On the eve of the beginning of the 2025 NHL Draft, the New York Rangers have already made a bold move, sending their 12th overall selection to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Now, the team's first selection in this year's draft won't come until the middle of the 2nd round, at number 58 overall- pending any more ahead of the draft swaps. In any case, the Rangers have a pretty good idea on who one of the first selections of the draft will be.
James Hagens, 18, is a native New Yorker born in Hauppauge located in Long Island, which is obviously the Rangers' rival territory. But there's a reason why the thought of trading into the first round in order to get him over the Isles (who hold the 1st overall pick and are expected to take Matthew Schaefer, mind you!) would be huge.
Hagens is a top five ranked prospect across multiple mock draft sites, including being the fourth overall ranked North American skater in this year's draft pool. He's also a two-time WJC medalist, winning gold in 2018 and silver in 2020. For Boston College this season, his first in Chestnut Hill, Hagens had 11 goals and 26 assists for 37 points in exactly that many games for one of college hockey's premier NHL factories.
Hagens also dominated with the U18 team of the USNTDP, scoring an astonishing 39 goals and 63 assists for 102 points in 58 games. That same season, Hagens notched an additional 18 goals and 29 assists for 47 points, even though he managed just 26 games for one of the USHL's most notable squads.
Hagens is also teammates at Boston College with his older brother Michael, a 20 year old defenseman that has played with the USHL's Chicago Steel. The brothers' father, also named Michael, played a handful of games for Division III SUNY-Brockport back in the late 1990s. But, back to James, he is a very hot commodity in this year's draft. fourth ranked on Elite Prospects, as well as NHL.com's North American skaters ranking, seventh and eighth on TSN's ranking, third on FloHockey, and fourth and fifth on SportsNet. A consistent top five ranked skater going to a team in desperate need of new younger players? Boy would the the Rangers have signed up for this prospect!
Hagen's draft stock did take a bit of a dive after this season, given his relatively decent numbers. Before the 2024-25 college hockey season got underway, Hagens was the ideal first overall pick. Of course, that was several months ago, and things have obviously changed in more ways than one. Still, he's a player to keep an eye on, as with the proper development, Hagens just might become the next superstar out of Boston College like so many before him.
Oh, and one last thing- Hagens' NIL deal saw him land with Chipotle. Yes, that Chipotle. I wonder if Madison Square Garden starts selling more burritos and stuff if Hagens happens to unexpectedly end up in Manhattan.