James Hagens is staying in Boston, as the Bruins have selected him with the seventh overall pick. Hagens, 18, put up 11 goals, 26 assists, and 37 points in 37 games last season at Boston College. General manager Don Sweeney and his front office benefit from Hagens sliding slightly down the draft board and keeping him in town. Although Sweeney left open the possibility of trading the No. 7 pick, the team ultimately couldn’t pass on Hagens as they rebuild toward contention.
While many believed at this time last year that Hagens was destined to be the first overall pick in this year’s draft, he slipped to seventh after producing less than expected in the NCAA. Still, Hagens game may be more NHL-ready than any of his peers in this draft class. The Long Island native plays bigger than his 5‑foot‑10, 185‑pound frame and has elite speed and scoring abilities.
In their 2025 NHL Draft Guide, Elite Prospects stated of Hagens:
“Hagens has seemingly been part of the hockey world’s zeitgeist from a young age. A fluid skater who is light on his edges, he leverages full-range wingspan handling, high activity rate crossovers, and a motor to create constant advantages. He layers pucks through tricky seams, hooks and slips feeds around pressure, and improvises on the fly with lightning-quick processing, punching away from threats and funneling play to the inside.”
For his part, Hagens mentioned he’s glad to stay close to home and won’t have to change area codes.
“I’m so excited to be back in Boston. The Bruins are getting someone who puts his soul and body on the line. I love to win and I’m just so excited to be in Boston,” he said.
Wooooooooooooooooooooo
Pretty awesome. The Boston media was all over the possibility that Hagens would fall to #7, and that the Bruins would pounce on him if he did.
Never thought it’d actually happen!
I am Seguin excited. Hopefully he stays at BC another year to cash in some NIL + teach D.L. how to score.
Holy cow!!!
This makes up for the terrible broadcast!
and the B’s brass couldn’t see or hear him during his introduction..somehow fitting as this ownership group has been clueless…love the pick, but as inauspicious a start to a career as I could’ve feared lol
So you don’t like 10 yrs of being in contention to win?? Or are you a new fan in the last yr??
Garbage 5’9 guy who can’t score or hit clearly no one has seen him play just because he played for BC he’s a good player come on smarten up Bs fans
*I’ve* seen him play: I’m a season ticket holder for Northeastern. Doubt you have.
Who would you have rather them taken?
C’mon, mcase, be better. You’re obviously an uneducated fan, but clearly severely undereducated on sentence structure, too. Pop back on here sometime when you can string something thoughtful and coherent together.
Yes Ryan, can I buy some punctuation?
Now they can trade him to NYI for a king’s ransom.
Hell yeah! Let’s go Bruins!
Man, I like Martone, but I really hate passing on O’Brien and especially Hagens. Hope I’m wrong.
Amazing how teams pass on a player because he isn’t 6 feet or taller when we just watched Marchand almost win the Conn Smythe. Bruins scored big here.
I always dislike the size critique of a player. Theo fleury, Martin St. Louis, Marchand….lots of “too small” players have succcess. It ain’t the size of the dog in the fight it’s the size of the fight in the dog.