2025 NHL Draft Diary: James Hagens

James Hagens of Boston College in Hockey East will file a draft diary for NHL.com this season leading up to the 2025 NHL Draft. The 17-year-old center (5-foot-10, 177 pounds), who was born in Hauppauge, New York, is an A rated skater on NHL Central Scouting's preliminary players to watch list and a projected first-round pick. He has five points (one goal, four assists) in three games for BC this season. Hagens led the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team with 102 points (39 goals, 63 assists) in 58 games last season. He had 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists) in seven games to help the United States earn a silver medal at the 2024 IIHF World Under-18 Championship in Finland.

Hello hockey fans.

I'm glad to have an opportunity to provide some monthly thoughts in a draft diary for NHL.com this season. To start things off, here's my story of how I got here and how excited I am to begin my first season at Boston College.

I have an older brother, Mike, and younger sister, Emma. I just remember there being a lot of chaos when I was younger when mom and dad had to get us to practice every day and I had to make sure my schoolwork was done. Having three kids, our parents did so much, driving us to all the games and tournaments. It's a lot. All the extra skates we participated in, it was a big thing for a family. Hockey has always been a huge piece in our lives.

My brother, a defenseman, plays with me at Boston College this year and my sister, a forward, plays for a girls' team on Long Island, the Portledge School. Emma's a really good player, and hopefully she ends up with us at BC someday.

My dad (Mike) was a defenseman when he played. He was kind of the reason why my whole family is wrapped around hockey and got introduced to it. He's a big New York Islanders fan so we kind of grew up watching the Isles and then he kind of got us on the ice right away, and we just fell in love with it. We'd be at the rink a ton and he built a backyard rink for our family. There's nothing better than just walking out to your backyard when there's snow on the ground and playing some hockey until mom calls you in for dinner. Those are good times.

As far as my game goes, I like to drive the pace, skate with the puck, make plays, create offense, and just make stuff happen. I like watching players like Jack Hughes (New Jersey Devils) and Logan Cooley (Utah Hockey Club) since they're guys who kind of slow the game down, drive play, and are able to create opportunities. There's not a lot of room out there and it's a fast game, it's tough. Hughes and Cooley are always thinking out there, they use their hockey IQ to develop plays under pressure, and that's what I want to do.

Growing up, I always kind of knew about Boston College. It's such an established place. I went to a lot of games as a kid, watched on TV and have seen the legacy it has established. As a young hockey player, you grow up wanting to come to a place like this and to be able to come here with my brother and it being so close to home is great. It's nice on my parents as well since it's just a ferry ride over. They don't have to book plane tickets to watch us play.

To prepare for my freshman year, I did a lot of working out over the summer. I was big on gaining weight, building mass for this year. I wanted to be able to handle myself when those bigger, stronger guys are coming at me, so that was my main focus. On the ice, I just wanted to improve my skating and my shot and all the little details. I wanted to be ready from the get-go.

The college experience so far has been something special, especially being a part of a team. Being on that ice, learning to handle yourself out there and making sure you're playing smart and doing the little things to help the team win is such a big part of it all.

I'm majoring in communications and my roommate at school is forward Teddy Stiga (2024 NHL Draft, Nashville Predators, No. 55).

Coach Greg Brown has been great. I enjoy hearing the way he talks and how he handles the team. There's a reason why Boston College goes so far every year. He's a good coach, helps you out, especially with me just coming in, learning new systems. He wants to make sure we're taking care of our own zone and wants to get us ready for the next level. He knows so much about the game so you kind of just have to be a sponge around him, soak it all in.

Off the ice, I'm a big golfer. I love going out with friends and playing as a group. It's just a lot of fun.

Well, that's all for this month. I'll check back in November. Thanks for reading.