If the Bruins do sew up their spot against the Lightning<\/a> \u2014 they\u2019re 0-2-1 vs. Jon Cooper\u2019s squad this season \u2014 it\u2019s entirely possible Hagens could don his Black-and-Gold threads for the first time Sunday evening against the Blue Jackets in Columbus. That\u2019s the club\u2019s final road game of the regular season; Boston\u2019s final game is Tuesday against the Devils.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019ve got to feel comfortable doing it,\u201d said Sturm. \u201cI\u2019m trying to do the best I can to make the right decision for this team, first of all, for this organization, and, of course, for James. I do want him to play, so I\u2019m just going to take it day by day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nThe logical landing spot for Hagens is left wing on the third line. It\u2019s been a revolving door with Mikey Eyssimont, Alex Steeves, and Lukas Reichel taking turns in the role. Eyssimont held the spot Friday, and it\u2019s likely he\u2019ll be in the lineup against his former team Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\nHagens, meanwhile, worked on the fifth line with Steeves and Reichel, the latter of whom was shipped to Providence following practice. <\/span><\/p>\nSturm said Hagens\u2019s arrival should serve as a spark for the trio.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI was wondering how they\u2019re thinking and they\u2019re probably thinking, \u2018Holy moly, there\u2019s another guy coming up and that\u2019s going to be [his] spot.\u2019 It should motivate them,\u201d said Sturm. \u201cNot be like, \u2018Here we go again.\u2019 No, they should fight for that spot. And that\u2019s good. That\u2019s what we want. We\u2019re not going to hand it to anyone. Not James, either. He has to earn it, too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nHagens did get some power-play work during his first full practice. He was spotted getting advice from Hampus Lindholm and Fraser Minten.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s awesome when you\u2019re able to get feedback from teammates like that,\u201d said Hagens. \u201cThey\u2019re helping you, telling you what they see and me telling them what I see, so it\u2019s great.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nNear the end of the session, Sturm conducted one-on-one drills in which Hagens battled Morgan Geekie and then Jonathan Aspirot. It\u2019s a physically taxing, short-burst exercise.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cYou go out there and you try to give it your all,\u201d said Hagens. \u201cIt\u2019s a really fun practice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nIt was a small sample size, but Geekie was impressed with what he saw.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cHe\u2019s a great player, a lot more skill than I have. He\u2019s going to be a great player for a long time,\u201d said Geekie, Boston\u2019s leading goal scorer with 37. \u201cWhen you see a player with that kind of skill come in, it speaks for itself and you don\u2019t need to see much to know that he\u2019s good with the puck. We\u2019re happy to have him here and excited to see him get in a game, whenever that may be. Everybody\u2019s here for him [to help] try to put him in the best position possible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nHagens is still living on campus at Boston College and is juggling three classes \u2014 Engaging in Catholicism, Brain and Mind Behavior, and Cold War \u2014 as he starts his professional career. <\/span><\/p>\n. . . <\/span><\/p>\nDefenseman Jordan Harris is the Bruins\u2019 nominee for the King Clancy Award, given to the player \u201cwho best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution to his community.\u201d Harris, who grew up in Haverhill and played at Northeastern, runs \u201cHarris\u2019 Huskies,\u201d a mentoring program that connects youth with members of the NU hockey team.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nJim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him @globejimmcbride<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n