While the 2025 NHL Draft might not have the usual fireworks associated with being the first decentralized draft, it still has many significant prospects. And teams across the league want them just as severely in hopes of turning their playoff bad luck around and bagging a superstar.
But while names like Matthew Schaefer and Michael Misa are all but guaranteed to be first-round top ten prospects, others have it rather tough. And one of these prospects is Boston College standout James Hagens, who has also been lauded recently as one of the hottest names.
Many teams are interested in Hagens because of his value as a top-tier center. However, one NHL Insider recently clarified that things might not go Hagens’ way once the draft commences.
Insider Believes That James Hagens Could be Surprised at the NHL Draft
Since first breaking into the scene, sources have touted Hagens as one of the top five picks for this year’s draft alongside Schaefer, Misa, Caleb Desnoyers, and Anton Frondell. Teams like the #7 Boston Bruins have been interested in getting the young center.
Meanwhile, Hagens, being a NYC local and a fan of the Islanders growing up, has both the Islanders’ fans and sources hopeful that GM Mathieu Darche will make an offer to snag him up too via a trade deal. However, according to Cam Robinson, that might not be the case, and he has that on good authority.
In his tweet, he mentions that a league source has stated that Hagens might not be called out as early as expected. “Hagens might be waiting a lot longer than expected to hear his name called.” This is extremely shocking, as just hours before this tweet, Robinson had given his prediction for the top ten, which included Hagens at number three.
From a league-source:
“Hagens might be waiting a lot longer than expected to hear his name called.”
👀
— Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) June 26, 2025
Such a twist can be attributed to his supposed low goal-scoring rate. Even though Hagens secured 37 points across 37 games, he has only 11 goals to his credit at Boston College in his freshman year. But with 26 assists, he can dish out some good passes while using his playmaking to make things easier for his teammates.
One reason that might discourage teams from signing him might be his size. At just 5’10” and 185 pounds, he is noticeably smaller than many of the other top ten forwards for this season, such as Desnoyers and McQueen, who are both bigger at 6’2″ and 6’5″, respectively.
Some view this as not being an issue with his size or his physicality, but rather his open NY tour, which many believed was an open invitation for the Islanders. It is no secret that Hagens idolizes the New York outfit, but his open admission might’ve turned a few teams hostile.
But while Robinson’s reports suggest that Hagens might slip up, there is just as much chance for the Bruins to pounce on him when they get the #7 pick.
