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Was Michael Hage Team Canada’s BEST Forward at the World Juniors?
Montreal Canadiens prospect Michael Hage turned heads at the World Junior Championship, and scouts across the hockey world are taking notice. In this episode, we break down Hage’s performance for Team Canada, what stood out in his game, and whether he was truly Canada’s most effective forward in the tournament.
We dig into what scouts are saying about Hage’s skating, puck skills, hockey IQ, compete level, and offensive upside—plus the areas that still need improvement before he’s NHL-ready. Is his game translating the way the Canadiens hoped when they drafted him? And how close is Hage to making the jump to the NHL?
We also discuss Michael Hage’s realistic NHL timeline, where he fits in the Canadiens’ long-term plans, and why this tournament may have significantly boosted his stock inside the organization.
👀 Topics covered:
• Was Michael Hage Team Canada’s best forward?
• Scout reactions from the World Juniors
• What stood out in Hage’s game
• Areas he still needs to improve
• NHL projection & Canadiens timeline
👇 Drop your thoughts in the comments — did Michael Hage impress you more than anyone else on Team Canada?
🔔 Subscribe for daily Montreal Canadiens coverage, prospect breakdowns, and live shows.
#MontrealCanadiens #MichaelHage #WorldJuniors #TeamCanada #HabsProspects #NHLProspects #HockeyAnalysis #habs
21 Comments
I personally disagree that the selection of the roster was the issue. Canada still had a better team by a mile compared to Czechia and most experts were fine with that roster before the tournament outside minor changes. I'm more looking at strategy…
1. Transition game was really bad… offense should have been the better defense and it was not the case because we were just giving the puck away (the strategy was to just quickly get the puck out of our zone using lobs in the neutral zone even if it meant losing it). Against other teams, they had to work so hard to take the puck back that they didn't had any energy left to attack once they did.
2. Playing 8 defensemen… players were likely less confident because they were less on the ice and having less puck touches, etc.
Oh No, Canada lost in hockey again. Better call the Waaaambulance!
Love the idea of Demidov playing with Hage in a year or two.
Hage looking like the main character on a line with Gavin Mckenna & Brady Martin, and looking way ahead of Misa was not on my bingo card and I was very high on this guy.
Canada lost because they didn't play well defensively
It's a combination of issues, I think. Goal tending is an issue i felt, and all the players that could have played like Marco said
I think Hage is probably a third line player on a Cup winning team. He needs a higher compete level and more grit to be successful.
Hunter should be ashamed of himself! Hage named as an ALLSTAR at WJC along with Parekh. Congratulations to both of them for showing up and putting out.
Strong faceoff depth down the middle ( suzuki-kapanen-danault-evans) allow you to absorb a weaker faceoff center like Michael Hage without compromising puck possession overall. It will give him the time to get better in draws.
i like the new intro music it's nice
Face offs come down to work ethic! Sidney Crosby rookie year was 45.5% and he improved his second year to 49.8. Crosby worked at it. Hage will struggle but I believe his work ethic and the work ethic of his peers, ie. Hutson, Demidov will help him succeed as a Center.
Hage’s ability to play with an elite talent like McKenna is a big positive moving forward. There is no question about his skating hands work ethic.
I think Dale Hunter needs to take some blame for the loss. No in game adjustments to counter the Czech forecheck.
Hage's ability to make players around him better is strong confirmation of the this kid's potential. At Michigan , he has made his line with the undrafted Hughes and the overrated Horcroff the top scoring line in the NCAA. At the WJC, Hage was material in making his line of McKenna and Martin the top scoring line in the tournament. He will be an important player for Montreal going forward. But not yet. He has to get stronger and gain better stamina. It remains to be seen if he can emulate Demidov's and Hutson's internal fervor for self improvement. If he does, Montreal will their mystical , missing 2C that the sections of the fan base have pined for.
Hage is 19 freaking years old. Remember that, fellow commenters, before making a grand pronouncement about him & what he's capable of.
Watching Hage at Michigan playing the half boards on the power play confirmed his shooting skills.
Canada's chances at the WJC were doomed with the composition of their defence. We got caught slow on defence. It was a fatal flaw that was exposed against superior opponents.
Not being in the CHL is why he didn't get top 3 Canadian players.
he was the only one that we saw make great passes the whole tournament
I wasn't that impressed by him in the WJCs….he played way too pretty and held the puck far too long most of the time. Trying to be a one man show. The team playing like that is why they ended up losing imo. Canada brought a bunch of players, Czechs and Swedes brought teams
With beck and Kapanen looking like future top faceoffs guys and Evans , danault and Suzuki .
I’ll keep saying it , just like I e been saying it for months , Montreal don’t need a second line center , they need the room to evaluate young guys to see if they can play the role first . You don’t draft a bunch of guys and not give them a chance.
Montreal need big physical agressive m border line psychotic wingers , they need size , agitating scoring wingers but they don’t need anyone right now , they hav3 to give all the injured guys a chance first before making irrational decisions
When Dach comes back , there no room for him at center.
By the end of the season sign Hage , give him that bit of nhl experience just like it was done with demidov and Hutson .
Marco and Shaun , would you guys play gallagher once the injured guys comeback?
Caufield -Suzy-Dach
Slaf- Kapanen-Demi
Newhook-Evans -Andy
Texier -danault-Bolduc
Guhle-Hutson
Math -Dobson
Xhekaj-Carrier
Extra- Blais ,struble , Laine, Gallagher , that’s 1 too many guy and 2 more that won’t be happy of being sitting out
With Fowler, engstrom and beck going back to AHL as the obvious easiest move
Seriously if everyone comes Back , I don’t see any room for gallagher and Laine in the lineup but the problem is , newhook and Laine won’t be back until after the deadline so practically untradable.