The Philadelphia Flyers have a massive decision laying before them Friday night. With the sixth-overall pick of the 2025 NHL Draft, the Flyers should be able to get a player that plays at the top of their lineup when they want to be a serious playoff contender once again. And that player can certainly be James Hagens.
The Boston College center has been all over draft boards lately. The formerly projected first-overall talent has slipped down and further down and even further down to some draft experts even saying that he could fall all the way past the Flyers and into the last picks of the top 10.
So, why? Is there something really that wrong with his game that we haven’t noticed before? And what should we look out for that makes us want him to be drafted by the Flyers?
I turned to the Broad Street Hockey YouTube channel and I livestreamed as I watched two full games of Hagens. Every shift of his from the March 28 game against Bentley University, and the Jan. 11 game against Merrimack. Let’s see what I found out about James Hagens:
Obviously, he’s a heck of a player. The skill and swift agility are immediately evident as soon as he steps on the ice.
And specifically in the first game that we watched against Bentley, he was acting as a perfect pivot in between Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perrault. Connecting plays, moving the puck up the ice, helping be that facilitator to get his wingers up and deep in the offensive zone with ease — just all the qualities that makes a centerman makes his wingers better and more productive.
On Elite Prospects, Cam Robinson wrote a scouting report of the March 28 game against Bentley.
“He was particularly effective in transition, regularly gaining the zone with control, dishing to the flank, and continuing his route through the middle to draw coverage and open space at the top,” read part of Robinson’s report. “That layered offensive awareness allowed BC to maintain pressure and create shooting lanes from the point or the weak side. He’s clearly smart and economical with his decisions, but does seem to defer a bit. Hagens consistently found himself in scoring areas, especially on the far side, ready for seam passes or pouncing on loose pucks. He showed off a heavy release from distance that handcuffed the Bentley goaltender on a couple of occasions.”
All of that is extremely visible in that first game, but you should still check out the full video for our reaction and impressions of the prospect.