Boston Bruins
Hagens is coming off a sophomore season at Boston College where he posted 47 points in 34 games.
James Hagens helped BC win its first Beanpot since 2016 in February. Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe
The Boston Bruins’ top prospect is going pro.
The Bruins announced on Monday night that Boston College forward James Hagens has signed an AHL amateur tryout agreement (ATO), ending his collegiate career after two seasons at Chestnut Hill.
Hagens will begin his pro career with the Providence Bruins, with the skilled forward joining Providence for their team practice at Amica Mutual Pavilion on Tuesday morning.
Barring any setbacks, he’s expected to play his first game for the Providence Bruins on Wednesday night in Springfield against the Thunderbirds.
“We’re very excited to have James join the Bruins organization and take this next step,” Don Sweeney said in a team release. “James is an important part of our future, and this is a great opportunity for him to get immediate experience at the professional level in Providence and continue his development, while keeping all options open.”
Hagens, 19, stands as one of the most lauded prospects to come through Boston’s system in some time.
The seventh overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, Hagens stood as a consolation prize amid a disastrous 2024-25 campaign in Boston.
The gifted forward once held court as the top prospect in his draft class, even drawing comparisons to Jack Hughes after stuffing the stat sheet with the U.S. National Team Development Program.
But, even after posting 37 points in 37 games as a freshman at BC, Hagens saw his stock slip going into the draft, with questions persisting over his size and his production relative to the hype he generated in the NTDP.
The Bruins welcomed the opportunity to add such a blue-chip talent to their pipeline, especially after the draft lottery dropped them two spots down from their projected No. 5 spot.
“I think that’s a little unfair in terms of players going in as a freshman,” Sweeney said of Hagens’ first year at BC after drafting him last June. “You look back at James’ track record, he’s been a prolific point producer. If you’d seen him in the World Juniors — again, against his peer group, he was on the upper echelon on the production side of things.
“He’ll be perfectly fine moving forward,” Sweeey added. “And that’s why we drafted him. We feel he’s a guy that can help generate offensively and continue to round out his 200-foot game, but wants to play it at every single situation and has produced at every level that he’s been at.”
Hagens impressed in his second season with the Eagles, scoring 23 goals and posting 47 points in 34 games — helping BC win its first Beanpot since 2016 and finishing as a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.
The Long Island native drew praise from Boston College head coach Greg Brown on Friday when asked about the progression he made as a sophomore.
“He’s got so many more dimensions to his game,” Brown said of Hagens, who played primarily on the wing this season with the Eagles. “The defensive side of the puck. The detail. He could always carry a puck in. Incredible offensive ideas, vision. You see the ideas popping out of his head as he’s carrying the puck through the neutral zone. So that part was always there.
“But he’s added to his offensive game. But, he’s really added to his complete game. … He’s not just a talent. He’s a student of the game. So, it’s great to see his growth in so many areas.”
With Hagens now in the fold, he’s seemingly on a path similar to the one that Charlie McAvoy took after going pro following his sophomore season at Boston University.
McAvoy initially signed an amateur tryout (ATO) contract with the Providence Bruins after turning with the gifted blueliner getting some experience against AHL competition after two years in Hockey East.
McAvoy ultimately played four games with Providence that spring before eventually signing his entry-level contract with Boston after the Bruins’ D corps was decimated by injuries going into the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
By starting his career in Providence, Hagens will get some run against elevated competition and give Boston some time to evaluate how he acclimates to the pro game.
If he thrives in Providence, the Bruins could sign Hagens to his ELC later this season — allowing him to make the jump up to the pro ranks as Boston readies for a playoff push.
Speaking on Monday, Bruins head coach Marco Sturm said he had no qualms over putting a prospect like Hagens into an NHL lineup.
“It’s always a challenge for everyone. Depends a little bit too what kind of age you’re in. So the good thing is with me, over the past — especially in [the Kings’ AHL affiliate] Ontario — I always had college kids coming in,” Sturm said. “They’re college kids and they never played against men.
“So it’s always a challenge. But, I didn’t see a problem because I feel like in the league in general, it’s part of the game now. … There’s so many guys now. It’s almost like it’s part of the game now, having — this time of the year — college kids coming in.”
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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