Michael Hage is a very confident young man.
That’s a very good thing for the Canadiens, who selected him in the first round (21st overall) at the 2024 NHL Draft.
Hage was the best player on the ice Thursday morning at the team’s development camp in Brossard, scoring two goals and adding an assist during a four-on-four scrimmage and then scoring a beautiful goal in a post-scrimmage shootout.
Everything Hage does on the ice is smooth — and confident.
He’s the same off the ice.
The 20-year-old was the leading scorer at this year’s IIHF World Championship, posting 2-13-15 totals in seven games for Team Canada, which finished fourth at the tournament.
“It was great,” Hage said about the world junior experience. “I guess it was kind of what I expected myself to do. I think at times you’re a little doubted and, obviously, there’s a lot of highly touted prospects and whatever. But I think the pressure and expectations I have for myself are higher than anyone could possibly put on me. So I feel like I kind of went in there and did what I expected to do — other than winning. But it was definitely great to go there and be a big part of it and have that role. It’s definitely a dream to wear that jersey.”
The next dream for Hage is to wear a Canadiens jersey in the NHL.
His parents were born in Montreal, and it’s the team he grew up cheering for after being born in Oakville, Ont. His father, Alain, was a huge Canadiens fan who died in a swimming pool accident three summers ago. Hage wore No. 9 in youth hockey as a tribute to Canadiens legend Maurice Richard.
But Hage isn’t in a rush to jump to the NHL and plans to return to the University of Michigan for a third year after posting 13-39-52 totals in 39 games this season.
Hage is confident that’s the right decision at this point in his career.
“I think the biggest thing is, over the past two years, how much I feel I’ve grown and developed as a player and person,” he said. “That was a big reason to me going back. Trying to play in every situation, being a leader. Just finishing what I started. I really do want to win at Michigan and that place means the world to me. So that was a big part of why.”
Michigan was the top-ranked team heading into the NCAA Frozen Four championship this year, but lost 4-3 to Denver in double overtime in the semifinals as Hage played through an ankle injury. Denver went on to win the championship, beating Wisconsin 2-1 in the final.
“That’s another part of it,” Hage said about his decision to return to Michigan. “You get to those kinds of big games that you work towards all year as a group, and just feeling like I wasn’t able to kind of be myself and do what I wanted to do out there was something that hurt, for sure. And then I wasn’t going to kind of start my (pro) career injured. So that might have been a part of it, for sure.”
Hage, who was measured at 6-foot-1 and 204 pounds at the development camp, could eventually become the second-line centre the Canadiens need. But GM Kent Hughes will continue shopping around this summer to find a second-line centre and/or a top-six forward on the trade market who can help the team next season. That doesn’t bother Hage and he said it didn’t impact his decision to return to Michigan.
“I think it was never about who’s here, who they’re bringing in,” Hage said. “I would bet on myself 100 times out of 100 to be able to step in and play the game I want to play and make an impact. It was more about how bad I wanted to go back. I’ve made some decisions like this in my career before that people may have questioned. I’m completely accountable for them, and I’ll own that decision.”
Hage didn’t rule out the possibility of changing his mind this summer, adding the Canadiens have told him they’ll support him no matter what he does. He’s confident he can play centre in the NHL, understanding he still needs to work on the defensive side of the game and faceoffs. He expects to have a bigger role this season at Michigan as one of the older players, which will help with that.
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There’s also the possibility of the Canadiens trading Hage as part of a deal for an experienced second-line centre, but he isn’t letting that bother him.
“It’s really not my job,” he said. “I think when I’m here and during the season, I try to show my best so that they won’t want to trade me. But, at the end of the day, it’s not my job. I just have to play and do my best.”
While he might not be ready to make the jump to pro hockey yet, Hage definitely wants to play for the Canadiens one day.
“It’s the team I’ve watched for my whole life,” he said. “I think it’s a very exciting team, very young. I don’t want to play for another team.”