Michael Hagens entered the year as one of the more fascinating 2023 NHL Draft prospects. In the 2020-21 season, Hagens was moved to defense after spending most of his playing career at forward. In the same year, he suffered an injury that held him out of all but 25 games. That placed Hagens in a very unique, and very difficult position. With only one year of blue-line experience under his belt, Hagens stepped into the high-tempo environment of junior hockey. He is now not only simply learning the ropes of defense but doing it on one of the best U21 teams in America: the Chicago Steel. And as his growing role proves, Hagens has taken the challenge in stride… to say the least.
Player Profile: Michael Hagens
Team: Chicago Steel (USHL)
Date of Birth: 2/28/2005 – Long Island, NY
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 165 lbs
Position: Left Defense
Handedness: Left
NCAA Commitment: Harvard University (2023-24)
Current Personal Ranking: 64
In the face of a tremendous uphill battle, Hagens has found a way to adapt the skills he used at forward to become a lanky transition-specialist, capable of turning play around in the blink of an eye. He excels at knowing when and how to join the rush, perfectly complimenting the forwards in front of him without giving up too much defensively. This has allowed him to become quite a goal-scorer, ranking second among all U18 defensemen in the USHL only behind top-2024 Draft prospect Artyom Levshunov. He’s put together an incredibly impressive rookie year at the junior level on the back of his explosive style of play. With the right improvements and more opportunity, Hagens could easily emerge as a high-end steal in the 2023 NHL Draft. Let’s dive into what makes him so special…
Joining the Rush
Hagens’ offensive involvement is what makes him special. He did not lose a single bit of offensive instinct and drive in his move to the blue-line. Instead, he’s very quickly learned when to pinch, rotate, and dip to always be a dangerous offensive asset. He shows this off in many different areas of his game, beginning in the neutral zone. This next clip highlights just how he does that.
This is a great representation of how Hagens joins the offensive rush. He’s able to recognize and exploit a glaring hole in his opponent’s 1-2-2, jumping into the hole, carrying the puck into the zone, and taking quite a confident shot to bury the puck. What would typically be a routine movement up the ice was turned on its head because neutral-zone defense systems only account for three forwards, not an instinctive fourth masquerading as a defenseman.
These neutral zone movements don’t need to be set up, either. Hagens has the tempo to his game to match whatever pace his teammates are playing at, making it incredibly easy for him to join the rush.
Here Hagens again recognizes an opening and uses it to create an odd-man-rush, showing that he’s maintained a forward’s knowledge of the three lanes of the ice, and the attacking triangle, and can use it to exploit opponents as soon as there’s an opening.
This ability to recognize holes and exploit them is incredible and makes it very easy to see why Hagens is such a prolific goal-scorer on the back-end. He’s incredibly instinctive and knows how to receive a pass in stride without losing speed. It’s another testament to his strong skating that Hagens can so seamlessly jump into an offensive rush. And a testament to his shooting that he can score on so many.
Offensive Zone Movement
As admirable as his ability in the rush is Hagens’ ability to move around the offensive zone. He has a very focused, almost beautiful way of rotating, always staying aware of where the puck is and where he should be in relation to it. This means that Hagens is almost always open for a pass and he’s quick to act when he finally gets one.
This is a fantastic example of how Hagens moves about the offensive zone. He dips into the slot to join as an extra attacker, floats back to the top when the play dies down and flips sides with his D-partner Hunter Hady after the two were on their off-hand for the faceoff, and then finds a way to pull the opponent guarding him out of position to open up space in the slot. He does this all in the matter of one shift, all while using strong, mindful skating to stay open to a potential pass. No goal came from this play but if he can maintain this ability to rotate and flow into the next levels, Hagens will only continue causing problems for opponents.
Defending the Rush
And as good as he is at joining the rush, Hagens is becoming just as good at defending it. His recent position swap means that, even at the highest levels of play, he’s still adjusting to the unique skillset it takes to defend the rush. It’s been a gradual growth, but Hagens has found a way to take full advantage of his lanky frame to help him out. Properly activating one’s stick and focusing on stick-on-stick defense is an increasingly rare trait in juniors but it’s one that Hagens excels with. The below play shows that very well…
Here, Hagens is the last man back against the powerful strides of Muskegon’s William Hughes but is able to use powerful skating to maintain pace with his opponent and an active stick to cut off Hughes’ path to the net. The 40lb difference between the players shines through at the end but even then, Hagens isn’t afraid to throw the body and break up Hughes’ possession, fluttering the puck into the corner.
This is textbook rush defense. Hagens recognizes his disadvantage here and works to make up for it with strong, open-hip skating and quick pivots. Once he’s level with his opponent, he focuses on separating stick from puck and closes the gap with his stick to force a breakup. For a player so recently converted to the blue-line, Hagens’ ability to so perfectly break up rushes is very impressive.
Hagens shows off again here…
This is another fantastic example of Hagens’ ability to utilize his active stick. After being caught in the middle of the blue-line by a quick breakout pass, Hagens uses strong skating to get into position, square up to the attacking forward, and extend his stick. From there, he completes another textbook breakup, focusing on ‘stick-on-puck’ and using that to close the gap and finish a clean hit.
This is all to say that… yes, Hagens is still learning and growing in how he matches the speed of his opponents to properly defend the rush. But despite that, he’s found ways to utilize his high-level skillset to make up for weaknesses. This is incredibly impressive to see in any player. But it’s even more impressive to see in a forward-turned-defenseman. Hagens is proving his worth as a capable defender willing to take on any challenge with confidence.
Quick Shot
I’d be remiss if I didn’t close out this highlight of traits by hyping up Hagens’ shot. When I was scouting him as a forward, his shot was the first thing I noticed… followed promptly by his strong skating and impressive abilities on the rush. With Hagens always open to receive a pass, he’s also nearly always open to shoot. That mindset has taught him how to pinpoint corners with an incredibly quick release.
The speed at which Hagens can go from receiving a pass to shooting is impressive for any position, much less a defenseman. And it is yet another testament to his strong ability to open his hips to the puck. Here, Hagens receives a pass, pivots, and places the puck neatly above Max Lundgren’s shoulder.
And while these clips do a good job of showing how strong Hagens is at turning a pass into a quick shot – thanks to solid edgework and a good ability to open his hips – they do show through one area of improvement. Even when given the space to properly line up, Hagens’ shots have a tendency to look like snapshots. He’s not transferring his weight perfectly, leaving a little bit of oomph missing from each shot. But it’s hard to consider that a clear knock. As he gets more attuned to play at this level, Hagens will undoubtedly learn a harder shot. If he can keep this quick release behind it, his shot could turn into something incredibly dangerous… a golden trait for a defenseman that dips into the offensive zone as much as he does.
Defensive Zone Involvement
If there was one area where Hagens could dedicate focus, it’d be in the defensive zone. There’s simply a lot to stay aware of when in your own zone and, while he’s not a liability, Hagens is clearly still learning how to best react to everything.
But even despite the need for a little more experience, Hagens has found a way to make his feisty style work for him.
Even if he isn’t fully accustomed to all of the specific responsibilities of defenders in their own end, Hagens is able to use strong man-to-man play and fearless physicality to make plays happen. Here, a strong physical play from Hagens wins the puck and sparks a breakout. He doesn’t stop there, though, as he quickly jumps into the rush. Had this play moved quicker up the ice, Hagens would have been a vital piece of the attack into the zone. But instead, play slows down and Hagens responsibly returns to his place.
Plays like this are very encouraging. Hagens shows he knows how to battle for the puck and feed into the momentum of plays to really support his forwards. He will undoubtedly improve his work in the defensive zone as he continues to gain experience on the blue-line. If this is where he’s starting out, there’s absolutely room for optimism.
Projecting the Future
While working on this piece, I spoke with a USHL scout who summed up Hagens well:
“[Hagens has] played a slightly bigger role as of late and he’s seeing positive results. There’s size, four-way skating, an ability to handle pucks in a variety of ways (off the wall, moving laterally, using his hip pocket, etc.). [But] his best attribute has to be his sense. He can control the flow of the game, stay calm, find narrow passing seams that first-year USHL defensemen don’t usually look for, and his problem-solving is very advanced for his age… With 1-2 more years in the USHL, I could see him showing his offensive flair more, and taking on an even bigger offensive role.”
That’s high praise but it sums up Hagens very well. He’s an incredibly unique prospect, in the middle of one of the biggest on-ice transitions that a player can experience at this stage. But he’s taking the new challenges on with confidence, using the strong abilities he garnered as a forward to be even more effective on the blue-line. He has gone from the Steel’s sixth-man to being a top-four defenseman with a spot on the top power-play unit. To claw up such a talented lineup as much as Hagens has is incredibly impressive.
At the end of the day, Hagens is a transition-specialist that uses strong skating, puck-handling, and instinct to always be a dangerous asset. With the right growth, Hagens could turn into a very strong, very mobile, offensive-defenseman, capable of fitting into an NHL top-four. Hagens is locked into my Top 75 of 2023 NHL Draft prospects. But at the rate he’s going, he could easily find his way into my Top 64, or even my Top 50, by the end of the year. Sleep on this one at your own risk.