James Hagens’ Brother Michael To Experience Childhood Islanders Dream At Development Camp
Michael Hagens, the older brother of Bruins prospect James Hagens, has been invited to Islanders development camp, giving the die-hard Islanders fan a chance to live out a childhood dream.
In an alternate reality, New York Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche pulled off the dream scenario: landing Matthew Schaefer at No. 1 overall and somehow finding a way to move back into the top 10 to select Hauppauge native and die-hard Islanders fan, James Hagens.
Unfortunately for the Islanders, the entire league knew that was exactly what Darche was trying to do. Once Schaefer was in hand, every general manager picking in front of No. 16 and No. 17 suddenly had major leverage in any trade talks involving the Islanders moving up.
Darche worked the phones hard, but the dream scenario for the Islanders, their fan base, and Hagens officially died when the Boston Bruins selected him at No. 7 overall.
Even though that never became reality, things still worked out pretty well for both sides. The Islanders landed Victor Eklund at No. 16 and Kashawn Aitcheson at No. 17, two prospects the organization believes can become major pieces moving forward.
On the other side, Hagens went on to dominate during his freshman and sophomore seasons at Boston College before turning pro and signing his three-year entry-level contract with the Bruins following this past collegiate season.
He made his NHL debut on Apr. 12 and recorded an assist in a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Hagens later appeared in three playoff games — no points — before the Bruins were eliminated by the Buffalo Sabres in six games during the first round.
At this point, the idea of James eventually ending up on Long Island feels more like a pipeline dream than anything realistic, something that maybe could happen years down the line, depending on how things unfold.
However, while James does not get to live out that childhood dream right now, his brother Michael is about to.