The Boston Bruins chose one of the most promising prospects in the 2025 NHL Draft class, their first top-10 pick in 14 years.
The Bruins gave the Original Six team a much-needed boost in terms of adding a talented pivot to their pipeline when they selected Boston College center James Hagens with the seventh choice.
Five facts regarding Boston’s first-round draft selection are as follows:
Hagens will develop right in Boston s backyard at Boston College
It won’t be far for Boston Bruins executives and Don Sweeney to watch their prospective franchise center in action.
Hagens just finished his first season at Boston College, where he recorded a plus-21 rating and scored 11 goals and 26 assists for 37 points in 37 games.
The 5-foot-11, 177-pound forward was selected to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team and was fourth in points among NCAA freshman. Additionally, he skated for an Eagles squad that included three other Bruins draft selections: Andre Gasseau, Dean Letourneau, and Oskar Jellvik.
Hagens joins Charlie McAvoy (No. 14 overall, 2016) and Craig Janney (No. 13 overall, 1986) as the third Bruins first-round selection to be chosen from Boston College or Boston University.
I adore the city. Regarding traveling to BC, Hagens remarked, “I love being in Boston.” I’m really glad things worked out since I grew up playing a lot of hockey tournaments in Boston, so I knew the place. Now I’m in this position.
After the first round, Hagens stated that he wants to join the NHL as soon as possible, but he also stated that he will discuss his future plans with the Bruins management.
Hagens entered this season as the consensus No. 1 pick in this draft class
Hagens was ranked first on TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s preseason draft rankings in September 2024, making him the best prospect in this draft class going into the 2024–25 campaign.
One head scout for an NHL club informed McKenzie that selecting Hagens as the first player on the preseason roster wasn’t a particularly tough decision.
Given the Hauppauge, New York native’s extensive history of destroying rival defenses over the past three seasons, Hagens’ standing in the fall was justified.
Prior to joining BC, Hagens played 58 games for the U.S. U-18 National Development Program in 2023–24, scoring 102 points (39 goals, 63 assists).
During their individual U18 seasons with the USNTDP, players like Ryan Leonard (94 points), Phil Kessel (98 points), and Matthew Tkachuk (95 points) all had worse stat lines than that 102-point output.
Patrick Kane, Cole Eiserman, Clayton Keller, Jack Hughes, Auston Matthews, and two BC products, Will Smith and Gabe Perreault, were the only U18 national players to either match or exceed Hagens’ 102 points in a single season.
At the 2024 World U18 Championships, Hagens set a new scoring record with 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists) in just seven games, further demonstrating his dominance during international play. Nikita Kucherov was the previous record holder in the U18 Championships.
In a recent piece in The Athletic, skill evaluators unanimously named the BC player with the finest hands in this entire draft class, despite Hagens’ diminutive body. Hagens is a dynamic playmaker with the puck on his stick.
Regarding his strategy on the ice, Hagens stated in May, “I love making plays.” I believe that finding a person through the back door is a key component of my game and my entire career. Therefore, I wouldn’t say that I ever deflect while I’m trying to shoot the puck. I am aware of when to pass and when to shoot.
Hagens saw his draft stock slip over the last few months
Despite Hagens’ history, his smaller body may have been a major factor in his availability for Boston at No. 7 on Friday.
In his most recent 2025 mock draft, McKenzie, who gathered information from ten separate NHL scouts, ranked Hagens as the seventh best prospect in this class. In contrast, Craig Button, McKenzie’s TSN colleague, ranked Hagens as the eighth best prospect.
In an NHL that still values skill and speed, Hagens’ playmaking ability and hands would probably flourish.
However, there have been concerns raised about whether Hagen’s smaller frame could limit some of such higher-level productivity.
His raw numbers did not compare to some of the other freshman phenoms who have lit up Hockey East in recent years, such as Macklin Celebrini (64 points in 38 games) and Jack Eichel (71 points in 40 games), despite his point-per-game stat line (37 points in 37 games) with the Eagles this past season.
This season at BC, he had too many games where he was invisible and periods where he was difficult to spot at even strength.Last month, Corey Pronman of The Athletic wrote about Hagens. He found it difficult to penetrate inside against larger college opponents on a regular basis. This season, he too had trouble scoring goals.
His profile as a top-line NHL center that you can win with is more difficult to project because he is only 5’11” and lacks a physical advantage. Although he competed well and performed well at the World Juniors, I wouldn’t say that he had any particularly noteworthy qualities.
Hagens’ elite talent made him a wonderful value at No. 7 overall, even though he might have lost ground to other talents like center Michael Misa and Matthew Schaefer for the top slots on the draft board.
Given his past with the NTDP, it could be argued that, had Hagens also competed against younger opponents in Canadian juniors as opposed to the gauntlet found in Hockey East, he would have produced the same amount of play as other forward prospects like Misa (134 points in 65 games with OHL’s Saginaw) or Jake O Brien (32 goals, 98 points in 66 games with OHL’s Brantford).
Regarding his rookie season, Hagens remarked, “I thought this year was really good.” You simply must go out there the following year and disprove everyone who passed you by. I’m where I want to be right now. I’m eager to get things started because I want to be a Boston Bruin.
Hagens grew up as an Islanders fan
Not surprisingly, the Islanders draft party attendees moaned in unison when Hagens was taken by the Bruins on Friday.
James Hagens being selected by the @NHLBruins makes the @NYIslandersdraft party sad. The crowd is dispersing from the stands.0uRuCT232K pic.twitter.com/
Although Hagens plays for the Eagles, he is not a native New Englander because he was raised in the Long Island town of Hauppauge, fewer than 30 miles from Nassau Coliseum.
In his room, he has a picture of himself with Matt Martin, playoff mementos, and towels from the Nassau Coliseum. In a draft profile, Rachel Luscher, a staff writer for the New York Islanders, wrote about Hagens. His favorite player as a child was John Tavares. Hagens spent many hours skating in Kings Park while growing up and playing for the Long Island Royals.
According to multiple sources, New York was seeking to move up to get a domestic prospect in Hagens, since the Islanders added the No. 16 and No. 17 picks in the first round after moving Noah Dobson to Montreal.
However, with Hagens still available at No. 7, the Bruins declined any bids made for the talented center.
Regarding trade rumors, Hagens stated, “I avoided all that stuff.” I was clueless as to where it would wind up. I’m so happy that I’m a Bruin, that I’m staying in the Boston region, and that I’m finally getting to Boston.
Hagens is a big fan of Happy Gilmore
The fact that Adam Sandler, in the role of Happy Gilmore, made the formal announcement of Boston’s selection on Friday night was appropriate.
How are you? My name is Happy Gilmore. Wearing a Bruins sweater, Sandler says in the video. Being selected in the 2025 NHL Draft makes me proud. James Hagens is chosen by the Boston Bruins from Boston College. Bravo, buddy!
Happy day, eh?Which one are we choosing, Mr. Gilmore?https://twitter.com/K62fWGruA #NHLDraftpic
“Happy Gilmore is my favorite movie, so I just had the biggest smile on my face,” Hagens remarked. The coolest thing was that it happened immediately.
Since 2023, Conor Ryan has worked as a staff writer for Boston.com, covering the Boston Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox.
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