Michael Hage And The Michigan Wolverines Have Won The Big 10

While Hage took a background role to Hughes in the final game of the Big Ten tournament, the truth is that they formed an amazing 1-2 punch at centre all year with the Wolverines. It has helped Michigan roll out two amazing offensive lines on a nightly basis. Now, they will have the chance to continue wrecking havoc on the NCAA at the National level. 

Hage’s storybook season in the NCAA will continue with the Frozen Four Tournament, which will feature the 16 top NCAA hockey teams in the country starting next Friday. After winning the Big Ten on Saturday night, Hage can add to his trophy case and win a national title before turning pro. This could only help the Habs prospect’s development because it will give him the experience of what it takes to be a winner before ever stepping foot in pro hockey. Winning can only do wonders for a player’s development, as it can help him improve in situations under pressure. Don’t forget he also won a bronze medal with Team Canada at the World Juniors as Canada’s top point getter. With that being said, a national title is the next thing he needs to be considered a proven winner.

Whether the Habs will need to wait for Hage until after the April 11th National Championship game or if they get to it beforehand, hopefully winning the Big 10 will be something that he can carry with him to build momentum with either the Canadiens or the Laval Rocket (if he signs too late to play in the NHL and has the option to sign a PTO to play in the AHL playoffs) and can help the Habs organization for a nice playoff run wherever he plays after his time at Michigan this year. The only thing that is for sure is that he will be turning pro after Michigan either gets knocked out or wins the Frozen Four.

Michigan has been given the #1 seed in the entire NCAA and will be playing the University of Bentley in the first round of the tournament. To no surprise, with a star senior like T.J. Hughes and another high-end prospect like Hage down the middle, they will be the team to beat during this national tournament.

While the Canadiens have Hage as their most high-profile prospect at the Frozen Four tournament, they will be well-represented by other schools in the tournament. Along with Hage, Habs prospect Logan Sawyer will also be at the tournament playing for Providence. Sawyer will be taking on Canadiens goaltending prospect Alexis Cournoyer and Cornell in the first round. Meanwhile, the Denver Pioneers have two Habs prospects in centre Sam Harris and netminder Quentin Miller. The final player who is part of the Canadiens organization in the tournament is goaltender Emmett Croteau, playing for Dartmouth.