It’s possible that the Boston Bruins will add a piece to their roster as they look to continue their playoff push in the tight Eastern Conference standings. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported earlier this week on “Daily Faceoff Live” that Boston expects that they will be signing prospect James Hagens to an entry-level contract.
Boston College was eliminated last night in the Hockey East semifinals and with them not being high enough in the NPI rankings to land one of the ten at-large bids to the end-of-season tournament, a deal could come together quickly.
One of six Boston prospects on the Eagles, Hagens was the seventh overall pick in the draft last June, falling a bit after coming into the year as a potential number one selection. With the Bruins needing some impact pieces down the middle in their system, they were certainly quite pleased that he dropped to them.
After a solid freshman year that saw him average a point per game with 11 goals and 26 assists in 37 appearances, Hagens improved upon some of those numbers this season. In 34 games, he potted 23 goals and 24 assists, leading the team in scoring by eight points. (Dean Letourneau, another Boston first-rounder, was second on Boston College in scoring.)
Assuming that Hagens eventually signs a deal that begins this season, he’d become eligible to play for the Bruins down the stretch and in the postseason if they qualify. Given his success at the NCAA level, it’s likely that Hagens would slot into the lineup right away (though potentially as a winger) and if he can give their forward group a small boost, that might be a big difference-maker in their playoff push.