"If history is anything to go by, Brandon Hagel was never meant to be anything in the NHL, a fringe third line player at most, just like every other sixth round pick in the NHL, but what he has achieved is leaps and bounds better than what he should've in the NHL. Ever since joining Tampa Bay, his game has reached new levels."
"Hagel was always a guy who looked like he could reach elite levels ever since he joined Tampa. Starting off with a very impressive 64 points in his first full season with the Bolts, he started to get first line minutes with the likes of Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, and now, he is the wildcard guy that head coach Jon Cooper can deploy wherever he wants."
Brandon Hagel transformed from a late sixth-round selection into one of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s most important forwards after a midseason trade from Chicago in 2021–22. Offensive production jumped from roughly 30 points in Chicago to a breakout 64 points in his first full Tampa Bay season and later a near-90-point pace, earning an eight-year, $52 million contract. Hagel earned first-line minutes alongside Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, and developed into a versatile, deployable ‘wildcard’ for coach Jon Cooper. Recent scoring surges, including 15 goals and 27 points over a 17-game stretch, reinforced national-team credentials.
Read at Puck Prose
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]