The Montreal Canadiens hit a couple of home runs with their first-round picks at the 2024 Draft [https://records.nhl.com/draft/draft-picks?year=2024], first selecting Ivan Demidov [https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/619202/ivan-demidov] at fifth overall, followed by Michael Hage [https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/597678/michael-hage] at 21st overall. The 18-year-old Hage is a freshman at the University of Michigan. After reaching the Frozen Four last season, the Wolverines are off to a 3-2-1 start, with Hage leading the team in scoring with seven points in six games. On Oct. 25 [https://mgoblue.com/documents/2024/10/26/20241025-ihm-usntdp.pdf], Michigan took on the United States National Team Development Program at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, MI. The "home" team jumped to a 3-0 lead before the NTDP team rallied and tied the game at 4-4 to set up overtime. That's when Hage, who recently had a four-game goal streak snapped in NCAA play, became an instant hero with the game-winning tally at 2:46 of overtime. To begin his NCAA career with the Wolverines, Hage was on fire until a recent contest against St. Cloud State University (Oct. 19). In the season opener, he had two helpers, and in the following contest, he tallied his first college goal while earning another assist, collecting four points in six periods. Hage lit the lamp in the next three games to run his goal streak to four games. He's got a chance to start a new point streak this weekend with a doubleheader against Boston University on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bookmark THN's Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/] site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and more. Lane Hutson has had a solid start to the season and it has Canadiens' fans dreaming of the Calder Trophy.
