Where James Hagens Stands in Early Calder Race

The Boston Bruins are gearing up for training camp, which opens in less than two weeks.

It will be the first NHL training camp for James Hagens, who got a five-game stint with the Bruins late last season. As he enters his first full season with the organization, the 19-year-old is appearing in preseason rankings for the Calder Trophy, given annually to the league’s best rookie.

Scott Wheeler, Corey Pronman, and Harman Dayal of The Athletic listed Hagens at No. 10, one behind Ilya Protas and two behind Jacob Fowler. Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff also had Hagens as one of the top 10 candidates, though that list was in no particular order.

The major sportsbooks have him as a long shot as well, but he’s still inside the top 10 for all four of them.

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Porter Martone and Gavin McKenna are the early favorites for the award this season, while the last Bruin to win the Calder Trophy was Andrew Raycroft in 2004.

Hagens, obviously, still has to make the team during training camp before he can make a run at the Calder Trophy.

He is not guaranteed a spot out of training camp. The Bruins have plenty of NHL-capable options up front and less than two weeks from camp to opening night.

If he does make the team, though, Marco Sturm does not want to limit the opportunity for Hagens to earn a bigger role in the lineup.

“The player, for me, always dictates how much they want to play in certain situations, minutes, special teams, you name it. If Hagens shows me that he’s ready for that next step, I will give him that.

I’m not going to say, ‘Oh, no. You got to go through those things.’ No. I’m not that dumb,” Sturm said to Evan Marinofsky on Bruins Beat.

Hagens led the Hockey East in points last season (23-24–47), producing at 1.38 points per game and landing inside the top 10 in Hobey Baker voting. He turned pro in March and joined Boston in April, but the offense did not carry over from Boston College.

Despite that, Sturm liked what he saw from the seventh overall pick.

“I love the way he played [at the] end of last season; I love that he went to Providence. I thought there was a lot of good things.

Did we see the offense that he usually played in college? No. But he didn’t want to make any mistakes,” Sturm said.

“He did absolutely okay. I think this year he should come out and just play the game.

I will help him with the structure, but also I don’t want to lose that skill and touch he had in the past.”

“If he can provide us that five-on-five or even on the power play, he will get those opportunities,” Sturm said. “But again, maybe not right from the start.”

Sturm and the Bruins front office have also been open about Hagens playing on the wing, as they intend to give him an easier entry point into the league. Don Sweeney has acknowledged the Bruins drafted him as a center, but Hagens spent the majority of the BC season on the wing and exclusively played on the wing after turning pro.

The Bruins are established with a committee down the middle, giving Hagens a clearer path to start on the wing. Over the summer, Sweeney remained confident in the Bruins’ center-by-committee plan, saying they did a good job last season.

Hagens also faces an uphill battle with a shortened camp, giving him less than two weeks to make his mark. Cam Neely mentioned that he’s been working hard this summer in Boston, while Sturm expects players to be ready to go at the start of camp.

Fortunately for Hagens, he spent time with Sturm and the Bruins organization last year, so there is already some familiarity. However, he still has to earn a spot before any of the preseason Calder talk can matter.

Also Read:Bruins Face New Challenge With Shortened Training Camp

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