As James Hagens soaks in a whirlwind month, Bruins’ trust in The Kid Line grows
BUFFALO – James Hagens had barely met most of these guys a couple weeks ago. Now he was going to war with them in an epically hostile environment, full of fans ready to unleash 15 years of pent-up energy.
One could forgive the young man, 19, for feeling overwhelmed as stepped onto the ice for Game 1 between his Boston Bruins and the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center Sunday night. One month ago, he was playing the final game of his college hockey career, his Boston College Eagles falling to the University of Connecticut Huskies in overtime of the Hockey East semifinal. In the weeks since, Hagens turned pro and dipped his toes in the AHL for six-games; signed his entry-level contract with the Bruins, who drafted him seventh overall last June; played his first two NHL regular-season games; and plunged into a high-stakes first round matchup vs. a rabidly hungry Sabres squad playing its first postseason hockey since 2011.
Game 1 featured an electric pre-game leadup, with the Bruins matching up against an opponent feeding off the manic energy and, eventually, that opponent executing an unforgettable third-period comeback, rallying from a 2-0 deficit in the final eight minutes and winning 4-3.
It would be a quite a bit for anyone to take in, let alone someone who wasn’t technically a professional hockey player five weeks ago.
“Yeah, it’s been a lot,” Hagens told Daily Faceoff on Tuesday, hours before the puck dropped on Game 2. “To go on the road, the crowd was loud, it was a tough game for us, but we played well. I know all these guys have worked so hard all year to get to this point, and to be able to tag along and see how hard all these guys worked, it’s an honor and something I’m really grateful for.”
To call what he’s doing “taggling along” is a display of modesty from a youngster trying to find his place on the team, someone who calls the first few weeks of his career, getting to know everyone, a dream come true. But his teammates don’t consider him a tagalong. Hagens is, of course, a highly rated prospect. He was in consideration for the NHL Draft’s No. 1 overall selection for much of last season before Matthew Schaefer overtook him. Hagens has excellent hands, elite skating and a high hockey intelligence. He’s no black ace; he’s entrenched playing left wing on Boston’s third line alongside rookie center Fraser Minten, 21, and relative newcomer Marat Khusnutdinov, 23. And Hagens hasn’t taken long to impress them.
“Very talented kid. I love having him around,” Minten said Tuesday. “He’s fun to play with. We’ve only played three games together to this point, so every game he learns a little more. But he’s got a good stick. He’s smart. He competes hard, wants the puck, wants to make plays. So all those are great signs, and he’s going to be a really good player in this league.”
When your environment, teammates and opponents are shifting so much over the span of a month, it can be difficult to process all the information thrown at you. But Hagens is learning plenty about himself so far.
“Yeah: just be as coachable as you possibly can,” he told Daily Faceoff. “You’re given an opportunity, you’ve got to make the most of it. Nothing’s given to you, everything’s got to be earned. So it’s just taking it day by day, working on your own game, not letting outside stuff affect you. You try to stay in the moment wherever you are and work your hardest.”
Boston’s all-youngster line played the second-most 5-on-5 minutes of coach Marco Sturm’s four forward trios in Game 1. They were outchanced 4 to 1 but held their own with a 0-0 game score when on the ice. They showcased a lot of speed; Hagens can fly, but Minten and Khusnutdinov also rank in the league’s top quarter in max skating speed, too, per NHL EDGE data.
And while the Kid Line didn’t win its minutes in Game 1, there’s reason to believe they’ll improve and play a bigger role as the series progresses. In their late-season trial across Hagens’ first two NHL games, they carried a 5-on-5 expected goal share of 58.09 percent, an outstanding number. Sturm trusts them already, particularly because Minten has taken naturally to leadership and wants to share whatever he’s learned this season with Hagens.
“You can relate to a lot of stuff he’s going through on ice and off the ice as well,” Minten said. “It’s a huge difference in lifestyle, everything. So I just try to support him as much as I can.”
“[Minten’s] a guy who leads the way of anybody,” Sturm told Daily Faceoff Tuesday. ” ‘Mints’ has done a tremendous job all year long, and he’s a confident kid on and off the ice, and that has actually transferred to the playoffs too. He’s helping a guy like ‘Kuz’ out and James on the other side. I had a really good feel about them all game long, and they showed it, I think, and they gave us some really good minutes.”
Naturally, Sturm must be careful not to put too much too soon on the plates of two rookies and a 23-year-old. But their complementary skill sets – Hagens’ playmaking, Minten’s two-way intelligence and Khusnutdinov’s motor – make them an intriguing unit with potential to tilt the ice, particularly if they draw sheltered matchups while the Sabres focus on Boston’s top two lines, especially Morgan Geekie, Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak.
The underdog Bruins are down a game to a division winner heavily favored to win this series, so they’ll need to find any unexpected edge they can. Don’t be surprised, then, if we see the Kid Line’s ice time spike for Game 2. It was telling that Sturm sent them out following Buffalo goals in Game 1. And the youthful trio takes pride in being leaned on.
“They’re going to put you out there and they’re going to rely on you, then you’ve got to make sure that you answer your end of the bargain,” Hagens said. “You’ve got to be able to do what they’re asking you to do and hopefully create offense off that as well. So it’s just making sure you’re doing your job, making sure you’re doing everything you possibly can for your role, what they need you to do so that it helps the team.”
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