Boston Bruins

"They used their speed, they were not afraid to make plays, they made a lot of good decisions."

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The nerves were to be expected for James Hagens as he made his first lap out onto the ice at Nationwide Arena on Sunday night.

But as the Bruins’ top prospect braced for his NHL debut, Hagens took comfort while glancing up in the stands.

In total, 13 of Hagens’ family and friends — including his parents, brother, and sister — made the flight to Columbus Sunday morning and were in the building for the 19-year-old’s first official game with the Bruins.

​“It was really cool looking up in warmups and seeing them there. Seeing how much support they have for me. They flew out this morning, so it means a lot to have them here,” Hagens said.

While the Bruins eventually left the frozen sheet on Sunday with a 3-2 win over the Blue Jackets, Hagens’ mother, Kristine, left Columbus with a gift of her own — the puck that signified her son’s first career point in the NHL.

It was a rewarding night for both Hagens and a Bruins team that will welcome the pace and playmaking acumen that the seventh pick in the 2025 NHL Draft will bring to this club — both this spring and in the years to come.

“It was super cool,” Hagens said of playing in his first NHL game. “Really cool building to be able to get that win. It was special. Maybe stay out of the box. But it was a really cool game.”

Hagens more than held his own in his first foray against NHL competition — recording a secondary assist over 13:08 of ice time while skating on a line with 21-year-old Fraser Minten and 23-year-old Marat Khusnutdinov.

Boston’s fourth line did most of the heavy lifting on Sunday en route to Boston’s victory in Ohio, with Sean Kuraly (one goal, two assists) and Mark Kastelic (one goal, one assist) helping the Bruins snap a five-game losing skid.

Another stout showing from Joonas Korpisalo (33 saves) helped stymie a desperate Columbus team that saw its slim playoff hopes all but dry up with a regulation defeat.

For a Bruins team that secured a playoff berth on Saturday evening, the stakes weren’t nearly as high against Columbus — validated by several key players like Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, Viktor Arvidsson, Pavel Zacha, and Tanner Jeannot all taking the night off.

That did open the door for Hagens’ anticipated debut, days after Boston first signed him to the first year of his entry-level contract.

Hagens’ ability to stuff the stat sheet is predicated on his crisp skating ability, dynamic acceleration through the neutral zone, and creativity with the puck on his stick.

But his first career point was generated via some simple, hard-nosed hockey from Boston’s youngest player.

After getting Boston’s skaters moving down the ice via a clean breakout pass, Hagens later turned on the jets as the puck skittered down Columbus’ end of the ice.

As the first man in on Boston’s forecheck, Hagens engaged with Denton Mateychuk along the boards, tying up the Jackets skater and getting the puck jammed in place.​

Even as Blue Jackets power forward Miles Wood joined in on the jam session along the boards, Hagens didn’t budge — buying time for his teammates to skate in for support.

Hagens eventually fished the puck out and knocked it over to Kuraly, who fed the offering in front to Henri Jokiharju. The Bruins’ defenseman snapped the puck past Columbus goalie Jet Greaves for his second goal of the season.

For all of the talk of Hagens’ high-end skill, it was that heads-up play that caught the eye of Kuraly, Boston’s go-to pivot on the fourth line.

“He’s got two or three guys on him,” Kuraly said. “Good players like that, they’re just patient. He’s not doing anything with the puck until there’s someone there. He was telling me after that I was screaming right in his ear just to knock it my way. He’s just patient. He just stood over the puck. It’s a good lesson for all of us from a kid, I guess.”​

During Hagens’ reps on Sunday, he landed one shot on goal and attempted two more that sailed wide. He was also whistled for a hook against Charlie Coyle in the first period, while Boston didn’t earn a look on the power play.

That lack of power play reps might have curtailed Hagens’ ice time a bit, limiting his chance to show off the playmaking skills that could give Boston’s ailing man advantage a boost going into the playoffs.

But Sturm was pleased with the pace that Hagens brought to that third line on Sunday.

“I thought he was good. I thought the whole line was great. They used their speed, they were not afraid to make plays, they made a lot of good decisions. They never really got in trouble,” Sturm said of Hagens and that third line. “Coming in here in Columbus, like you all know, it’s a tough building. I was curious for James, too, how he was going to handle it, and I thought he did a good job.”

It’s to be expected for Hagens to go through some growing pains in the NHL, especially when it comes to D-zone lapses and mismatches against the physicality found at this level.

But beyond landing on the scoresheet, perhaps the most positive development for Hagens was that Sturm called on that third line for a critical defensive-zone draw with less than three minutes to go in regulation — with Boston protecting a one-goal lead.

For Sturm, putting Hagens and his linemates in that spot stood as a no-brainer.

“Why? It’s because he gave me a reason for it,” Sturm said of playing Hagens late while protecting a lead. “So it’s not just because of his name, and he’s a high pick. No, I put him out there because I trusted him and the whole line did a great job, so they deserved to be out there.”

With Boston’s regular-season finale set for Tuesday night at home against the Devils, Hagens will have another chance to showcase his skills before the Bruins brace for the postseason.