Bruins Must Let Hagens, Young Players Play Through Mistakes

Bruins must let Hagens, young players play through mistakes originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Growing pains are part of the normal development process for any young NHL player, and that was evident during the Bruins’ ugly 4-1 loss to the Senators at TD Garden on Monday night.

It was a tough night for the whole team. They weren’t ready to play and lacked the level of energy and execution needed to keep up with a hard-playing and skilled Senators team.

But it was a particularly difficult game for several of the Bruins’ young players, including rookie forward James Hagens.

Hagens did score the Bruins’ only goal in third period, giving him two tallies in four games. But he also was on the ice for two goals against, and a couple of his mistakes led to those Senators goals.

An unsuccessful backhand pass intended for David Pastrnak in the second period resulted in Tim Stutzle stealing possession of the puck. Stutzle fed a pass to Drake Batherson, who scored on a breakaway to give Ottawa a 3-0 lead.

Hagens also couldn’t clear a puck later in the second period, and seconds after, the puck ended up in the back of the Bruins’ net as Michael Amadio scored from in close.

The Senators led the Bruins 14-6 in shot attempts, 7-2 in shots on net, 7-4 in scoring chances and 2-1 in goals during Hagens’ 11:31 of even-strength ice time last night, per Natural Stat Trick.

To his credit, Hagens took full accountability after the game.

“I was a big reason for a couple of those goals going in,” Hagens told reporters. “I have to be a lot better. That was unacceptable on my end. It’s tough. You want to be able to play really well and get that win.”

Hagens wasn’t alone, to be clear.

Similar to Hagens, young players including forwards Matt Poitras and Fraser Minten, as well as defenseman Frederic Brunet, all had good, bad and ugly moments versus the Senators. Hagens and Poitras each took minor penalties in a seven-second span in the first period that gave Ottawa a lengthy 5-on-3 power play, although the Bruins penalty kill stepped up and didn’t allow a goal.

Unlike some previous Bruins head coaches, Marco Sturm sounds committed to giving these rookies the opportunity to learn and improve without the fear of being benched or sent to Providence after a few errors.

“Yes, (Hagens) probably had a tough night like anyone else,” Sturm told reporters postgame. “But I won’t blame him. He’s a kid who needs to learn. I think our top guys, games like this, they have to be in charge. I can’t ask for James Hagens to take charge. Yes, he needs to be better. But overall as a group, we’ve just got to help those kids out. The kids have to play better as well. I won’t blame my young guys for that. They’re kids. They need to learn the hard way sometimes. But they need help, and that’s all of us.”

Even though it was a frustrating night for these young players, the Bruins have to let them make mistakes and learn from them. And it’s certainly better to do that now early in the season as opposed to later in the campaign when the playoff race heats up.

These aren’t mid-level prospects, either. Hagens is an elite prospect and was the No. 7 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Minten was just signed to a seven-year extension and could be a solid No. 2 center sooner rather than later. These players will be — in an ideal world for the Bruins — core players for the franchise moving forward. The B’s also need these players to make a meaningful impact this season if they’re going to earn a playoff berth.

It’s a lot to ask of a 19-year-old Hagens and a 22-year-old Minten, but there are reasons to be optimistic they’ll rise to the challenge. That process also will include plenty of mistakes, and it’ll be up to the Bruins’ veterans to help the team overcome them. That didn’t happen Monday night. Many of the veteran players, including David Pastrnak, also played poorly.