James Hagens is someone for the Chicago Blackhawks to target

The Chicago Blackhawks have a lot of outstanding young players in their system. Their U23 pipeline is as strong as any organization in the NHL right now. The future is bright with Connor Bedard, Artyom Levshunov, and Frank Nazar leading the way. 

The 2024-25 NHL Season might not see as much of a jump as people think, though. Kyle Davidson has hinted that development is still taking priority over winning in the short term. 

Davidson did make some big additions during the offseason, adding Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen and Alec Martinez to name a few. Those moves will make the team more competitive, but they aren’t Stanley Cup yet. The Hawks additions brought in good players who can play a big role in Chicago, but many would still be depth guys on an elite team.

With the Central Division looking as competitive as it is, the Blackhawks may be in line for another lottery pick. Chicago already won the top spot in 2023 which led to the selection of Bedard. One year later, the Hawks won the second spot which led to Levshunov.

James Hagens is the early projected number-one overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. He is an incredibly gifted forward who should be able to jump right into the NHL. That would come after this upcoming season which will be his freshman year at Boston College. 

James Hagens Highlights:

Boston College lost in the Frozen Four National Championship to Denver last spring but they are going to be back looking for another shot this year. Both Will Smith (San Jose Sharks) and Cutter Gauthier (Anaheim Ducks) have left but Hagens will be there looking to make some noise. 

He will still have stars like Ryan Leonard (Washington Capitals) and Gabe Perreault (New York Rangers) to work with which is an amazing opportunity. After one year in this wonderful program, he will be well prepared. 

Only time will tell if the Hawks are in a position to draft James Hagens. Maybe they will surprise everyone and make this entire discussion irrelevant. Until then, however, all possibilities have to be taken into consideration. 

Find Chicago Hockey Now on Facebook and Twitter

Follow Jim on Twitter

Follow Vinnie on Twitter