Last week, the Providence Bruins signed Boston Bruins top prospect James Hagens to an amateur tryout (ATO). With this, the Bruins have given the 19-year-old forward the chance to play at the AHL level before deciding whether or not they will sign him to an entry-level contract before the season is over. Hagens made his debut for Providence against the Springfield Thunderbirds on March 25. While the 2025 seventh-overall pick was held off the scoresheet in his Providence debut, he created chances and finished the contest with three shots. However, since then, he has broken the ice offensively with the AHL club. Hagens scored his first career AHL goal in Providence's next contest against the Bridgeport Islanders on March 28, and it was a nice one. Hagens one-timed a nice feed from Riley Tufte with a great slapshot for a power-play goal. Hagens then followed up his strong performance against Bridgeport with another good one against the Thunderbirds on March 29, as he recorded his first AHL assist. On it, he showed excellent skill with the puck before setting up Georgii Merkulov with a very good pass. Seeing Hagens starting to heat up offensively in the AHL is undoubtedly encouraging. It will be fascinating to see what he does next for Providence, but he is having a nice start in the AHL.
