Michael Hage is a very confident young man.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a very good thing for the Canadiens, who selected him in the first round (21st overall) at the 2024 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n
Hage was the best player on the ice Thursday morning at the team\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Everything Hage does on the ice is smooth \u2014 and confident. <\/p>\n
He\u2019s the same off the ice.<\/p>\n
The 20-year-old was the leading scorer at this year\u2019s IIHF World Championship, posting 2-13-15 totals in seven games for Team Canada, which finished fourth at the tournament.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was great,\u201d Hage said about the world junior experience. \u201cI guess it was kind of what I expected myself to do. I think at times you\u2019re a little doubted and, obviously, there\u2019s 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 \u2014 other than winning. But it was definitely great to go there and be a big part of it and have that role. It\u2019s definitely a dream to wear that jersey.\u201d<\/p>\n
The next dream for Hage is to wear a Canadiens jersey in the NHL. <\/p>\n
His parents were born in Montreal, and it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
But Hage isn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
Hage is confident that\u2019s the right decision at this point in his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the biggest thing is, over the past two years, how much I feel I\u2019ve grown and developed as a player and person,\u201d he said. \u201cThat 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s another part of it,\u201d Hage said about his decision to return to Michigan. \u201cYou get to those kinds of big games that you work towards all year as a group, and just feeling like I wasn\u2019t 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\u2019t going to kind of start my (pro) career injured. So that might have been a part of it, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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\u2019t bother Hage and he said it didn\u2019t impact his decision to return to Michigan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was never about who\u2019s here, who they\u2019re bringing in,\u201d Hage said. \u201cI 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\u2019ve made some decisions like this in my career before that people may have questioned. I\u2019m completely accountable for them, and I\u2019ll own that decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hage didn\u2019t rule out the possibility of changing his mind this summer, adding the Canadiens have told him they\u2019ll support him no matter what he does. He\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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There\u2019s also the possibility of the Canadiens trading Hage as part of a deal for an experienced second-line centre, but he isn\u2019t letting that bother him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really not my job,\u201d he said. \u201cI think when I\u2019m here and during the season, I try to show my best so that they won\u2019t want to trade me. But, at the end of the day, it\u2019s not my job. I just have\u00a0to play and do my best.\u201d<\/p>\n
While he might not be ready to make the jump to pro hockey yet, Hage definitely wants to play for the Canadiens one day.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the team I\u2019ve watched for my whole life,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s a very exciting team, very young. I don\u2019t want to play for another team.\u201d<\/p>\n