Michael Hage: there’s reason to believe he’ll play a big role with ÉCJ

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Crédit: Michael Hage is selected by the Montreal Canadiens at the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft.

Michael Hage is one of the Canadiens’ elite prospects. In the eyes of many, he’s behind the top line (Demidov, Fowler and Reinbacher, in order or out of order), but he’s still seen as a kid who could be part of the solution at second center.I feel it’s too early to assume he will become one, but there’s no doubt he has the potential to become a big deal in Montreal.That said, Hage still needs to continue his development. He’ll be back in the NCAA this season, but right now, he’s at Team Canada’s summer camp, trying to impress the officials so he can earn a spot on the CMJ squad. And according to Martin Thérriault, who talked about all this on BPM Sports, there’s good reason to believe that ÉCJ officials see him playing a big role with the club this winter.The reason?

[content-ads]Thérriault explains that seeing Hage play alongside Cole Reschny and Benjamin Kindel, two guys who were drafted in the first round at the last draft, shows that management sees Hage as a player who could shine in a big role.

The competition will be strong, though: guys like Berkly Catton, Michael Misa, Cayden Lindstrom and Jake O’Brien (all of whom play center) will also be getting a good audition. Catton was in front of Hage at practice yesterday, while the other three are in the other group.

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That said, we saw Hage shine in the NCAA last year when he wasn’t very well surrounded. We know that ÉCJ managers sometimes tend to turn up their noses at guys who play in the American college circuit, but when these guys have a track record like Hage’s, they can hope to carve out a position.

Let’s see if the Habs prospect can make himself indispensable.[spacer title=’Overtime’]- The guys keep working hard.

– That’s tomorrow.

¡Listos

– Wow.

– Great news.