In this case, I wonder if there's some pettiness regarding his choice to play for the Steel/Michigan. He was a very pick in the OHL Draft, which might suggest they didn't feel like he was upfront/considering his options, etc.
He signed his tender with Chicago before the OHL draft, so I think his intentions were clear to OHL teams. Kitchener picked him knowing full well he had this commitment in place, but figured since they were successful with Rehkopf, who had signed a USHL tender the previous year but ultimately committed to Kitchener, they would also swing on Hage.
They hype would be immense if he was playing in Kitchener with the young crop we have coming up right now (Lam, Romano, Stark, Reid). As a biased observer it would have been fun to watch as well.
Seems pretty petty. I can't believe adults let a kid's choice dictate theirs. I know u r right, it just blows my mind.
He also missed most of the season before too due to injury so probably took him a handful of games to get back into the swing of things in that sense too.
My guess is 11 or 12.
I'd say it's more likely Hage is a winger in the NHL.
I see some parallels. I do think Hage is stronger on the puck and a smarter distributor. I would definitely want to keep Hage at center. His transition skillset is awesome and I think he plays fairly well positionally.
Agree. The Steel started the season with 1-2 center punch of Michael Hage and Charlie Major, but eventually went to a line of Thompson-Hage-Major in early January which is when Hage's production took off as that was one of the best lines in the USHL. Hage took most of the faceoffs on the line, but it was fairly fluid as to who had actual center responsibilities. Most of the time it was the F3 or first backchecker which is not an unusual situation. In this case, that was often Charlie Major. So it should be noted Hage had center responsibilities <50% of his shifts even if he was listed as the center. Combine that with an inconsistent battle level and you're probably look at a pro winger even if he has the size, skating ability, and vision to be a center.
If Yakemchuk/Dickinson/Catton goes before 12, Flyers should really consider this guy. Awesome player, who check all the tools
There does seem to be an opportunity for an NHL team to evolve forward usage. With the right combination of players and system, having a center wouldn't be important.
I don't disagree with that as a theory. It happens in the NHL. But you would then need to pair him with a winger capable of handling defensive responsibilities, no?
Isn’t that what people said about will smith? Pure centers at this level are so rare, if he can be hybrid who produces I’d take that at 16 even if he isn’t pure center.
