OTTAWA — James Hagens watched Macklin Celebrini with a close eye last season.
The player eventually picked No. 1 at the NHL draft went about his business on the ice in impressive fashion.
Hagens, however, was perhaps even more focused on how Celebrini stayed razor-sharp amid all the attention.
"Never let anything affect him," he said. "You always saw him calm and collected. He went about it every day just working toward getting better.
"Everything works its way out."
It's an approach Hagens brought into a freshman NCAA season peppered with similar expectations — and has carried to the 2025 world junior hockey championship.
The 18-year-old centre, who's in the mix to be the top pick in June, had five goals and 15 assists for 20 points across 16 games at Boston College before joining up with the United States for the under-20 tournament.
Celebrini had a banner 2023-24 season with 32 goals and 32 assists in 38 games with Boston University. He guided the Terriers to the Frozen Four and won the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in U.S. college hockey before getting his name called first by the San Jose Sharks.
Hagens is now plying his trade in Beantown — replacing Will Smith on the Eagles' top line after he signed with San Jose — and has similar dreams as he navigates what can be a head-spinning draft process.
"I've never seen him at all worried," Boston College associate coach Brendan Buckley said in a phone interview. "He just goes about his business with a smile. You would never know he has all those expectations. He's just one of the guys."
Buckley was impressed when informed the Hauppauge, N.Y., product with elite vision, skating and playmaking ability kept tabs on how Celebrini handled his attention-filled freshman season.
"He's willing to take it upon himself to do the little things to get better," said the former Boston College captain. "Some kids might overlook a little aspect like that, but little things can make it a bit easier along the way."
Hagens has been a driver for the Americans so far at the world juniors with two goals and four assists through three games playing between NCAA linemates Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault.
"Knows what he's capable of and how good he really is," said Leonard, the No. 8 pick by the Washington Capitals at the 2023 draft. "He's in a really good spot."
The five-foot-11 179-pound Hagens has experienced plenty of success in a career that saw him play two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program.
He's also had a fair share of disappointment, including getting cut at age 17 from last year's world junior team that went onto capture gold in Sweden.
"Something that motivated me every day to train harder and be ready for this moment," Hagens explained. "With every opportunity you get, you've got to make sure you earn it. Nothing's going to be given."
He was on the American squad that lost to Canada in the final at the under-18 world championship.
"That was hard," said Hagens, who went one better than Nikita Kucherov's previous tournament record of 21 points. "Something that just motivates everyone that was there."
U.S. head coach David Carle sees a different player from the one he sent home last December.
"Physically, mentally a year further … more ready for the challenge," he said. "We're going to lean on him."
Hagens is eager to have that weight on his shoulders.
''You've got to be grateful if you're a guy that has pressure," he said. "It's something that comes with a privilege. You want to be in that moment where there's pressure on you and on your team. You have to let your instincts take over.
"There's nothing you shouldn't be ready for."
Hagens also knows the draft gauntlet he's about to run along with two Canadian standouts — 17-year-old defenceman Matthew Schaefer, who's injured and out of the world juniors, and 18-year-old winger Porter Martone — is coming quick.
"The best thing to do about that is just let it be," he said. "You can't think about that stuff."
Leonard, the American captain, said having fellow top prospects at the event should offer plenty of motivation: "It would fire me up."
Focused on the ice, Hagens' personality certainly comes out off it.
"A goofball," Leonard added with a grin. "You can piss him off for a second, but he'll laugh it off."
Those jokes and lighter locker-room moments aside, the talented teen is very serious about his path.
One that Celebrini rode to No. 1.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 29, 2024.
Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
