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Bruins’ James Hagens Exceeding Expectations, Sturm Preaching Patience
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- Bruins’ James Hagens Exceeding Expectations, Sturm Preaching Patience
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The Boston Bruins have seen more from James Hagens than they expected this early in his NHL career, but Marco Sturm is not rushing him to the next step.
Hagens, who celebrated his 20th birthday on Tuesday, leads all NHL rookies with 12 points through 16 games. His six goals are tied for first among rookies and rank second on the Bruins roster. Hagens has spent the last 12 games skating on the third line with Elias Lindholm and Casey Mittelstadt . He has been quick to credit his linemates for helping him, both on and off the ice, as he settles into a new role as a Boston Bruin.
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"Sure," Sturm said when asked if Hagens is exceeding expectations thus far. "If you look at his points and goals, definitely I would say yes. And, you know, he's been great. He's been on a great line, he's trying to do a lot, do the right thing. He's scoring, he's [adding] some points, he's having some fun. He is definitely on the right track, and like I said, we're always here to help him and try to let him develop here as much as we can."
Hagens has found much of his offense by getting to the high-danger areas. Four of his six goals have come from within seven feet of the net. It's no secret that the majority of goals scored are around the crease , but Hagens has quickly shown an ability to get into those areas and establish that as part of his game.
That was not always part of his game, though. Hagens was touted as a playmaker when the Bruins drafted him, and that has been the case on every team he played on before turning pro. He scored 23 goals and led the Hockey East last season, but even he acknowledges that the way he is finding the back of the net is different from what he's used to.
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"I don't believe I have, but it feels good to score in any way that it is. Even if it's really close to the net," Hagens said. "But yeah, it's just, you know, trying to work on your shot and hopefully shoot more too."
Hagens started the season on the kids' line, but ahead of the Bruins' fifth game, Marco Sturm shuffled the lines and placed two veterans alongside the youngest player on the roster. As a line, they own a 54.95% share of shots on goal, have outscored opponents 7-2, and have a 5.93-4.16 advantage in expected goals .
The line has been tasked with other teams' top lines, shutting down the likes of Macklin Celebrini and Jack Eichel when they came to Boston.
"I want him to feel he can play his game, and I want him to just play free. That helps me to kind of read off him," Lindholm said after morning skate on Monday. "If he just goes where he wants to go, I'll read off him. And it makes my job easier, too. So I want him to play free, and I think both me and Casey want the same thing for him and want him to have success, and if he has success, it will help our line as well."
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Sturm has also said that Mittelstadt and Lindholm "take care" of Hagens: "That's the bottom line."
Hagens has blocked 19 shots and ranks third among NHL forwards in that category. That's another aspect that was not necessarily part of his game coming into the NHL, but it's something he is taking pride in.
James Hagens currently leads all NHL forwards with 16 blocked shots.
"It's definitely something that I try to take pride in. It's just the d-zone, and when a guy is getting ready to shoot, if that's your guy, you're going to make sure that you're in the shooting lane."
On… pic.twitter.com/Ho2SNUue6u— Jack Studley (@jackstudley13) October 24, 2026
Ahead of the season, Sturm talked about Hagens earning a role in Boston, saying he does not want to limit the opportunity for Hagens to earn a bigger role in the lineup. It is up to the player to dictate how much they will play in certain areas, and while Hagens has been impressive, he has played just 18 career regular season games and three more playoff games; he's far from a finished product.
"It's just, overall, he needs to grow, as a player and as a person. Sometimes you have to be patient in that. I do like that now he's facing the big boys. I think those are big steps for him. Moving forward, how to play, how to play behind him, how to manage pucks, not give away pucks. He can't do things overnight, but it has to be step by step, and sometimes it's just playing games," Sturm said when asked what he would like to see next. "I think we all, especially Kells ( Chris Kelly ), do a good job sitting down with him one-on-one a lot and going through that stuff. I know his linemates are too, so we're just going to take it day by day and try to improve him in every area."
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Sturm knows there are areas of Hagens' game that need development, but he also knows that process takes time. Sturm has experience developing younger talent, and he has carried that over to the NHL in his first two seasons in Boston. Hagens has been receptive to that coaching, and he's also soaking up advice from the veterans around him.
"I think puck management is a huge thing. You have to know when you can and can't make a play. You got to know if it's high-danger and low-reward, or if it's the right time to do it," Hagens said. "So it's just asking questions. If you make a mistake, go to the older guys. They've been so great with giving me feedback and talking to me."
It is an area where Hagens still has to improve. He ranks third on the Bruins in giveaways with 20, and Sturm pointed to those turnovers as one of the things he wants the rookie to clean up as he continues to develop.
On Monday night against Vegas, Hagens set a career-high with 17:27 of ice time, another sign that he's earning trust from Sturm and the coaching staff. However, he did not see the ice over the final eight minutes of regulation or in overtime.
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The Bruins' bench boss is not setting a timeline on when Hagens will take on more responsibility.
"When I feel it," Sturm said on Tuesday. "I did it with other guys, so that's just the way it is."
"He's good. As long as we have that conversation and when I feel he's ready, he will be. Last game, he only missed one shift; that's a win, right? He's fine. He's better than we all thought he would be, and we're going to build him up. There's no rush."
James Hagens on getting more comfortable at the NHL level:
"It's nice to be here. It's nice to be a part of this, and day by day you feel more comfortable and that comes with just the guys in this room. They were so welcoming to me and just to be able to come in here, and… pic.twitter.com/tWajtJPDHK— Jack Studley (@jackstudley13) November 3, 2026
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