Bruins’ James Hagens is ready to make a dream come true: ‘I just want to compete’

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Coach Marco Sturm declined to answer whether Hagens, who signed his entry-level contract on Wednesday, will make his NHL debut on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The odds are good, though, that Hagens will pull on his No. 44 jersey sometime within the remaining three-game regular-season segment and make his case for playoff duty. “My job is to do the right thing for this team. But also, I want to protect this kid,” Sturm said on Thursday after Hagens’ first practice at Warrior Ice Arena. “It’s not fair sometimes either to throw players in situations where they can’t handle it or maybe they’re not ready. When is the right time? Next game, following game? Whatever it is, I will do that. But I need a lot of the right boxes before I do that.” The Bruins took Wednesday off following Tuesday’s 6-5 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. They had an optional practice on Thursday. They will have a full practice on Friday. The rare three-day trough gave the Bruins an optimal window to ease Hagens in. That Alex Steeves, Lukas Reichel and Mikey Eyssimont have had little traction while taking turns at No. 3 left wing was not related to Hagens’ promotion. “Nothing,” Sturm answered when asked if the third-line rotation impacted the organization’s decision. “The road trip we had, nothing to do with it. Absolutely nothing. We want to do the right thing for that kid and for the organization.” Hagens learned of the promotion on Wednesday. He informed his parents, drove from Providence to Boston and signed his contract.  On Thursday, he dressed in the stall next to Mason Lohrei that was formerly occupied by Johnny Beecher, the Bruins’ 2019 first-round pick. After going with No. 12 in Providence, Hagens strapped on a helmet with his new number: double the No. 4 he used to wear in youth hockey with the Long Island Royals. “This is a dream come true for me, something I grew up my whole life dreaming of,” Hagens said. “To be here, part of an NHL organization, it’s really special.” During his six-game AHL apprenticeship, Providence coach Ryan Mougenel oversaw the development of a critical component: off-puck play. There is no doubt about Hagens’ NHL speed, skill, vision and puck-transporting ability. He will only earn Sturm’s trust to express his offensive game, however, once he signals defensive reliability. Hagens passed his first AHL test. “Being able to do video with the coaches, that’s helped me out a ton,” Hagens said. “Just to be able to really mature your game, learn what you have to do and learn how to play off the puck. To see it back on film, it’s really helpful.” Whenever Hagens gets in, it’s likely he’ll start on the No. 3 line with Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov. Sturm has no reason to split his first line of Morgan Geekie, Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak. Geekie snapped a 17-game goal-scoring slump against Carolina with a hat trick. Pastrnak assisted on two of Geekie’s three goals. Sturm is not messing with his second line of Casey Mittelstadt, Pavel Zacha and Viktor Arvidsson. The fourth line is set: Tanner Jeannot, Sean Kuraly and Mark Kastelic. Furthermore, Hagens will remain on the wing this season. It is the position he played both in Providence and at Boston College, despite being a natural center. Long term, Sturm is eager to give Hagens a whirl in the middle. “We’re comfortable with our centermen,” Sturm said. “It’s not fair to put him in as a centerman because he didn’t play there all year long. He’s in a safe spot here as a wing. Moving forward, we’ll see. I would love to see him as a centerman because he has that speed and ability to move pucks. But definitely not this year.” The Lightning, No. 2 in the Atlantic Division, have yet to clinch home ice in Round 1. They have points to play for. Ditto for the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Bruins’ Sunday opponent. The Blue Jackets are two points behind the Ottawa Senators for the No. 2 wild card. The Bruins are just about guaranteed a playoff spot. But this is not official yet. As such, these will be ferociously contested games. It won’t be easy for Hagens to adjust to the intensity. “I just want to compete,” Hagens said. “Compete my hardest. Hopefully bring skill and some offense to the table. But also be responsible defensively and be able to be trusted. You don’t want to be out there getting scored on.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Fluto Shinzawa is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Boston Bruins. He has covered the team since 2006, formerly as a staff writer for The Boston Globe. Follow Fluto on Twitter @flutoshinzawa