Handed a top-10 pick for the first time in 14 years, the Boston Bruins selected one of the most talented prospects in the 2025 NHL Draft class.
With the seventh pick, the Bruins selected Boston College center James Hagens — giving the Original Six franchise a much-needed shot in the arm when it comes to adding a skilled pivot to their pipeline.
Here are five things to know about Boston’s first-round draft pick:
Hagens will develop right in Boston’s backyard at Boston College
Don Sweeney and Boston Bruins’ top brass won’t have to travel very far to see their potential franchise center in action.
Hagens is coming off of a freshman season at Boston College where the skilled playmaker scored 11 goals and 26 assists for 37 points in 37 games — while also posting a plus-21 rating.
The 5-foot-11, 177-pound forward ranked fourth among NCAA freshmen in points, while also earning a spot on the Hockey East All-Rookie Team. He also skated on an Eagles team that had three other Bruins draft picks in Oskar Jellvik, Dean Letourneau, and Andre Gasseau.
Hagens stands as the third Bruins’ first-round pick to be selected from either Boston College or Boston University — joining a group that includes Charlie McAvoy (No. 14 overall, 2016) and Craig Janney (No. 13 overall, 1986).
“I love the city. I love being in Boston,” Hagens said of going to BC. “I grew up playing so many hockey tournaments in Boston, so I knew the area … I’m super grateful it worked out, and then I’m in this spot now.”
Hagens said after the first round that he wants to go to the NHL as soon as possible, but noted that he will consult with Bruins’ management about his next steps.
Hagens entered this season as the consensus No. 1 pick in this draft class
Entering the 2024-25 season, Hagens was considered the top prospect in this draft class — earning the No. 1 spot on TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s preseason draft rankings in September 2024.
“It wasn’t a particularly difficult choice [to make Hagens No. 1 on the pre-season list],” one NHL club team head scout told McKenzie.
Hagens’ standing in the fall was warranted, given the Hauppauge, N.Y. native’s lengthy track record of shredding opposing defenses over the last few seasons.
Before his arrival at BC, Hagens recorded 102 points (39 goals, 63 assists) in 58 games with the U.S. U-18 National Development Program in 2023-24.
That 102-point output was higher than other stat lines posted by the likes of Ryan Leonard (94), Phil Kessel (98 points), and Matthew Tkachuk (95 points) during their respective U18 seasons with the USNTDP.
The only U18 national players to either match or surpass Hagens’ 102 points in a single season were Patrick Kane, Cole Eiserman, Clayton Keller, Jack Hughes, Auston Matthews — and a pair of BC products in Will Smith and Gabe Perreault.
Hagens also dominated during international competition — setting a new scoring record at the 2024 World U18 Championships with 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists) in just seven games. The previous record-holder during the U18 Championships? Nikita Kucherov.
Even with his smaller frame, Hagens is a dynamic playmaker with the puck on his stick — with talent evaluators unanimously awarding the BC product with the “best hands” in this entire draft class during a recent article in The Athletic.
“I love making plays,” Hagens said in May of his approach on the ice. “I love being able to find a guy back door, that’s something that I feel like is a big part of my game, my whole entire career. So I wouldn’t say that I ever deflect away from shooting the puck. I know when to shoot and when to pass.”
Hagens saw his draft stock slip over the last few months
Even with Hagens’ track record, that smaller frame might have been one of the primary reasons why he was available for Boston at No. 7 on Friday.
In his last 2025 mock draft, McKenzie — sourcing info from 10 different NHL scouts — listed Hagens as the No. 7 prospect in this class, while McKenzie’s TSN colleague, Craig Button, had Hagens listed as the No. 8 prospect.
Hagens’ playmaking acumen and hands would seemingly thrive in an NHL that continues to prioritize speed and skill.
But questions have arisen over whether or not Hagens’ smaller frame might stunt some of that production at the next level.
And even with his point-per-game stat line (37 points in 37 games) with the Eagles this past year, his raw numbers did pale in comparison to some of the other freshman phenoms who set Hockey East aflame over the last few years like Jack Eichel (71 points in 40 games) and Macklin Celebrini (64 points in 38 games).
“At BC, he had stretches this season where he was hard to notice at even strength and had too many games where he was invisible,” The Athletic’s Corey Pronman wrote of Hagens last month. “He struggled to consistently get to the inside against bigger college defenders. He also struggled to score goals this season.
“At barely 5-foot-11 and without a physical edge, his profile becomes harder to project as a top-line NHL center who you can win with. His compete level is decent and looked good at the World Juniors, but I wouldn’t call it a standout trait.”
Even if Hagens might have been leapfrogged by other prospects like Matthew Schaefer and center Michael Misa for the top spots on the draft board, his high-end talent still made him a great value at No. 7 overall.
Considering his history with the NTDP, the case could be made that Hagens would have replicated the same production generated by other forward prospects like Misa (134 points in 65 games with OHL’s Saginaw) or Jake O’Brien (32 goals, 98 points in 66 games with OHL’s Brantford) had he also played against younger competition in Canadian juniors, rather than the gauntlet found in Hockey East.
“I thought this year was really good,” Hagens said of his freshman season. “And you just got to go out there next year and prove everyone that passed on you wrong. I’m in a spot where I want to be. I want to be a Boston Bruin, and I’m really excited to get things going.”
Hagens grew up as an Islanders fan
It should come as little surprise that the crowd at the Islanders’ draft party on Friday groaned in unison when the Bruins selected Hagens.
Despite playing for the Eagles, Hagens is not a local product from New England — as he grew up less than 30 miles from Nassau Coliseum in the Long Island town of Hauppauge.
“His favorite player as a kid was John Tavares, he has a picture with Matt Martin on the wall in his room and has playoff memories – and towels from Nassau Coliseum,” New York Islanders staff writer Rachel Luscher wrote of Hagens in a draft profile. “Hagens played for the Long Island Royals growing up and spent countless hours skating in Kings Park.”
With the Islanders adding both the No. 16 and No. 17 picks in the first round after trading Noah Dobson to Montreal, several reports noted that New York was looking to trade up to acquire a homegrown prospect in Hagens.
But with Hagens still on the board at No. 7, the Bruins did not bite on any offers with the skilled center up for grabs.
“I stayed away from all that stuff,” Hagens said of trade rumors. “I had no idea where it was going to end up. I’m so grateful that I’m ending up at Boston, that I’m a Bruin and that I’m not leaving the Boston area.”
Hagens is a big fan of Happy Gilmore
It was fitting that Adam Sandler — appearing as Happy Gilmore — was the one to officially announce Boston’s pick on Friday night.
“My name is Happy Gilmore, how are you?” Sandler said in the video while donning a Bruins sweater. “Proud to be part of the 2025 NHL Draft. The Boston Bruins select from Boston College, James Hagens. Way to go, homie!”
“I just had the biggest smile on my face because I love ‘Happy Gilmore’ — it’s my favorite movie,” Hagens said. “So it was just right away, the coolest thing.”