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After calling James Hagens up, Bruins need to give him a long leash
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- After calling James Hagens up, Bruins need to give him a long leash
BOSTON — Marco Sturm said the Bruins hadn’t decided whether or not James Hagens would play on Saturday.
After starting his pro career in the AHL, Hagens, who signed his entry-level deal on Monday, participated in a Bruins optional skate on Thursday and will practice with the full varsity roster on Friday.
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Sturm said he wanted to see Hagens in person before determining whether the 19-year-old forward was ready to help the Bruins.
“I have to see it with my eyes,” Sturm said. “Tomorrow will be my first time to see him actually on the ice. I can tell, maybe not in one practice, but pretty soon.”
There’s a good chance Sturm is just being cagey. Coaches like doing that.
The reality is, now that the Bruins made the decision to burn the year on Hagens’ entry-level contract, it would be a mistake not to play him and see how ready he is over the last three regular season games.
The determining point should no longer be: “Is James Hagens ready for the NHL?” That ship sailed when they signed him on Monday.
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The real question is: “Can James Hagens give the Bruins more than Mikey Eyssimont , Lukas Reichel and Alex Steeves have given them down the stretch?”
Those three guys have cycled through the third-line left wing spot and have combined for one goal and four assists while averaging less than 12 minutes of ice time each game since the Olympics.
Now that Hagens is with the Bruins, being better than they are, should be the only bar he needs to clear.
Sturm said the decision to call him up wasn’t based on the Bruins’ inability to get enough out of that third-line left wing spot and it wasn’t about their offensive struggles in the first three games of their recently completed road trip.
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He didn’t really say why they decided now was the time. Hagens was good in Providence, but not impossible-to-keep-down good.
Maybe this was always the plan. Maybe now made sense because there was three days off between games.
It doesn’t really matter.
Barring an unbelievable meltdown, the Bruins are making the playoffs. They’ll probably be the No. 1 wild card and possibly the No. 2.
They have three games. One against Tampa Bay, a Stanley Cup contender, one against Columbus , a desperate team fighting to make the playoffs, and one against the Devils, a team that’s been eliminated.
The games are important, but not necessarily impactful. At least two of them will pit Hagens against the type of opponents he could see in the postseason.
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So throw him in there and let him adjust. Give him some time to create chemistry with teammates and try to get some of his adjustment mistakes out of his system.
Time will tell if the Bruins made a smart move calling him up. If he’s not a factor, that ELC year will feel wasted.
But Boston should get credit for being aggressive. Even if they don’t win their first-round series, they’re setting a standard.
Maybe he catches fire. Maybe he improves the power play and scores a few points and helps the Bruins pull an upset.
But for this younger nucleus, who they’re counting on to continue to get better, playing in playoff games should have value no matter the result.
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Experiencing these games will allow Hagens to go into the offseason with a clear roadmap for what his next steps and his offseason program should look like.
Outtakes from a busy week ...
Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice, shame on UNC?
Last year North Carolina needed a football coach and decided the way they’d lift their program was to hire a high-profile, championship-winning pro coach who’d never really coached in college before. The Bill Belichick experiment has been a disaster so far.
So when they fired Hubert Davis, they hired a high-profile, championship-winning, pro coach who has barely ever worked in college before.
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If Mike Malone fails, Carolina leadership is going to look incredibly dumb. If he succeeds, Belichick will look even more incompetent.
Tough break ends a good story for USMNT
It was disappointing to see Patrick Agyemang suffer an Achilles injury that will knock the United States Men’s National Team forward out of the World Cup.
Agyemang is a terrific story. He reached Team USA the hard way and was the type of player and person, who would have been highlighted during this summer celebration of soccer in North America.
The East Hartford native played at Division III Eastern Connecticut State after receiving no Division I offers out of high school. He transferred to Rhode Island and played minor league professional soccer before thriving in the MLS.
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He moved on to England’s Derby County, where he suffered the injury last week.
At 25, he’s young enough that he could still compete for a World Cup roster spot for Team USA in 2030, but it won’t be the same as it would have been playing at home in the United States.
His story would have inspired younger players about what was possible to achieve.
Unfair collateral damage
I don’t care what happens in any relationship between consensual adults. What happens in anybody else’s marriage is none of my business.
But the frustrating thing about the Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini rumors is that it makes the already difficult job of being a woman working in sports media even harder.
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The vast majority of female writers and broadcasters work hard and keep their personal and professional lives separate and avoid even the appearance of impropriety to protect trust from the public.
But when stories like this come out, it allows idiot fans to further a terrible stereotype.
The Top 5
Top 5 Teams that should imitate Utah with a themed Zamboni
Zammoth the new Zamboni of the Utah Mammoth is unveiled during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Edmonton Oilers , Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak)AP
5. Washington - I’m envisioning a rolling Capitol Building
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4. Pittsburgh - How about the Penguin’s rubber duck from Batman
3.Buffalo - The Buffaloboni.
2. San Jose - Throw a fin on the top and play the Jaws theme when it comes out.
1. Philadelphia - Do whatever they want as long as Gritty is involved.
Real Jeopardy! Clue
Sports clues from actual editions of America’s favorite quiz show. As always, mind the date
CATEGORY:SPORTS GREATS $800
Date: Feb. 16, 2001
In 1980, at age 23, this Spaniard became the first European to win the U.S. Masters golf tournament
— Answer below
Today in Massachusetts Sports History
April 10
1961:Carl Yastrzemski singles in his major league debut against the Kansas City A’s.
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2010— The Boston Bruins become the first team in NHL history to score three short-handed goals in 64 seconds on the same penalty during a victory over the Carolina Hurricanes . With Matt Hunwick in the box for hooking Daniel Paille , Blake Wheeler and Steve Begin each scored goals to make it 3-0.
Lightning round
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Danny Hurley could retire tomorrow and be in the Hall of Fame. Hurley and Rick Pitino are a smoke screen for the fact that the Big East isn’t very good and going in the wrong direction.
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If the NBA had ABS on fouls, its players would use up their challenges before the first TV timeout.
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Is Amar’e Stoudemire really a Hall of Famer?
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I’ve only watched the first two episodes, but the writing and the energy on Saturday Night Live UK is really good.
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Which prominent LSU coach is the least likable human being? I’ve wasted 20 minutes thinking about it and I can’t decide.
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Payton Tolle looks like a young Ron Swanson.
Real Jeopardy! Question:
Who is Seve Ballesteros?
Finally...
Happy National Encourage a Young* Writer Day to those who celebrate.
∗ - Anyone under 52.
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