Brandon Hagel was making a name for himself over the back half of the 2019-20 season, leading the AHL's Rockford IceHogs in scoring and earning the honor of seemingly first-choice recall by the end of the year anytime the NHL squad needed a forward body. He took warmups with the team ahead of several games, biding his time for his NHL debut when his time came.
Finally, on March 11, 2020, Hagel's number was called. He skated a strong debut that night against the San Jose Sharks, but it couldn't be further from the focus by the time the final buzzer went off. The next day, the NHL suspended its season as the COVID-19 pandemic took over the country.
"I think it was a great experience for him to get in that game. He knows what it is to play in the league. Before that, he was up multiple times kind of as the extra, he warmed up -- I think that was good for him to just be with the group," Colliton said of Hagel's journey. "Even now, he was with us in the summer, during the playoffs, he's been with us since the beginning of the season here. We've had a couple discussions about him just relaxing on the ice during practice and not being so nervous and I think as a young player a lot of times, that gets in the way, just feeling like you're an imposter. Hopefully he's as prepared as he can be… We like his game. We like what he brings."
In his second outing, the winger showed that comfort level in just 10:39 of ice time and a noticeable energy in his role as a fourth-line winger.
"I thought he was really good," Colliton said. "Made a lot of plays, looked confident with the puck, got his nose dirty, won 50-50s -- that's what you're looking for in a young guy coming in and the style of play that he needs to have to be good. Good performance by him."