The Nashville Predators are exploring their options on who to select with their fifth overall pick in this year's draft. With each coming day, the scouting rankings fluctuates like high and low tide—it may be daring to say that even the first overall pick is uncertain. This is largely due to the NHL Scouting Combine which took place in Buffalo yesterday morning. It was here that we saw the great strength of some of the draft's top prospects.
There has been speculation that the Islanders may look beyond the highest rated prospect (Matthew Schaefer) and examine some other guys like Michael Misa or James Hagens. Both players spoke with the media at the combine and expressed their interest in Long Island and the organization. Hypothetically, if New York selected the second-highest rated prospect, Misa, what are the chances Hagens could fall—potentially into Nashville’s hands?
The Sharks, picking 2nd, have shown interest in Schaefer prior to the combine and the Blackhawks, 3rd, have taken a look at Caleb Desnoyers a number of times. Reports are also coming in that the Mammoth, (4th) are interested in Brady Martin, meaning that Hagens could fall all the way to fifth.
If General Manager Barry Trotz manages to draft the elite centerman, it means that big things would be coming to Honky Tonk. Before we get too excited, let's take a quick look at the pros and cons of selecting Hagens.
Pro 1: Hagens is One of, If Not The Best Playmaker in the Draft
We have said time and time again that the Predators must trade for a playmaking center. With older guys like Forsberg and Josi driving the offense, they need some youth to carry the movement into the next generation of Smashville hockey. Enter James Hagens, and the Predators may have someone who not only meets that need but elevates it. The Long Island native put up a point-per-game season with Boston College in the NCAA, putting up 37 points—11 goals and 26 assists.
Scouts mutually agree that Hagens is one of the scariest things to see on the ice from an opponent's standpoint. Peter Baracchini of THW writes that Hagens is a "dual offensive threat" and that he puts the danger in high danger scoring chances. His elite hands and passing vision make him a must-have for any team as he just genuinely makes everybody on his shift better. He knows when to back off the puck and when to push himself back into play, meaning he's almost always in position for creating quality scoring chances.
Not only has Hagens proven himself as a future NHL stud, but he's shown that he's even built for it physically. The Eagle walked into the combine at a height of 5'10.5" and a solid weight of 186 lbs. When compared to other players around his draft position, he has a weight advantage to both Schaefer (186 lbs. at 6'2") and Misa (182 lbs. at 6'1"). This brings me on to my next positive outcome of bringing Hagens to Nashville: speed and agility.
Pro 2: Nashville Needs a Speedy Guy to Amplify Scoring
Going into this season, most analysts had Nashville ranking in the top ten of their NHL standings projections—the complete opposite ensued. Even though we reeled in some of the league's top scorers Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, the boys couldn't get it done. This was largely in part due to the lack of speedy playmaking. With the top six consisting of guys in their 30s, they had a hard time keeping up with a younger competition. As a result, scoring was at a near all-time low for Nashville.
If the Predators wants to contend in the future, upping the speed is the first place to start. Nashville's number one playmaking center Ryan O'Reilly gets the job done but at lower capabilities. Per NHL EDGE, O'Reilly ranked in 60th percentile for top skating speed and in the 50th percentile for speed bursts over 20 mph. Given that he is 34-years-old, these numbers are only going to get worse with time. Reeling in someone like Hagens would provide higher numbers for a much longer period of time.
He's known to not use all of his energy in a single stretch like Connor McDavid but instead use it in smaller bursts where needed like a Matt Barzal or Logan Cooley. This is extremely beneficial to a team that is still full of aging vets. Rather than tiring his own teammates by speeding by, he'll instead prefer to use his speed when he has to—such as picking up pucks deep and going around defenders. While this all sounds nice and all, we should also consider the risk we will take with drafting Hagens—his height.