What difference does it matter who’s off the board when Boston’s pick comes up? Don Sweeney’s just going to sign those players down the road anyway.
All joking aside, James Hagens checks all the boxes for the Boston Bruins, who despite an audio glitch that left Sweeney, Marco Sturm and Cam Neely in a blank stare as their pick was walked over to a big screen for a virtual face-to-face greeting that never took place, add a very important player to their prospect pool.
Hagens, the seventh-overall pick, will play again next season at Boston College, where he has already been a dominant playmaker and offense creator in Hockey East.
“I want to get to the NHL as soon as possible… Once the college season is over, that’s a conversation we have to have,” said Hagens, who turns 19 on Nov. 3.
The Long Island native said he grew up playing youth-hockey tournaments in Boston and has always enjoyed the city. With a successful season at BC under his belt, he is thrilled to be in position to continue playing hockey in Boston, whether is be at the Heights beyond the 2025-26 season or as a Bruin in 2026-27.
“We believe in the player and what he’s done,” Sweeney told a gathering of Bruins writers in TD Garden after the conclusion of the opening round of the draft tonight. While declining to project an NHL comparison, Sweeney also pointed to Hagen’s compete level and how he has consistently seized opportunities to impact the hockey challenges at each level he has faced. When asked if that could translate to the coming NHL season, Sweeney said, “One step at a time,” and seemed to indicate a preference that Hagens take on the opportunity presented by the departure of some of his talented BC teammates to the NHL. How Hagens responds to that challenge may hasten conversations after the 2025-26 NCAA season is complete.
After defenseman (and top consensus pick) Matthew Schaefer went to the Islanders, the draft fulfilled its predictability with four straight centermen picked: Michael Misa by the Sharks, Anton Frondell by the Blackhawks, Caleb Desnoyers by the Utah Mammoth and Brady Martin by the Predators. When right winger Porter Martone went to the Flyers at No. 6, the Bruins’ pick became simple.
It had been rumored that the N.Y. Islanders would attempt to maneuver to acquire another pick so that they could have their cake (Schaefer) and eat it too with their local product, but not a single trade was made through the draft’s first 11 picks.
At 5-foot-11 and 177 points, Hagens began the 2024-25 season as the top-ranked North American skater, but other players had big seasons and surpassed him with the attraction of more obvious physical attributes, be it size, goal scoring ability, etc. Hagens is an all-around talent known for great rink vision and passing ability.
On Wednesday, Sweeney met media at Warrior Arena and, when asked about an impact player, noted that there are different kinds of impact. He offered high-end skill as his first example of different kinds of impact. This is what he hopes the Bruins’ future has in Hagens.
However unfair to invoke the name, the Bruins would dearly love to find their next David Krejci, or something like it. Hagens is hereby added to the pool of players the Bruins hope will thusly develop.
This pick also gives the Bruins a fourth player on the BC varsity for next season, adding Hagens to senior forwards Andre Gasseau and Oskar Jellvik and sophomore center Dean Letourneau.
In regards to the opening joke, note that Elias Lindholm (5th overall in 2015), Pavel Zacha (6th overall in 2015), Casey Mittelstadt (8th overall to Buffalo in 2017), Oliver Wahlstrom (11th overall in 2018), and Nikita Zadorov (16th overall in 2013) are all first-round draft picks (three in the top 10) chosen by other teams.
Here is the Bruins’ press release on the Hagens pick:
BRUINS SELECT JAMES HAGENS 7TH OVERALL IN 2025 NHL ENTRY DRAFT
Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced today, June 27, that the team has selected forward James Hagens in the first round (7th overall) of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
Hagens, 18, appeared in 37 games for Boston College during the 2024-25 season, recording 11 goals and 26 assists for 37 points, with a plus-21 rating. The 5-foot-11, 177-pound forward ranked third among Boston skaters and fourth among NCAA freshmen in points, earning a spot on the Hockey East All-Rookie Team. In 2023-24, Hagens appeared in 58 games for the U.S. National U18 Team, as part of the National Team Development Program, totaling 39 goals and 63 assists for 102 points.
The Hauppauge, New York native was part of the United States’ gold medal-winning team at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, ranking second among U.S. skaters in points (9). Hagens was named most valuable player after leading tournament scoring at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Junior Championship, recording 22 points in seven games to help Team USA win the silver medal. He also won gold at both the 2023 IIHF U18 World Junior Championship and 2022 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge
#06/27/25#
Rink Rap with Mick Colageo 