It might seem like yesterday to some when David Pastrnak was getting comfortable with professional hockey for the Providence Bruins before debuting in Boston. The now-superstar split his time between Boston and Providence in his first season in North America, but it wasn't a foregone conclusion that he was going to turn into what he became. He actually played three more games in the AHL the following season, before never having to ride the bus again.
James Hagens will be coming to Boston much earlier in his development, and it's likely he'll never return to play in Providence unless his play takes a significant downturn in the next calendar year. It isn't the same developmental path as Pastrnak, especially considering Hagens went much higher in the draft, but Pastrnak has some tools to help the newest rookie become the same type of impact player.
This season's roster is also a bit different than the one Pastrnak debuted with during the 2014-15 season. While this year's team is a mix of depth veterans and young upstarts, the 2014-15 Bruins reads as a who's who of legends of the past decade. Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Brad Marchand, Milan Lucic, Zdeno Chara, Dennis Seidenberg, Greg Campbell, and Adam McQuaid were just some of the leaders that Pastrnak got to learn from.
Pastrnak on helping Hagens acclimate:
— Bridgette Proulx (@bridgetteproulx) April 10, 2026
"We have to make sure we are here for him as well, older guys that have been there, because he's a young kid. Make sure that he feels welcome. I always think about it from my perspective when I came, guys made it so easy for me right… pic.twitter.com/GNnjCVPZPU
This year's team doesn't have many holdovers from that group that formed the culture that everyone knows from the Bruins. Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy are the players who learned the most from the remaining core in the late 2010s, while Jeremy Swayman also spent some time early in his career. The Bruins' organization is confident that Pastrnak and McAvoy are the players to carry on that culture to the next generation in Boston, and Pastrnak will get his first test with last season's seventh-overall pick.
In a perfect world, Hagens becomes an even better player than Pastrnak has over the past 12 years. It'll be difficult shoes to fill, and the best outcome is likely a scenario where the pair form a connection on-and-off the ice that gives the Bruins a one-two scoring punch for the rest of Pastrnak's career. It won't happen on Saturday with Marco Sturm likely keeping Hagens in the press box for the team's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but it could happen sooner than some expect.