James Hagens has 16 points in the U-18 Men's World Championship and sits just five points behind Nikita Kucherov's all-time tournament record for points
James Hagens is undoubtedly the early favorite for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, and his performance at the 2024 U-18 Men's World Championship only solidifies his status.
With an outstanding six-point performance (3-3-6), Hagens led Team USA to a dominant 9-4 victory over Finland on Tuesday, securing the top seed in the Group A standings.
His impressive tally now stands at 16 points in the tournament, trailing Nikita Kucherov's all-time scoring record by just five points. The 17-year-old has three games remaining to try to break the record.
Hagens' performance against Finland was nothing short of spectacular, as he was effective in all three zones against a physical and undefeated Finnish team. He showcased his elite vision, quick hands, skating, and defensive prowess.
Of course, a little bit of luck certainly played into his third goal of the night with the puck deflecting off the mask of Finnish netminder Petteri Rimpinen and into the net. That's when you know things are going your way.
The Boston College commit collected primary assists on all three of Teddy Stiga's goals and tallied three goals of his own, including an incredible backhander towards the net that bounced off a Finnish defender and into the back of the net. Hagens' second goal came on the power play when he wristed the puck into the net from the slot after receiving a centering feed from Brodie Ziemer.
With his incredible performance at the U-18 Men's World Championship, Hagens is certainly entering superstar status.
Stiga opened the scoring with a powerful wrister that Rimpinen would probably like to have back. He proceeded to score two more goals in quick succession, eight seconds and 1:49 into the second period, respectively.
Kamil Bednarik also contributed his second goal of the tournament about eight minutes into the second period. LJ Mooney provided the assist from below the left-wing circle, finding his teammate on the backdoor tap-in.
Trevor Connelly scored the Americans' eighth goal and third power-play marker early in the third period, taking his tally for the tournament to four goals. Ziemer also got on the scoreboard late in regulation time, scoring his first goal of the tournament.
Furthermore, with three assists, Cole Hutson broke J.D. Forest's NTDP record for most points by a defenseman, a record that had stood for 24 years.
Team USA is set to play against Switzerland in the Quarterfinals on Thursday, May 2.