James Hagens was at TD Garden Wednesday to help distribute backpacks to local kids as part of the 14th annual Back-to-School Celebration. Come this fall, the Bruins’ 2025 first-round pick will not be playing at TD Garden, and will instead be heading back to school himself.
If there was still any doubt regarding where Hagens would be playing this season, he confirmed to WEEI.com on Wednesday that he will indeed be returning to Boston College for his sophomore season rather than turning pro immediately.
While that might be mildly disappointing for some Bruins fans who were hoping to see the team’s best prospect in a decade right away, it would be hard to argue that it’s not the best decision for everyone involved.
It’s not necessarily that Hagens, who turns 19 in November, would be overwhelmed by the NHL this year. It’s entirely possible that he would be able to hold his own and emerge as an impact player as the season goes on.
It’s more that there are still things he can learn and improve on at the college level – things that might be harder to really hone in on in the NHL.
Hagens still has room to grow as a goal-scorer. While his 37 points in 37 games last season were very good for an underage freshman, his 11 goals don’t exactly jump off the page. Part of that was an understandable willingness to just get the puck to linemate Ryan Leonard, who led the nation in goals. But part of that was also Hagens either not taking or not burying enough of his own chances. With Leonard and second-leading scorer Gabe Perreault both in the pro ranks now, BC is going to need Hagens to play finisher and not just setup man.
Hagens will be BC’s clear top forward. He should be one of the very best players in the country and a legitimate Hobey Baker candidate, in competition with the likes of fellow sophomore Cole Hutson (Boston University), fellow 2025 top-10 picks Porter Martone (Michigan State) and Roger McQueen (Providence), and 2026 No. 1 overall pick contenders Gavin McKenna (Penn State) and Keaton Verhoeff (North Dakota).
Hagens can get stronger and work on winning more battles, something that will be easier to do at the college level than in the NHL. Same goes for playing more minutes and improving on faceoffs. He could also see time on BC’s penalty kill and get experience there, something he didn’t do much last season and wouldn’t do at all with the Bruins this year.
And, he can be a leader on a team that has some lofty goals. While the Eagles look a little weaker on paper than last year, with goaltending in particular standing out as a big question mark, this is a team that feels like it has unfinished business. They were the No. 1 team in the country throughout last season, but came up short in each of the Beanpot, the Hockey East tournament, and the NCAA tournament.
Hagens wants to help change that this year.
“To win,” Hagens said when asked about his goals for this season. “We didn’t win last year. You want to be able to win a Beanpot, you want to be able to win a national championship for the people that support the team, to the equipment managers, to the staff, to everyone that puts so much time and effort into making us that hockey team. It’s up to us to go out there and perform and be able to win for them.”
Hagens will also once again be the No. 1 center for the United States at the World Junior Championship, where the Americans will be aiming for a third straight gold.
Hagens had previously said at Bruins development camp last month that he wanted to be in the NHL as soon as possible. In talking to people around the Bruins that week, though, it was pretty clear that the organization believed Hagens would benefit from another year at BC. They weren’t going to force his hand, though, and gave Hagens the time he needed to come to a decision.
Eventually, Hagens came to the same conclusion that general manager Don Sweeney and player development coordinator Adam McQuaid had preached – that there was no need to rush his development.
“It's definitely something that I talked about a lot with my family, the staff with the Bruins,” Hagens said. “I'm excited. I can't wait to get back, especially with the group of guys that we have.
“It’s just not rushing the process. To be able to get picked by Boston, to be able to know where you are, just super grateful. It's not a sprint. It’s a marathon. There's no reason to rush anything. So, they're all conversations that you have to have. There's a different timeline for everyone. So, it's just kind of thought of what the right step in the process would be.”
Hagens has plenty of examples he can turn to when it comes to highly-touted players who benefited from a second college season, and who were ready to turn pro and make an impact as soon as said sophomore season ended.
Future teammate Charlie McAvoy would be one. McAvoy turned pro after his sophomore season at BU back in 2017 and walked right into a top-four role for the Bruins in the playoffs that spring. Hagens has been skating with McAvoy at Warrior Ice Arena in recent weeks, along with fellow Bruins Pavel Zacha, Mason Lohrei, Johnny Beecher and Jeremy Swayman.
Hagens can also look to his linemates last year, Leonard and Perreault. Cale Makar at UMass is another convincing argument for two years being better than one.
Hagens’ time with the Bruins will come, potentially as early as spring 2026. And if fans really want to see him before then, well, Conte Forum is right down the street.