Boston Bruins
Hagens, Boston’s top prospect, scored six goals in two games in Buffalo.
James Hagens is fighting for a roster spot with Boston this fall. Ken McGagh for The Boston Globe
September 14, 2026 | 6:31 PM
4 minutes to read
Going into his first full season of pro hockey, James Hagens opted for an expected answer when asked on Friday about his top offseason goals.
Get better in just about every area — a sentiment echoed by every rookie, prospect, and established NHL player around this time of the year on the hockey calendar.
But an offseason spent primarily in Boston let Hagens work regularly alongside several Bruins teammates and both strength and skills coaches he’ll ideally collaborate with for the foreseeable future.
One of the points of emphasis? Honing his shot to beat NHL-caliber goalies moving forward.
“That’s definitely something I worked on over the summer,” Hagens said Monday. “Just trying to work on everything, honestly. The skills coaches over at Boston were able to help me out a lot. I have to give them a lot of credit … I think it stems from the weight room, too.
“That definitely helps. Being able to spend the summer in Boston, being able to be around the players and the staff, they got me ready for this.”
Hagens’ speed, edge work, and vision with the puck on his stick help paint the picture of a future top-six stalwart who generates plenty of his offense by setting up his teammates with saucer feeds and collapsing defenses while skating in Grade-A ice.
But as evidenced by Hagens’ two-game stretch in the Prospects Showcase in Buffalo, the 19-year-old forward can just as easily light the lamp himself.
After tallying two goals in Boston’s 6-2 win over the Sabres’ showcase roster, Hagens was an offensive juggernaut in Monday’s 4-3 overtime victory against Buffalo — scoring all four of his team’s goals, including the overtime winner.
All four of his tallies were courtesy of wrist shots — with the game-winner sailing high past Buffalo netminder Samuel Meloche and popping his water bottle up in the air.
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In total, Hagens finished with six goals during the two-game showcase — which features a mix of top prospects, camp invites, and other younger players.
“He’s as advertised,” Providence Bruins head coach Trent Whitfield said of Hagens after Monday’s win. “I mean, he comes out, he generates offense, and then just an elite shot. He proved that today, right? I mean, six goals in two games.
I mean, what else is there to say? I mean, he makes plays. He’s not afraid. He gets in there. He’s competing. Went to the net, and he scores four goals for us. So really, not too much else to say there. He looks like he’s in good form, going into camp. So good to see that.”
Having the seventh-overall pick (2025 NHL Draft) dominate a two-game tourney featuring prospects and other unproven skaters may not generate the same amount of headlines as Hagens putting up a similar stat line against NHL competition.
But given the shortened time afforded to Hagens and other younger Bruins skaters entering an abbreviated training camp with just four preseason games on the docket, a strong performance during this tournament in Buffalo loomed large for Hagens.
Like Fraser Minten, who raised his profile last fall with a strong Prospects Showcase and carried it into a steady preseason and an eventual featured role in the NHL, Hagens is looking to follow a similar path this year.
So far, so good from the Bruins’ top prospect, who will join the rest of Boston’s roster for the club’s first full training-camp practice on Thursday at Warrior Ice Arena.
”Yeah, it’s just being able to feel good out there,” Hagens said of his performance. “You come here, you want to be able to play the right way. There’s a lot of things that I could have cleaned up.
“It doesn’t matter what the score sheet says. So it’s going to be tough. You want to make the team, and you want to be able to show well, and you just gotta put your head down and work.”
Beyond Hagens’ impressive performance at the LECOM Harborcenter, here are a few other notes from Boston’s two-game showing in Buffalo.
- Hagens understandably will draw most of the attention after his goal-scoring salvo on Sunday and Monday. But it was also a strong performance from Bruins prospect Dans Locmelis, who finished with a goal and three assists in Buffalo. Locmelis, who we tabbed as Boston’s No. 6 prospect this summer, looked no worse for wear after undergoing shoulder surgery in March. Locmelis, who projects as a bottom-six center and a Swiss Army Knife in the pro ranks, may be a long shot to make Boston’s NHL roster out of camp this month. But don’t be surprised if he cuts his teeth at some point with the Bruins once injuries sprout up. Locmelis’ hockey smarts and 200-foot game make him a potential candidate to replace Sean Kuraly as Boston’s 4C in 2027-28 and beyond.
- Bruins rookie camp invitee Jaxsin Vaughan made his presence felt on Monday when he dropped the gloves with Buffalo prospect Brayden Holberton. Holberton trucked Bruins prospect Cole Chandler coming across the blue line on Sunday, and then landed a few punches in against fellow B’s invitee Nolan Renwick in the ensuing scrum. Vaughan made Holberton pay on Monday, dropping the Sabres skater to the ice with a few heavy hooks. Vaughan, who played in the WHL with Everett last season, earned a stick tap from his teammates.
- Defenseman Cullen McCrate — a seventh-round pick by Boston in June — also popped in Buffalo. The mobile blueliner, who will play in the OHL this season before making the jump to Michigan State in 2027-28, generated Locmelis’ goal on Sunday by getting a puck on net that the Bruins forward cleaned up. He was also utilized by Whitfield as Boston’s go-to D-man during overtime on Monday. If McCrate hits in the pro game, his offensive tools will be his bread and butter. But he showed a willingness to play the body in Buffalo and also broke up a 3-on-1 on Sunday with a sweep check.
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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