James Hagens trying to block out the noise ahead of NHL Draft that could find him headed to hometown Islanders
'I think the first time I saw it was driving home from a workout and seeing someone's bumper sticker. It was pretty funny. Gives you a good smile, just tried to drive by,' said Hagens before he went through Saturday's physical testing at the NHL Scouting Combine. 'It's cool when you see something like that, when you see people on Long Island supporting it, it's special.'
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Did he give the other driver a nod?
'No,' he said through laughter. 'I just tried to put my head down. I just drove by.'
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Following a successful freshman year at Boston College, where the 5-foot-11-inch, 180-pounder collected 11 goals and 37 points in 37 games, Hagens is expected to be among the first players plucked at the draft June 27-28 in Los Angeles.
He recently was ranked the No. 3 prospect on the Central Scouting Bureau's list of North American skaters.
Hagens has consistently been on every prognosticator's Top 10 list throughout his hockey journey, from his youth days with the Long Island Royals through his time with the US National Team Development Program to his recent run at The Heights.
Through all the rankings — preseason, midseason, and final — Hagens has tried to stay level headed. Ignoring the attention, however, is nearly impossible.
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'I think you can't really let that stuff affect you. The best thing you can do is not look at it. We're kids, we're on our phones, so sometimes it will pop up,' said Hagens, who was able to play with his brother, Michael, at BC. 'I know I'm not worried about the media at all. I'm just worried about taking it day by day this season, worrying about my team, worrying about my grades, my classes at Boston College, my family. So, I guess that's all noise. You just have to make sure your head's in the moment and you're not looking at any of that stuff.'
Jake O'Brien, another top forward prospect who is CSB's fourth-ranked North American skater, echoed Hagen's thoughts.
'I also try to stay out of it, try to stay off my phone kind of with that. It could get in your head if some people are saying some bad things about you or you're lower on people's draft [lists] and stuff,' he said.
O'Brien, who plays for the OHL's Brantford Bulldogs, said his efforts to stay in the dark are sometimes sabotaged by friendly fire.
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'My team brings [the rankings] up a lot, which kind of sucks,' he said with a smile. 'They're always kind of telling me where I am on what list and everything. So that's one thing that sucks, but I try to stay out of it and stay motivated in every way.'
Playing at BC, the Bruins brass got to see a lot of Hagens, who is undecided about whether he will return for another season with the Eagles.
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Bruins director of scouting Ryan Nadeau was impressed with how Hagens came in and worked his way up to the top line, centering Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault, both of whom made the NHL jump after the NCAA Regionals.
'I get to see James quite a bit. We saw him a lot in previous years as well,' said Nadeau. 'He was a key component of the US National Team Development Program and a driver there and was able to step into Boston College and play on their top line with some really good players and watching him and the way he skates and the way he can attack open ice and the way he can create space and he's got such good skill and vision and he's such a good driver.'
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Nadeau also likes what he sees from the 6-2, 170-pound O'Brien, who put up 32 goals and 98 points in 66 games for Brantford.
'He helped to drive the bus offensively for them. He's got a little bit of length. He's worked hard throughout the year in improving his skating. He's able to play both sides of the puck. He takes a lot of responsibility in the D-zone,' said Nadeau. 'His play has been really impressive, kind of plays a pretty mature game, but yet has some excitement offensively. He can really manipulate time and space. He tends to want to slow the game down a little bit because he's so good with the puck.'
Jim McBride can be reached at
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