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Back in Boston for first time as a Bruin, James Hagens feels he’s ready to represent his ‘second home’
"It makes you want to work as hard as possible so that you can be the guy that can call this home. You could be on that ice, playing for these fans."
James Hagens had to do a double-take at first.
Tucked away in the corner of the Bruins’ Heritage Hall, one glass-encased collection of artifacts and polaroids centers around the NHL Draft — and the hope that builds when a franchise adds a fortune-shifting prospect.
Photos of a baby-faced David Pastrnak — well before he was uncorking howitzers from the left circle — and a clean-shaven Joe Thornton were the first prints to catch Hagens’ eyes.
But in an exhibit tasked with documenting the first 100 years of the Original Six franchise, a new addition to that collection looks to the future.
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A photo of Hagens — donning a spoked-B sweater for the first time during Friday’s NHL Draft — now joins the likes of Pastrnak, Thornton, Charlie McAvoy, and other Bruins franchise fixtures in that shadow box.
Such are the expectations placed on Hagens: a teenager whose sky-high potential is now feeling the weight of being a franchise savior in Boston.
But as the seventh pick in the 2025 NHL Draft toured TD Garden on Monday evening, talk of that pressure quickly shifted toward opportunity — and the reward that awaits when he makes the trek from Chestnut Hill to Causeway Street.
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“It makes you want to make the team,” Hagens said of visiting the Garden following his first day of Development Camp. “It makes you want to work as hard as possible so that you can be the guy that can call this home. You could be on that ice playing for these fans.”
Monday was not the first time Hagens has paid a visit to the Bruins’ home barn.
Frequent hockey tournaments brought Hagens and his family up to Boston over the years. He’s more than found his bearings since first arriving on campus at Boston last fall.
In February, he etched his skates into the frozen sheet at TD Garden with a pair of games at the Beanpot — later joining his Eagles teammates along the glass to see Ryan Leonard make his NHL debut in April.
Hagens is looking to follow in Leonard’s footsteps in 2025-26 – be it during the fall or after the Eagles’ season comes to a close in March or April.
That end result remains the same for every promising hockey prospect on the cusp of cutting their teeth in the pro ranks.
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But as he toured the Bruins’ dressing room and stepped onto the floor where his dangles and dekes could cause nearly 20,000 to rise as one, Hagens felt reassurance.
It was as though fate had once again brought the Long Island native back to Boston.
“The fans are so passionate about this team,” Hagens said. “They’re so passionate about their sports here. I wanted to go to school here — so I was fortunate enough to be picked by the Bruins. It’s a dream come true, to be able to stay in Boston. It’s like a second home.”
The ice won’t be set down on Causeway for at least another few months.
But as Hagens and the rest of the Bruins’ Development Camp roster toured the arena, the message remained resolute from Boston’s personnel.
“If things aren’t going your way and you need a push, this is something to think back on,” former Bruins blueliner and current team player development coordinator Adam McQuad told Boston’s camp roster as they sat in the team’s dressing room. “It’s something to work toward.”
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It hasn’t taken very long for Hagens to put his best foot forward.
Hours before he glanced up at the banners hovering over the Garden floor and looked over newspaper clippings from the days of Orr, the gifted forward was offered a respite by Boston’s staff.
And for good reason.
The day after he was drafted, both Hagens and Bruins second-round Will Moore were set to board a flight on Saturday night from Los Angeles to Boston.
After an extended delay, the flight was cancelled.
“Definitely build a deeper connection when you’re sleeping together on the floor of the airport,” Moore joked.
By the time the duo finally boarded a plane set for Boston, it was 10 p.m on the East Coast.
By the time they arrived at the team hotel, it was 4 a.m. — with departure for Warrior Ice Arena scheduled for 6:45 that morning.
Hagens’ top concern at the time? Not waking up his hotel roommate (and BC teammate Andre Gasseau).
“I had my earplugs in,” Gasseau said of Hagens’ early-morning arrival. “He told me he was tiptoeing around the room.”
Operating on a little over two hours of sleep, both Hagens and Moore passed their physicals. Factoring in their quick turnaround and days spent roaming every Hudson News stand at LAX, the Bruins gave both forwards the opportunity to sit out of Monday’s drills on the ice.
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The Bruins’ PR staff event announced just ahead of drills that both Hagens and Moore would sit out of the first day of camp.
Hagens and Moore had other plans.
Just 20 minutes after the team issued the statement explaining their absence, the forwards took the ice.
For Hagens, it was a no-brainer.
“When you have a chance to put on the Bruin jersey, you can’t say no,” Hagens said after practice. “It doesn’t matter what flight delay or how much sleep you get. This is a dream come true, and it’s the first time you’re able to put on the jersey.
“You’d have to cut off my leg to tell me I couldn’t get on that ice.”
Hagens was no worse for wear as he separated himself from the pack during edge work drills. At least he didn’t show it to McQuaid and the rest of Boston’s development personnel.
“He didn’t seem to miss a beat after going through a busy couple days,” McQuaid said. “You can tell how smooth he is out there, and confident with the puck. … It seems like he’s excited to be out there.
“He came down one end and got to shoot and it was like, ‘All right, here we go.’ Driven to score some goals. So yeah, it was a great first day and great first impression, on and off the ice.”
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Hours after leading the way on the ice, Hagens planted himself at the front of the auditorium at Heritage Hall for a video feature on the Bruins.
The usual hits played out on the screen.
- No. 4 sailing through the sky.
- Wensink challenging Minnesota’s bench.
- Thomas stonewalling the Canucks.
- Bergeron’s OT winner against Toronto.
- Chara — his shattered jaw held him in place by wiring — showered by cheers at TD Garden in 2019.
For a New York native who once had a poster of Matt Martin on his bedroom wall, some of those videos may not have resonated.
At least, not until now.
In Hagens, a Bruins team short on elite talent and a fanbase yearning for hope has seemingly found its man.
And in return, Hagens has found a new home — and a team and city worth fighting for as he sets his sights on a black-and-gold sweater.
“It comes with a lot of pride,” Hagens said at practice of being Boston’s first top-10 pick in 14 years. “A lot of honor to be able to be a part of something like this — to be able to even get picked and to say you’re picked by the Boston Bruins. It doesn’t really hit you until you’re up on that stage.
“But you know it’s going to come with a lot of hard work. I know how hard it’s going to be, and that’s just, it’s just a big step. I’m willing to do it. I’m willing to give everything I possibly have into this game and this organization to the fan base.
“I’m just excited to get it going.”
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