Hagens is ‘Matt Duchene type of player' who could be on Flyers' radar at No. 6

The 2025 NHL draft is a huge one for the Flyers' rebuild.

Not only does Danny Briere have a lot of high-round picks at his disposal, but he also could be creative in how he uses them.

"There are all kinds of possibilities here," the Flyers' general manager said in April. "I think it's really exciting going into it. It's powerful to have so many picks like that. I think a lot of teams will be wanting to have discussions with us to make some things happen — teams that don't have picks or teams that want to tweak things."

So it's a busy time for the Flyers leading up to the draft, which will be held June 27-28. The first round is Friday at 7 p.m. ET, while Rounds 2-7 are Saturday starting at noon ET.

"There are really good players in this draft," TSN director of scouting Craig Button said Tuesday in a phone interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia. "Maybe people say it's not a good draft; I'm not buying it. I think this draft has got lots of good players."

The Flyers are slotted to make 11 picks, including three first-rounders and four second-rounders. Their first-round selections will come at No. 6 (own pick), No. 22 (Sean Walker trade) and either No. 31 or 32 (Oilers trade).

Before the draft arrives, we'll be breaking down first-round targets for the Flyers.

To kick things off:

James Hagens

Position: Center
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 177
Shoots: Left
Team: Boston College

Scouting report

The 18-year-old pivot was one of the top freshmen in college hockey this season. He was a point-per-game player with 11 goals and 26 assists in 37 games and had a plus-21 rating for an Eagles team that went 27-8-2.

Hagens won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, putting up nine points (five goals, four assists) and a plus-9 rating in seven games.

"James is a good player, he's a good player," Button, a former NHL GM and scout, said. "I see somebody that's going to be a good second-line center. Teams need good second-line centers. That doesn't mean he won't play No. 1 center, but trying to project where he best slots, I see him as a second-line center."

Hagens' game is built on an effortless skating stride and high-end playmaking ability. He's the eighth-ranked player in the draft on Button's list.

"Somebody that's quick, somebody that's fast, somebody that can make plays," Button said. "He might be like a Matt Duchene type of player. Matt Duchene in his career has put up points and has been a good player."

Duchene is coming off a point-per-game season for the Stars with 30 goals and 52 assists in 82 games. He has 891 points (371 goals, 520 assists) in 1,138 career NHL games.

Hagens is considered the fourth-best player in the draft on EliteProspects.com and slated at No. 3 among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

"Similar in style and type of play to Matt Duchene — quick, fast, darting, makes good plays, can score some goals," Button said.

Fit with Flyers

If he's available at No. 6, Hagens would be a fine fit for the Flyers, who need more talent down the middle.

They drafted a speedy center in Jett Luchanko at 13th overall last summer. With Hagens in the fold, they'd have two promising 18-year-old prospects at a premium position and another option to complement Matvei Michkov down the road.

While Luchanko and Hagens both have second-line upside, that's not a terrible thing.

"There are elite second-line centers in the league," Button said. "And they're important to your team. ... How many true No. 1 centers are there in the league — 10, 12? And Edmonton has two of them.