Montreal Canadiens Fourth Rounder Upstages 7th Overall Pick James Hagens at Team USA Showcase

Originally posted on House of Hockey | By Julien Trekker | Last updated Jul 28, 2025 8:43 AM ET

L.J. Mooney, a Montreal Canadiens 4th-round pick at the 2025 NHL Draft, upstaged the 7th overall pick James Hagens yesterday at the Team USA showcase.

The Montreal Canadiens surprised a lot of people at the 2025 NHL Draft when they selected L.J. Mooney during the fourth round.

Mooney has the skills to be a first-rounder, but his size refrained teams from taking him. At 5-foot-7, he's much smaller than most NHLers.

That's why the Habs surprised a lot of people with that pick. Over the past years, the team drafted a few smaller players, such as Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson.

While it turned out great for both of them, adding another smaller player to the prospect pool can be risky for Montreal.

However, it looks like Mooney is proving people wrong.

Montreal Canadiens Fourth-Rounder L.J. Mooney Puts on a Show at Team USA Summer Showcase

Over the weekend, players from Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States went to Minneapolis for the 2025 World Junior Showcase, a camp that helps teams select their players ahead of the next WJC.

Yesterday, Mooney and the U.S. were in action against Sweden, and the Habs prospect was among the best players on the ice.

He tallied two points, a goal and an assist, against Sweden:

While the States ended up losing 5-2, Mooney tallied two points in the loss.

A recent report from Daily Faceoff shed light on how Habs fans are lucky to have him on board:

'He might be small, but he packs so much skill behind the way he plays. He made an excellent heads-up pass to tie the game up at 1-1, and then proceeded to snipe home an unbelievable shot to make it 2-1 late in the second. I've been a Mooney fan for about three years now, and I'm happy to see the small, but skilled, winger thrive in a game like this. The Habs have a good one here.'

Hagens, who played in another game for the U.S., also scored two points, all assists, against Finland, playing alongside his former linemates on the USNTDP.

This article first appeared on House of Hockey and was syndicated with permission.

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