect Challenge was over. “[The wrist shot] is definitely something I worked on over the summer, but I tried to really work on everything honestly.
“The skills coaches for Boston worked with me a lot so I have to give them a lot of credit. It really helped being around the players and the staff this summer. They really helped me get ready for this. Every day I was there and I just tried to learn more and get better. Being able to feel good, you just want to come out and play the right way. There’s a lot of things you can clean up no matter what the scoresheet says.
In all, Hagens finished with six goals in the two games, looked like a supremely confident, dangerous finisher on the power play, and was extremely noticeable while teaming with Dans Locmelis as the two best-looking B’s rookies in the two prospect games.
His commanding rookie camp performance should answer some questions about his upside and set reasonable expectations for his rookie NHL season, but his pathway through his first NHL season remains to be decided, even with a lean frame that he says is currently up to 185 pounds entering camp.
There’s plenty of curiosity about how Hagens will