Flyers draft: Boston College’s James Hagens could pose the ultimate size vs. skill debate at No. 6

Jack Greig knows the exact moment he realized that James Hagens was a special player.

The former pro hockey player was coaching a triple-A pee-wee team out of Long Island and needed a few reinforcements because of a depleted bench. Greig asked Mike Hagens if his sons James and Mikey— who is two years older than James — could suit up.

Pee-wees are 11- and 12-year-olds. James Hagens was either 8 or 9.

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“I was like, ‘Hey, James, I’m just going to work you in and I’m going to give you the opportunity and just appreciate you coming to help and play. I know you’re going to be fine, but do your best type of thing,” said Greig, who has worked with Hagens since he was a mini-mite as well as NHLers Matt Coronato and Sonny Milano.

“I think about halfway through the game, he had been playing really well, and some of the kids were looking at me like they were getting tired because we were missing some players. And I remember James looking up at me, being like, ‘Coach, I can play more, I’m ready to go.’ I was like, ‘OK,’ so I started getting him out there every other shift, and he played great, scored some goals, and we ended up winning the game.

“At that time, I was actually like, wow. He’s coming out of mites, first-year squirt, playing against kids who are second-year pee-wee. At that time, that was the first sign that I saw, like, OK, we have something here with this kid. He’s legit, he’s a legit player.”

Yep, Hagens is certainly a legit player.

The Long Island native is not just dynamic but dynamite. The center is an elite skater with an explosive burst who can pass and score at will, and possesses top-end vision and hockey IQ, all while playing a 200-foot game.

Hagens is the full package, and for a long time, the now-18-year-old was considered the top prospect in this class. But things changed in the last year.

Despite putting up 11 goals and 37 points in 37 games as a freshman at Boston College this past season — playing with his older brother — and adding another nine points in seven games for the gold-medal-winning United States at World Juniors, Hagens has dropped down the draft boards, at least the mock ones.

“It is less about him,” FloHockey’s NHL draft analyst Chris Peters said in early June.

“The thing is, when you go play college as a true freshman, there have only been a handful of guys, really four guys in the last couple of years, three of them were draft-eligible that had exceptional, never-before-seen seasons with, Paul Kariya aside, Jack Eichel, Adam Fantilli, and Macklin Celebrini.

“He’s not those players. He’s got a different size profile, different strength level, and different experience level. But what James Hagens is is a dynamic playmaker. He drives play. He’s incredibly quick. He’s one of the better skaters among these players. I think he’s one of the smartest players in this draft; his hockey sense is off the charts.”

So what’s the problem?

“The question that teams are asking is, with the size profile — at the combine, he measured in at 5-10½, — he’s a little below average for a center in the NHL," continued the “Hagens believer,” as Peters called himself recently on The Inquirer’s recent episode of Gameday Central.

Therein lies the problem with Hagens, especially for the Flyers.

Before Monday, not many draft analysts had Hagens dropping below the Flyers at No. 6. But, with trading away 6-2 center Ryan Poehling to the Anaheim Ducks for 6-foot center Trevor Zegras, Philly has shrunk down the middle. The consensus is that the Flyers’ needs have slightly changed.

“I think size has to be a part of the conversation with every NHL organization. But I also think there’s a point on every list where the gap between the skill level and the next available player becomes pronounced enough that you have to just take the best player and make the right pick. And I think if James Hagens is available at six, that he’d be the player that I would recommend they pick, even if you suddenly have too many, 5-10, 5-11, 6-foot forwards,” The Athletic’s draft analyst Scott Wheeler said at the NHL scouting combine.

“I still think James Hagens is a winner. I think he’s competitive. I think he can play with a player like Matvei Michkov and elevate a player like Matvei Michkov. They can find a third player to play on that hypothetical line who has size; they don’t necessarily have to find it in the draft.

“But certainly, the core group that they have in Philadelphia at the present moment is not a big, heavy team. ... I think if James Hagens is available at six overall, that he’s the best player available, and if you’re truly a team that’s interested in drafting the best player available, then it would be hard to defend not taking him.”

The question is, will the Flyers take him if he’s available? Hagens met with the Flyers in Buffalo and visited the Philly area last week. So there is obviously some level of interest.

And everyone knows the talent Hagens has. It’s been brewing and bubbling since those early days of skating on Long Island. He’s had it since he was cheering on the New York Islanders, and watching his favorite players like former Islanders captain John Tavares, American star Patrick Kane, and former Flyers captain Claude Giroux.

“Those are people that you grow up watching. You grow up learning from and trying to implement some of the shootout magic that Patrick Kane, and Claude Giroux, and Tavares have had as a little kid,” Hagens said with a big smile from Buffalo. “But those are all guys you grow up dreaming of being like.”

Often considered the next iteration of Jack Hughes — because of his similar size and skill set — Hagens is probably stronger on his skates than the New Jersey Devils center. It’s probably why he enjoys what Giroux brings to the table and tries to emulate it.

“Kind of the way he handles the puck,” Hagens said about what he likes about the ex-captain’s game. “He’s so poised, and he really slows the game down whenever he touches it. The way he thinks the game, and also it’s at an elite level.”

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There has been a push on the Island to “Bring Hagens Home,” but the Hauppauge, N.Y., native just has his eyes focused on living his dream of playing in the NHL, regardless of the sweater.

Hagens has been to Philly a lot, having grown up playing against the Little Flyers. He’s been to the Wells Fargo Center and watches Flyers games often. The intrigue of playing with Michkov — “A player like that who could score a lot, I’d love to find a guy like that and be able to hopefully set him up one day” — even brings a sparkle to his eye.

Maybe come Friday, the Long Island kid who dreams of winning a Stanley Cup will don the orange and black and get a chance to do just that.

“The Flyers are an exciting team to watch. They play exciting hockey. They get the fans into it,” he said. “It’s an amazing city where everyone’s so involved and invested, and that’s something, as a player, that you love.

“You love being able to step on the ice, and to have a fan base [like that] is so helpful to your team’s success. So I know watching the games throughout the season, things that Michkov has done, all the players on that team, it’s been special.”