HAGENS_MOORE

BOSTON – The Bruins made seven selections in the 2025 NHL Draft, headlined by James Hagens, the seventh overall pick out of Boston College. For the weekend, Boston picked five forwards and two defensemen, all of whom are expected in town this coming week for Development Camp at Warrior Ice Arena.

“They’re all excited about joining the Boston Bruins,” said Bruins general manager Don Sweeney. “The overriding theme would be that we were looking for the highest-level skill that we could find, the compete level that we could find…we’re excited about the trajectory of each and every one of them.”

With a top-10 pick for the first time in over a decade and an extra second-round pick in hand, Bruins Director of Amateur Scouting Ryan Nadeau acknowledged the team’s intention of identifying high-end skill and ability.

“As I stand here right now, we’re pretty excited with how the Draft played out,” said Nadeau. “Picking in the top 10 and having some seconds, being able to target some offensively gifted players, but also having picks throughout the whole Draft, which is really for us not necessarily a spot we’ve been in very often.

“As we started the year, a little bit less Draft capital but as the year went on, the trade deadline, we picked up some capital, [the scouts] were really engaged with where we could potentially get players and it really, from a scouting standpoint, it’s just a little bit extra rewarding when you know you have picks in spots where you can get some of these players where you have a passion for.”

Here’s a closer look at the B’s 2025 Draft Class:

James Hagens, First Round (7th Overall)

Position: Center

Height/Weight: 5 feet, 11 inches / 186 pounds

Shoots: Left

Birthday: November 3, 2006 (18 years old)

Hometown: Hauppauge, New York

Central Scouting Rank: 3rd-Ranked North American Skater

Last Team: Boston College (NCAA)

2024-25 Stats: 11 goals, 26 assists, 37 points in 37 games

Expected 2025-26 Team: Boston College (NCAA)

The Scouting Report:

Sweeney on the selection of Hagens: “We’re really excited, the skillset that James brings, the competitiveness, his ability to excel on the big stage against his peer group has really been excellent. He’s a driven kid. He wants to play in those situations. He’s proven that he can play in those situations. We’re really excited, very pleased to select James Hagens as a Boston Bruin tonight.”

Nadeau on Hagens’ first year at BC: “I think one, James’ line was really productive, obviously. All three of those guys [Ryan Loeonard and Gabe Perreault] had pretty good numbers. Maybe there are times when there can be a little bit of deferment, when you play with a shooter-type, you tend to feed pucks that way. Oftentimes, they’re heading to the net. James is a really good facilitator coming up the ice and attacking with speed. A lot of what he does, he does very well and effectively when he has the puck himself.

“I thought his production was solid. He had a strong World Junior, his U18 last year set the bar really high and his whole season last year at NTDP set a high bar for a production standard that people maybe thought was gonna be a little bit higher than it was this year. But I don’t think it’s an alarming thing for us at all. We think James helped drive a lot of play. Love the way that he can play with pace and attack with pace, control pucks offensively. Just a real exciting player for us.”

**Read more about the selection of James Hagens here.**

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      Elaine Cavalieri goes 1-on-1 with Hagens

      Will Moore, Second Round (51st Overall)

      Position: Center

      Height/Weight: 6 feet, 2 inches / 175 pounds

      Shoots: Left

      Birthday: March 24, 2007 (18 years old)

      Birthplace / Hometown: Mississauga, Ontario / Ithaca, New York

      Central Scouting Rank: 29th-Ranked North American Skater

      Last Team: U.S. National Team Development Program (USHL)

      2024-25 Stats: 23 goals, 24 assists, 47 points in 55 games

      Expected 2025-26 Team: Boston College (NCAA)

      The Scouting Report:

      Sweeney on Moore heading to BC in the Fall: “He’s got a lot of physical maturing to still do. I think the college environment will lend him to be able to do that with their strength program. It will be good, it will be a nice test for him, the skill, the hockey sense, the skating ability. They’re right on track for him to jump into that [Boston College] lineup and compete for ice time.

      Sweeney on Moore’s music background: “He’s got a diverse background. He’s lived in Switzerland, his parents have a work ethic and a path that’s unique as well. He’s drumming to his own beat in that sense. When you sit down and talk about his ability to play the piano – he’s a confident man. But also talk about his hockey and his passion for it, the fact that his parents were very supportive of him trying, albeit they were not introduced to it. He’s a unique kid. I think he’ll thrive in the BC environment both on and off the ice. He was fun to get to know at the Combine…even just reading the questionnaire, you realize this is a kid that has a unique perspective on things and is well spoken.”

      Nadeau on what the scouting staff liked about Moore: Moore, certainly, looking at his ability to play with the puck, push offense and drive offense. He’s a really creative player who likes to have the puck, likes to manipulate the play. We’re really excited about that.”

      Moore on being selected by the Bruins: “Oh my gosh, it’s incredible. Such a prestigious organization. But at the same time, I’m gonna be down the road next year. I’ve visited Boston many times, one of the major reasons why I chose Boston College, ultimately. Being selected by the Boston Bruins family and getting the opportunity to wear the jersey is something special and something I’ll be grateful for forever.”

      Moore on how his game has grown: “As I continue to develop my size and strength, coming into the Program at 165 [pounds], that led to some early struggles. But over the last couple years, gained a lot of strength, still a lot of room to grow, but overall that’s translated to puck protection and more power in my stride. Gonna keep going and keep building and hopefully develop into the player I know I can be.”

      Moore on who he models his game after: “I study the most off [Matt] Boldy. I think frame-wise, player-wise, he kind of fits my model, fits my game. He plays wing, I think I’m more of a centerman, but I try to translate a lot of his offensive game into mine.

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          William Moore talks about his excitement of being drafted by the Bruins.

          Liam Pettersson, Second Round (61st Overall)

          Position: Defense

          Height/Weight: 6 feet, 2 inches / 170 pounds

          Shoots: Left

          Birthday: January 4, 2007 (18 years old)

          Hometown: Gislaved, Sweden

          Central Scouting Rank: 28th-Ranked International Skater

          Last Team: Vaxjo Jr. (Sweden)

          2024-25 Stats: 6 goals, 15 assists, 21 points in 39 games

          Expected 2025-26 Team: Vaxjo (Sweden)

          The Scouting Report:

          Nadeau on the process of scouting Pettersson: “Petterson played in the U20 League, he played in Vaxjo…when I go over in October, I saw him play live. He’s on our radar, he’s a player that consistently, when our North American scouts are building trips, he’s someone who’s on the radar to go see and schedule. We have three scouts based in Sweden so we’re definitely seeing him from that aspect quite a bit. He’s a little different in that he was not a National Team player, so he wasn’t at all the big events necessarily where a lot of times teams get their crossover views. But he’s a player that we identified pretty early in the season and targeted in our views when we went over there.”

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              Ryan Nadeau speaks to the media about the Bruins entire 2025 draft class.

              Cooper Simpson, Third Round (79th Overall)

              Position: Left Wing

              Height/Weight: 6 feet / 180 pounds

              Shoots: Left

              Birthday: February 5, 2007 (18 years old)

              Hometown: Shakopee, Minnesota

              Central Scouting Rank: 74th-Ranked North American Skater

              Last Team: Shakopee High (Minnesota)

              2024-25 Stats: 49 goals, 34 assists, 83 points in 31 games

              Expected 2025-26 Team: Univ. of North Dakota (NCAA)

              The Scouting Report:

              Sweeney on Simpson going to USHL after HS season ended: “That was a nice thing for our scouts to see, albeit in a small sample of the nine games he played [for Tri-City]. But seven goals in nine games in that league when you’re just jumping in out of high school is pretty good. People might indict the fact that he stayed in Minnesota, but again a unique situation where he was at a school that had been in that championship mindset and he wanted to complete that task and stay there. So you have to pat a young man on the back for that.

              “Then jumped right in and had success in the USHL. He’s making a decision about where he plays next year, leading into whether he goes to NoDak. The scoring potential of the young man is pretty unique. Offensively, I think he’s a really gifted player. Some of those areas leading into the Draft that we were gonna make sure we had a keen eye for.”

              Nadeau on what the scouting staff liked about Simpson: “An offensive player who can really shoot it. He’s someone who is quick to pull the trigger when he has the puck. He’s willing to go to areas and manipulate the ice. He’s got really good hands, really drawn by his ability to score and shoot in a number of different ways. He’s the type of kid who can shoot on the fly, he can shoot it with his one-timer. He’s got a different repertoire with the shot.”

              Simpson on his style of play: “I am a very offensive talented guy, I think I make plays that people can’t see. I shoot the puck very well. I stayed in Shakopee because I’m born and raised here. I had a goal of making the state tournament and winning it all, came up a little short. But I think I left Shakopee a better place than I found it.”

              Simpson on who he models his game after: “I think I have a little bit of Jimmy Snuggerud, I think we have the same type of release. He’s a young player in the NHL, played a couple playoff games there. Same release, we see the puck in the offensive zone very well. We have a talented, hard-working attitude. I think we both have a gritty side to our game as well.”

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                  Sweeney speaks with media after day two of the draft

                  Vashek Blanar, Fourth Round (100th Overall)

                  Position: Defense

                  Height/Weight: 6 feet, 4 inches / 183 pounds

                  Shoots: Left

                  Birthday: April 22, 2007 (18 years old)

                  Birthplace/Home Country: Vail, Colorado / Colorado

                  Central Scouting Rank: N/A

                  Last Team: IF Troja-Ljungby J18 (Sweden)

                  2024-25 Stats: 6 goals, 15 assists, 21 points in 38 games

                  Expected 2025-26 Team: HV71 J20 (Sweden)

                  The Scouting Report:

                  Sweeney on Blanar’s progression: “It’s just a testament to the scouts traveling everywhere and anywhere. He himself has gone from the Czech Republic to play in Sweden. You might find a young man that in this case is pretty raw. He’s in a bit of an underdeveloped frame right now, great skater, wants to compete, maybe trying to do too much at times…there’s a piece of clay there that you want to get a hold of and see if you can start to mold and stretch and get him to understand the attributes you have because those are really attractive and you can start to build in other things. But a unique young man.”

                  Nadeau on the process of scouting Blanar: “He played as a Czech kid going over to Sweden, the team he went to he actually played down in the J18 for the majority of the time so a little bit of a harder kid to see. That one took a little bit longer in terms of an identification standpoint. Later in the year, we had a more targeted views to make sure we’re seeing him. But the proliferation of video stuff now is huge. We can go back if our local guys have really identified someone, we can watch on video. We can do some other stuff to make sure guys are on our team who haven’t seen him live can fill in the void, so to speak, with some video views.”

                  Cole Chandler, Fifth Round (133rd Overall)

                  Position: Center

                  Height/Weight: 6 feet, 2 inches / 176 pounds

                  Shoots: Left

                  Birthday: May 1, 2007 (18 years old)

                  Birthplace: Bedford, Nova Scotia

                  Central Scouting Rank: 172nd Ranked North American Skater

                  Last Team: Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)

                  2024-25 Stats: 13 goals, 19 assists, 32 points in 64 games

                  Expected 2025-26 Team: Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)

                  The Scouting Report:

                  Sweeney on Chandler playing well in big games: “Al Bissonette, our Quebec scout…we follow the kids all year long, we’re not just waiting on the first part of the season. In his case, he was coming off injury and had been sick the summer before, getting his feet back under him, feeling better, probably trying to put on some weight, feeling more comfortable as the season went along, feeling more comfortable in the league, with his own team – and that was noted. Guys now going back in as our area guys do, draw the crossover guys back in to identity a player playing better as the season goes along is usually an indicator that his competitive level is going up as the games get more important.”

                  Nadeau on what the scouting staff liked about Chandler: “His growth in his game, he plays a little bit more of a traditional two-way game. The offensive part has been there. He didn’t have huge numbers this year, it’s not like he was scoring 50 goals. But he’s a kid who is counted on in some key times and has been able to impact 200 feet of the rink. A player that we really like that part of his game.”

                  Chandler on his style of play: “I’m a big player, big forward that can make plays and shoot the puck but a guy that’s gonna bring a lot to the room and the atmosphere there. I love making friends with all the guys on the team. I’m a big team guy…overall, a big power forward that can make plays and find the net as well.”

                  Kirill Yemelyanov, Sixth Round (165th Overall)

                  Position: Center

                  Height/Weight: 6 feet / 170 pounds

                  Shoots: Left

                  Birthday: January 8, 2007 (18 years old)

                  Birthplace: Irkutsk, Russia

                  Central Scouting Rank: 31st Ranked International Skater

                  Last Team: Loko Yaroslavl (Russia)

                  2024-25 Stats: 13 goals, 11 assists, 24 points in 38 games

                  Expected 2025-26 Team: Loko Yaroslavl (Russia)

                  The Scouting Report

                  Nadeau on what stood out about Yemelyanov’s skillset: “He’s actually a player that our Russian scout [Arseniy Bondarev] had seen quite a bit, it’s in his hometown in Yaroslava. We had [European Scout] Milan Jurcina, who’s based in Prague, go over and see him as well at a tournament. I got to see him last year and this year down in Florida at the Gold Star Hockey Camp. Not only that, we tracked with video and seeing where he’s at from a production standpoint. But he’s got a 200-foot game.

                  “He’s got a little bit of offensive ability where he helps drive some stuff on their line. It’s maybe not a high, high end offense, but he’s certainly someone who’s involved in terms of driving some plays and getting some scoring chances and he also has a real good determination to the way he plays the game. A kid who has some growth potential left and just a kid that we’re excited to add to our group.”

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