Boston Bruins fans were ready to send James Hagens to Providence for the rest of the season after a less-than-stellar start to the 2026-27 season. In the Bruins' opening-night win, the eye test for Hagens wasn't quite as bad as the advanced analytics suggested, but there was still a sector of the fanbase calling for him to be taken out of the lineup and spend more time developing away from the NHL.
It is certainly a good thing that the organization didn't listen. In the team's exciting overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night, Hagens completely flipped the advanced analytics narrative on his game, grading out as the best Bruins forward while scoring his first career NHL goal in the 4-3 victory.
NHL Game Score Impact Card for Boston Bruins on 2026-10-02: pic.twitter.com/lBws1HJu4e
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) October 3, 2026
Fanbases can get a little too reactive in the moment without looking at the bigger picture. Rookies league-wide are struggling to start the season, which is to be expected when you're still a teenager, but the likes of Hagens, Gavin McKenna, and Porter Martone were having a rough week if they had to listen to the outside noise.
If front offices were as reactive as the fanbase, the Bruins may not be sitting as the only team in the league at 2-0, as their best forward on Friday night wouldn't have been playing against the Jets. In just the seventh NHL game of his career, Hagens helping to lead the team to a victory is a great sign, and one we wouldn't be getting if he were in Providence right now.
Riding the highs and lows of James Hagens' rookie season
There are going to be some bad nights, like Tuesday against the New York Rangers, and there are going to be some great nights, like Friday against the Jets. There are also going to be many nights where he might be just average, as no one is expecting Hagens to be the team's best forward for 84 games this season.
You'd like to see him be that for the Bruins much more often in the coming seasons, but for now, he is fine where he is on the third line and contributing when he can. Hagens is getting some on-the-job training in his role, and getting NHL reps is much more important at this point in his development and the team's cycle.
There weren't massive expectations on the Bruins this season, but if they can get nights like this from players like Hagens and Fraser Minten, they just might be better than people think for the second-straight season.
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