James Hagens earns Bruins roster spot for season opener
Boston will open against the Rangers with the 19-year-old forward on its roster after a strong training camp.
James Hagens has earned a place on the Boston Bruins roster for Tuesday’s season opener against the New York Rangers, according to NHL.com. The 19-year-old forward enters his first full NHL season still motivated by his slide to seventh overall in the 2025 draft.
Once projected as a candidate to go first overall, the Boston College centre slipped to No. 7, where the Boston Bruins took him. A freshman season that fell short of huge expectations, along with the rise of Matthew Schaefer, Michael Misa and Caleb Desnoyers, pushed him down the board.
"It definitely lights a fire under you," Hagens said of the drop, speaking last spring. "It's something that fuels you, not only on the rink, but outside the rink with whatever decisions you're making."
Midway through this training camp, the 19-year-old returned to the theme. "You always want to finish first. But it all worked out," he said. "It's definitely something that can fuel the fire, but you've got to be where your feet are."
Where he is now is on the Bruins roster. Hagens opened camp by scoring six goals in two games at the Prospects Showcase in Buffalo, including all four in a 4-3 win in the second game. He has since won a job and is set to start what is expected to be his first full NHL season when Boston hosts the New York Rangers at TD Garden on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Bruins coach Marco Sturm has seen the difference from a year ago.
"When he came last year, I felt like he was just a little kid," Sturm said. "He's more confident out there now. He's not as nervous. He knows us. He knows the system. We've just got to be patient."
The draft was not his first setback. Nick Fohr, his coach with the U.S. National Team Development Program, recalled Hagens being cut from a World Junior tryout as the youngest player in camp. "Coach, I've never not made a team," Fohr remembered him saying. That May, Hagens set a scoring record at the 2024 IIHF Under-18 World Championship with 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists) in seven games, breaking a mark held by Nikita Kucherov.
Both Fohr and BC coach Greg Brown pointed to the same trait. "His ability to carry a puck with his head up and scan the ice and see all opportunities, and not only see opportunities, but create opportunities," Brown said.
