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Best NHL fits for Boston College star James Hagens

   

James Hagens, a native of Long Island, New York, was the favorite to go No. 1 overall in the 2025 NHL Draft when the season began. The long-time New York Islanders fan watched as his favorite team won the draft lottery in May. 

Best NHL fits for Boston College star James Hagens

The 18-year-old centered the top line for NCAA powerhouse Boston College. He scored 37 points in 37 games before BC fell to Denver, 3-1, in the second round of the Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship in March.

You might think it was an open-and-shut case that the Islanders would draft the hometown kid, but Hagens' stock slipped. It's unclear if he will even hear his name called during the first five picks of the draft. At 5-foot-11 and 176 pounds, Hagens is on the small side for an NHL center at a time when size appears to be more en vogue. 

FloHockey draft analyst Chris Peters has Hagens ranked as the third-best player in the draft. He noted that teams passing on him do so "at their peril."

Here are the most interesting fits for the next potential American-born star, who could don an NHL uniform as early as the 2025-26 season.

 

New York Islanders

Whether it's at No. 1 overall — which seems increasingly unlikely — or by the Islanders trading up to get a second pick near the top of the draft, Hagens would live out a childhood dream in front of his friends and family. Either on the wing or at center, he'd add a dynamic piece missing from the Islanders' 5-on-5 offense and 31st-ranked power play. 

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh now has draft capital with both the No. 11 and No. 12 overall picks on Friday, potentially allowing it to move up and snag Hagens if he starts to slide. The Penguins desperately need to get younger at center. 

They also don't want their efforts to retool to take too long, or they risk squandering the last good years of generational talent, Sidney Crosby. Consider, too, that Hagens, like Crosby, is an undersized center. There's no better player to learn from — on or off the ice — in how to navigate and ultimately find success as a smaller player in a big man's game.

New York Rangers

The Rangers' organizational needs at center are almost as dire as Pittsburgh's. J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck are both solid centers to slot into a top six, but they are 32 and 31, respectively. Their farm system is full of defensively responsible centers, more likely to populate the bottom half of a lineup, if they make it to the NHL at all. 

The Penguins have the Rangers' draft pick, but the Rangers may be able to reclaim a spot in the early part of the draft, depending on the return for likely trade candidate K'Andre Miller. This move would also reunite Hagens with his former BC linemate Gabe Perreault, the Rangers' top prospect who signed with the organization at the end of last season.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers' addition of forward Trevor Zegras does draw some concern that they'd have too many similar undersized players at the top of their lineup, but that's the type of problem you figure out later. Picking at No. 6 overall, Philadelphia has a legitimate chance to land Hagens and bolster a center depth chart that hasn't received much attention during the lengthy Flyers rebuild.

The NHL Draft's first round begins Friday, June 27, at 7 p.m., on ESPN and ESPN+. The second through seventh rounds are Saturday at noon ET on NHL Network and ESPN+.

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