At the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, the Boston Bruins selected center James Hagens with the seventh-overall pick. Most expected Hagens to go far earlier in the draft, so many fans are very excited about Hagens joining the Bruins' prospect pool.

When noting that Hagens has the potential to blossom into a legitimate first-line center later down the road, he is exactly the kind of prospect that the Bruins needed. There is no question that the Bruins have a serious issue at the center position, and they will be hoping that Hagens can help fix that in the near future.

Hagens certainly showed plenty of promise during his freshman season with Boston College in 2024-25, as he recorded 11 goals, 26 assists, 37 points, and a plus-21 rating. Now, he is continuing to show promise, as he put together a strong performance for Team USA in their recent matchup against Team Finland at the World Junior Summer Showcase.

Hagens certainly made an impact for Team USA, as he recorded two assists in the contest. This included an excellent feed to Nashville Predators prospect Ryker Lee that gave Team USA a 1-0 lead over Team Finland in the first period.

After getting a pass from Lee in front, Hagens quickly tapped the puck right back to the Predators prospect. From there, Lee was able to quickly fire it home for the goal.

Hagens is well-known for his high playmaking skills, and he certainly showed them off with his assist to Lee. It will now be fascinating to see what other awesome plays Hagens has in store next.

5 Bruins Who Could Thrive Playing For Marco Sturm After a long head coaching search this off-season, the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins">Boston Bruins</a> officially named Marco Sturm their new bench boss on June 5. Sturm had been connected to Boston's head coaching job for several weeks before landing it, so it was not necessarily surprising to see the former Bruin hired for the role. However, it also makes a lot of sense that he is the Bruins' new head coach. 

Bruins Top Prospect Has Big Game For Team USA