Top Prospect has Dreams of Winning Cup with Islanders

With a statement such as Hagens' being released out into a hockey world used to their players responding with the classic "PR answer," Hagens' message brought a piece of authenticity to a sport that lacks it more than any other major league sport out there, that has some their athletes' fathers taking matters into their own hands saying things like, "I know where I want them to go," said Deion Sanders in 2024, about influencing where his son Shedeur and teammate Travis Hunter were going to get drafted, according to the New York Post.  

A statement like this isn't in the same realm as Hagens', and it probably won't hurt his draft stock as much as Sanders' son, as his comes from just purely speaking from the heart, someone who probably had memories of him and the friends he spoke about playing road hockey in the streets of Long Island as a kid, replaying in the back of his head, who could've been wearing a John Tavares Islander jersey. 

Tavares was New York's last first-overall pick who went from being the franchises’ savior to villain overnight, but now they have a chance to select a prospect who they know dreams about ending a 42-year Cup drought and a player who's been one of his country's best.

 Hagens was a point-per-game player for BC this year; his 37 points were good for third-best on the team, with Gabe Perreault and Ryan Leonard, both Hagens' wingers and NHL draft picks, being the only teammates ahead of the top five projected pick in this year's draft, who centered one of the best lines in college hockey this past season.

 His smooth skating and elite vision benefited his two sophomore wingers not only in the NCAA but also on the international level.

  When the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship rolled around this past winter, USA's World Junior coach, David Carle, saw the chemistry that Hagens and his linemates had together at BC, just like everybody else, and decided to keep the trio together, which didn't disappoint. It was the driving force for Team USA becoming back-to-back World Junior Hockey Champs. 

Keeping that BC line together was a no-brainer move as their chemistry from college translated into being the tournament's highest-scoring line, where all three of them ended up top ten in tournament scoring, accumulating 29 points in seven games.

 For Hagens, performing on his country's world stage was nothing new. Perhaps Hagens' most impressive accolade is from his time with the NTDP (National Team Development Program), as he finished fifth in the program's all-time scoring list with 187 points, highlighted by his 102 points in 58 games during his U18 season, per EliteProspects.com. 

Hagens exits his NTDP stint with numbers putting him ahead of Auston Matthews, Patrick Kane, and Cole Caufield, among others, according to USAHockeyNTDP.com. 

Though highly decorated, Hagens faces a few challenges, some affecting his draft stock. According to The Athletic's national NHL draft and prospects writer Scott Wheeler's 2025 NHL Draft ranking, this year's class of center man runs deep, giving teams the option to choose their desired mold of center man, a mold Hagens might not fit. 

One of the knocks on Hagens is that he just simply doesn't have the physicality, bite, or size to his game like some of the other center men of his class do. At 5'11" and 185 pounds, Hagens would be undersized in the NHL.

 Perhaps the biggest obstacle facing Hagens playing for his childhood team is that the Islanders have been firm on selecting Erie Otters defenseman Matthew Schaefer with the first overall pick. Wheeler's mock draft has Hagens going third overall. That pick belongs to the Chicago Blackhawks, who would have quite the future down the middle if they select him. 

If Hagens truly has his mind set on playing out his childhood dream in New York, he could always learn a thing or two from fellow Long Islander Adam Fox and not sign.