{"id":201636,"date":"2025-10-04T13:39:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T13:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/201636\/"},"modified":"2025-10-04T13:39:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T13:39:10","slug":"how-james-hagens-bruins-prospects-fared-in-bc-season-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/201636\/","title":{"rendered":"How James Hagens, Bruins prospects fared in BC season opener"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBoston Bruins\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\u201cI think there’s a lot of weight off his shoulders. He knows where his next team will be.”<\/p>\n

\"James
\n\tJames Hagens is entering his sophomore season at Boston College. Handout \/ Meg Kelly\t<\/p>\n

CHESTNUT HILL \u2014 The Bruins won\u2019t officially begin regular-season play until next week.<\/p>\n

But fans wanting to catch a glimpse at the next wave of Bruins skaters were able to take stock of Boston\u2019s prospect pipeline over at Chestnut Hill on Friday night.<\/p>\n

There was no shortage of Bruins prospects on the ice in Friday\u2019s season opener between No. 6 Boston College and No. 13 Quinnipiac \u2014 with seven different skaters drafted by Boston taking to the ice at Conte Forum.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Eagles rolled out five different Bruins prospects \u2014 headlined by 2025 first-round pick (No. 7 overall) James Hagens.<\/p>\n

Joining Hagens as Bruins property on BC\u2019s roster were fellow pivots Will Moore (2025 second-round pick) and Dean Letourneau (2024 first-round pick) \u2014 as well as wingers Oskar Jellvik (2021 fifth-round pick) and Andre Gasseau (2021 seventh-round pick).\u00a0<\/p>\n

BC also has another Bruins draft pick in 6-foot-6 defenseman Kristian Kostadinski (2023 seventh-round pick), but he did not dress for Friday\u2019s game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bobcats also had two Bruins skaters atop their depth chart in center Chris Pelosi (2023 third-round pick) and defenseman Elliott Groenewold (2024 fourth-round pick).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pretty cool seeing everyone out there \u2014\u00a0 knowing everyone out there,\u201d Pelosi said of battling against several Bruins prospects. \u201cBut at the end of the day \u2014 it\u2019s our team versus their team, and we just put our heads down and kind of forgot who knows who.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Plenty of eyes were on Hagens in his first collegiate hockey game as a Bruins prospect. But it was the Bobcats who dictated most of Friday\u2019s game, leaving Chestnut Hill with a 4-3 win.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bobcats held a commanding 30-15 edge in shots on goal, while six different Bruins prospects recorded a point on the night.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe weren\u2019t tight enough against a team that is outstanding at playing a team game,\u00a0 playing together,\u201d BC head coach Greg Brown said. \u201cQuinnipiac, for years, has been a team that doesn\u2019t beat themselves. They play together. They play well. They play simple hockey.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to be really on your game to play against them, or they\u2019ll be able to exploit your mistakes. And they were able to get a few tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are some observations from Friday\u2019s Bruins-heavy bout:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

It was a solid, albeit unspectacular, showing from Hagens in his season debut. The skating and edge work were on display as expected, but the Bobcats made a concerted effort to take away time and space for the talented pivot on Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hagens had a few slip-ups in the defensive zone when pressured, with the sophomore needing to continue to work on withstanding the physicality that will only ratchet up as he advances up the ranks of pro hockey.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hagens did record one assist on the man advantage in the second period, feeding a puck from the high slot over to Ryan Conmy \u2014 who promptly snapped an offering past Quinnipiac\u2019s Dylan Silverstein to make it a 3-2 game at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hagens finished without a shot on goal, with Brown noting that BC\u2019s top line of Hagens, Teddy Stiga and Conmy were \u201ctrying to do a little too much\u201d, especially near the start of the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ryan Conmy scores on the power play for BC.<\/p>\n

Hagens with the primary assist. Gasseau with the other helper. <\/p>\n

3-2 Quinnipiac in the second. pic.twitter.com\/pAilKLZ8kj<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) October 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Even with a quiet showing on Friday, Brown believes that Hagens should benefit from having less scrutiny put on him this season in regards to his spot in the NHL Draft.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s a lot of weight off his shoulders,\u201d Brown said. \u201cHe knows where his next team will be. He knows what organization [he\u2019ll play for]. That stuff was \u2014 probably overly critical [with how] people were because they had such a magnifying glass on him for the draft.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re being talked about in the top-10 draft position, if you watch long enough, you can find mistakes with everybody. So I felt like he went through a lot of that. Now that\u2019s all behind him, and he can really just focus on hockey. We know what he can do. He\u2019s going to be a huge part of this team, drive the offense for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

Andre Gasseau should be a player to watch on this Eagles team entering his senior season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot to like about how Gasseau\u2019s skillset could translate to the pro ranks as a big-bodied winger (6-foot-4, 224 pounds) with pretty good wheels. He uses that size to his advantage by regularly winning puck battles down low and clearing space in Grade-A ice, with BC\u2019s captain recording three assists on the night.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It remains to be seen if that offensive ceiling will carry past collegiate competition, but Gasseau does a lot of the little things right when it comes to winning board battles, screening netminders, and contributing to a fruitful offensive-zone sequence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

For all of the focus on the Bruins prospects in Chestnut Hill this winter, Bruins fans should be keeping tabs on the duo playing for Quinnipiac \u2014 as there\u2019s a lot to like about both Pelosi and Groenewold\u2019s floors as pro-hockey talents. <\/p>\n

Pelosi has seen his stock soar over the last year, recording 19 points (11 goals, eight assists) over his final 23 games as a freshman last season with the Bobcats.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-2 center has a nose for the net and a high motor, as evidenced by his first goal of the season \u2014 where he jammed away at a loose puck in the crease to give QU what ended up being the game-winning tally.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pelosi should also ingratiate himself to Bruins fans as he continues to rise through the ranks, considering that he was routinely getting mixed up in post-whistle scraps on Friday night. If he continues to produce at a steady clip in college, Pelosi could eventually develop into a Swiss Army Knife on a third line in the pros.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a natural maturation process for him,\u201d Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said of Pelosi\u2019s development. \u201cHe started out last year, he was good at the beginning of the year and he got better and just climbed as the season went on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I thought he was great in February and March for us. And went out to summer, put on 16 pounds of muscle, and he\u2019s big and strong now. And I thought he was one of our better players tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Groenewold \u2014 a 6-foot-4, left-shot D \u2014 isn\u2019t as flashy as some of the other Bruins prospects in the team\u2019s pipeline. But that no-frills, steady approach is also why he\u2019s easy to project as a potential second or third-pairing blue liner at the next level if he continues to round out his game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Earning plenty of matchups against the Hagens\u2019 line, Groenewold made several shifts uncomfortable for BC\u2019s top skaters due to his size, reach, and sturdy frame.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

All eyes will be on whether or not first-round pick Dean Letourneau can break through offensively after scoring zero goals over 36 games last season as a freshman. <\/p>\n

But as the 6-foot-7 center continues to try and round out his overall game, it was encouraging to see him throw his weight around more against the Bobcats with a few heavy checks. <\/p>\n

It was a similar sight to what we saw from Letourneau during Boston\u2019s final scrimmage of development camp<\/a> \u2014 when the intriguing center was getting involved and being assertive down low while winning puck battles. <\/p>\n

\u201cDean had a big summer in the weight room,\u201d Brown said. \u201cGot a lot stronger and was able to take advantage of that sometimes. I think we\u2019ll see the offense come from him as well. But if he\u2019s not creating chances, and he\u2019s still being a physical force, then he\u2019s getting back in the game, so it\u2019s great for him to add that to his repertoire.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

It looks like the Eagles don\u2019t plan on easing Will Moore into an elevated role this season, as the freshman anchored BC\u2019s second line alongside a pair of other Bruins prospects in Gasseau and Jellvik. Moore recorded a secondary assist on Drew Fortescue\u2019s third-period tally, and had several promising puck touches in tight areas of the ice, especially down low.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A lot will be riding on Hagens\u2019 development this season, but a two-way center like Moore also has considerable upside on a team like the Bruins that values his skillset down the middle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Profile\t<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Bruins updates\ud83c\udfd2 <\/p>\n

Get breaking news and analysis delivered to your inbox during hockey season.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t