In a great interview with ESPN, Michael Hage and his family opened up about his father's passing and what his journey through hockey has been like so far.
When the Montreal Canadiens drafted Michael Hage with the 21st overall pick at the 2024 draft, his mother gasped in amazement before telling him, “This is a sign from God, baby. You know this is Dad with you.” What most fans didn’t know at that point was that the youngster, who was a lifelong Habs fan thanks to his dad, had lost his father in a freak pool accident less than a year before.
We then heard about it and saw the custom-made jacket he was wearing, with pictures of his journey in hockey featured inside, plenty of which featured his late father, and the mention “Long live Alain Hage” sewn at the back of the collar. Back then, Hage didn’t say much about his father’s tragic death, but in a recent interview with ESPN, Hage, his mother, and his brother opened up about what had happened.
On a sunny July day in 2023, the Hages were hosting a barbecue with the youngster’s billet family from Chicago when Alain Hage dove into the pool, which was made of concrete. His wife explains that he must have hit his head somehow and that, despite plenty of guests around the pool, no one noticed right away. It was Hage himself who dove in to try and rescue him; he pulled him from the water with one of his friends and tried to perform CPR to no avail. The 51-year-old died that night.
The tragedy came after the young player had overcome a massive shoulder injury, and despite the traumatic loss he suffered, he kept pushing on in the pursuit of his hockey dream. His mother encouraged him not to move on, you can’t move on from that kind of loss, but to move forward, and that’s exactly what he did.
ESPN’s video also features pictures of the Hage boys when they were only a few weeks old, sporting Canadiens’ bibs and dressing gowns. When the Canadiens drafted the Toronto native, they not only made his childhood dream a reality but also allowed him to accomplish what his dad had wanted for him his whole life.
On Friday, Hage and the Michigan Wolverines will take on the Bentley Falcons in the first round of the Frozen Four tournament. If they win, they’ll move on to the regional final and face either the Penn State Nittany Lions or the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs on March 29. A win would then send them to the Frozen Four finals in Las Vegas from April 9 to 11.
Check out the whole ESPN interview here; it’s well worth your time.
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