The Boston Bruins pulled off a major heist in the 2025 NHL Draft by getting James Hagens at #7. Hagens had been in the top three for seemingly the entire season, eventually landing on the Bruins’ lap.
Boston, lacking high-end forward talent, did not blink to pick up Hagens when they had the chance. Now, it seems their first-round selection is looking even better.
A December 9 piece in RG Media caught up with Boston College coach Greg Brown. The tenured NCAA coach praised Hagens on the way the young center handles the pressure that comes with being a high-end prospect.
Brown stated:
“He handles it very well. He's able to separate his on-ice from the noise off the ice, but I honestly think there was more noise around him last year before the draft, where he had 32 teams asking for his attention and asking for his time, whereas now it's only one, but he handles it very well. He's got a very mature attitude about when he crosses and steps on that ice.”
Those comments bode well for a player who could become the Bruins’ franchise center down the line. The Boston College coach added:
“His best attribute by far to me is puck-transporting. His edges are outstanding, his speed, his lateral, and he can do all of that carrying a puck with his head up. So I think his ability to carry pucks through the neutral zone or even in the offensive zone to create space for himself and carry the puck and toll plays develop is really high-level.”
The comments point towards Hagens becoming a potential NHL star for the Bruins at some point down the line.
Another Bruins first-rounder drawing praise of his own
Another Boston Bruins first-round pick has drawn his share of praise. Specifically, we’re talking about 2024’s 25th overall pick, Dean Latourneau.
Latourneau is a monstrous 6’7” forward weighing 229 pounds, even at the age of 19. He’s the type of player who could blossom into a bona fide power forward. That’s something the Bruins don’t really have at the moment.
But if Bruins fans think Latourneau is all about size and physicality, they have another thing coming. Coach Brown had this to say about the hulking forward:
“I think he will settle into a combination of offense, size, and a two-way game.”
Those comments point towards a fantastic young player with the potential to be a difference-maker at the NHL level.
Brown dropped this highly valuable insight:
“He has very good hands for someone that size now, maybe not Joe Thornton, Mario [Lemieux] type hands, but still very good, and I think he can play a great offensive game off of his size. As he's added strength, he's really been able to improve his power forward game as well. He can protect pucks longer, and he can hold people off. He had a great assist earlier this season that I remember where he was holding a defender off as he came around for a wraparound and gave a guy a backdoor tap-in on the other side of the crease. So he's really growing into his size, and I think each year as he gets stronger, that will become more and more a staple to his game.”
The fantastic upside on Latourneau could give the Bruins two extremely talented forwards in the not-too-distant future. Don’t look now, but the Bruins may not need to go through a rebuild. The team could restock and retool with a steadily growing stable of prospects to build around.