James Hagens slotted in as the Boston Bruins' No. 1 center of the future as soon as the team selected him with the seventh-overall pick in last year's draft. The uber-talented prospect hits all the right notes for a team that doesn't have a ton of elite center depth in the organization, and it was a position that the Bruins have been attempting to build over the past two drafts.
It isn't the end of the world, but the Boston College Eagles elected to move Hagens to the wing in a season where they are struggling. The idea for head coach Greg Brown is to load up the top line with Hagens and Teddy Stiga, something he has been doing for the past few games until Stiga missed Saturday night's game against UMass.
The interesting thing for Hagens is that he was excelling on the wing, something that should worry Bruins fans a bit. He had four points in his past three games on Stiga's wing, while he was held pointless on Saturday night in a 4-0 win. It doesn't hurt your point totals to play with a fellow star like Stiga, but the hope was that this year, Hagens could drive a line through the center position.
It isn't all bad news. Hagens has 11 points in 11 games this season as he navigates playing with an uncharacteristically weaker team in Chestnut Hill. The team has won four straight games, ironically, since the position switch for Hagens, which means he'll likely stay there for as long as the team succeeds. Fans shouldn't panic yet, as it's only for this year, and the Bruins will continue to develop him in the middle once he signs his pro contract, likely at the end of Boston College's season.
Why James Hagens' position switch for Boston College isn't all negative for Bruins
The good news for Bruins fans is that Brown feels like Hagens is better off on the wing because he likes the look of the rest of his centers. The reason that's a good thing is that Dean Letourneau is the head coach's second-liner, and Will Moore is on the third. While Hagens has the most potential out of the three, the other two prospects getting the nod to keep playing the middle are a great sign.
Hagens' inability to play the middle due to his lack of size was a possibility for the Bruins anyway. If that's how it ends up happening, then the organization will have to adjust. Regardless, the Bruins will be getting a potentially elite talent added to their forward group, and as David Pastrnak has shown, a team can be led by a player from the wing.