2025 NHL Draft Diary: James Hagens

James Hagens of Boston College in Hockey East is filing a draft diary for NHL.com this season leading up to the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft at L.A. Live's Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on June 27-28. The 18-year-old center (5-foot-10, 186 pounds), born in Hauppauge, New York, is No. 3 among North American skaters on NHL Central Scouting's final rankings. He finished with 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) in 37 games for BC this season. His June diary comes after completing the 2025 NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo.

Hello, hockey fans.

I arrived in Buffalo for the Scouting Combine on Sunday. What an experience I had this week. I got to see guys I haven't seen in a long time and had a familiar roommate, Wisconsin defenseman Logan Hensler, who I knew from our days at USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Under-18 team.

Being able to room with 'Hens' again was awesome. The whole week was a really cool opportunity to showcase what you have, while meeting with the teams and showcasing your personality.

I wore a bracelet that a billet family out in Michigan for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program gave to me. They have little kids, and they made me the little bracelet that says, "James, BC, Eagles." They asked me if I could wear it, so I haven't taken it off since the day they gave it to me. It's just something that means a lot to me.

I prepared before coming to the combine ... I had around 16 interviews. You just have to be grateful that you have a chance to talk to any team because interacting with teams that you grow watching and maybe playing for was just so awesome.

I was asked to speak about my meeting with the Islanders, since I did grow up an Islanders fan. I met with them on Wednesday, and I also went out to dinner with the team. (General manager) Mathieu Darche is an amazing human being and was so easy to talk to. It was easy to connect with them and just have a natural good conversation. Dinner was awesome. I'm not too sure where we went, but it was great food, great conversation.

I felt the VO2 Max bike test was tougher than the Wingate bike test because it's a lot longer. They're both real tough though. On the Wingate, you have to go all out for 30 seconds, and you're putting everything you have into the bike.

You want to be able to show your best on the bike. I think digging deep ... just kind of showing everything you have inside. You have to make sure you push harder and harder.

Overall, I thought the testing went well and is a great foundation. I know I could get all these scores up and that means getting back in the weight room and working hard. I'm really happy with how I did but I know I could take a huge step and this was just a start.

It was good to have 'Hens' as my partner during the testing. We were pushing each other and in each other's ears for every test. After every score, we would tap each other and say, "Go beat that."

Now I'll get ready for the NHL Draft, which is going to be a lot of fun. I really won't know my offseason workout plan until after I'm drafted and have that conversation with the team that selects me. In the meantime, I'll be on the ice and working out, of course.

I thought this was a great experience overall. I think one of the cool things was just kind of walking around the suites, interacting with the players, making sure you're at the right suite and on time.

This was a week that only happens once, so you remember it the rest of your life.

Thanks for reading. Talk to you one last time after the draft.