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Brandon Hagel
Canadian ice hockey player (born 1998) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Brandon Hagel (born August 27, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 159th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2016 NHL entry draft but did not sign with the team. Hagel made his NHL debut with the Chicago Blackhawks in March 2020, following a junior career with the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League (WHL), where he set a franchise record for most assists. He has since played in the NHL and has represented Canada internationally, winning gold medals at both the 2021 IIHF World Championship and the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off.
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Playing career
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Hagel began his Bantam and Midget AAA ice hockey career with the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers in the Alberta Midget Hockey League (AMHL).[1] Despite recording 41 points in 33 games during the 2012–13 AMHL season, he was overlooked in the 2013 Western Hockey League (WHL) Bantam draft. Following this, he finished third in the AMHL in points and was named to the Second All-Star Team.[2] He finished his Bantam and Midget career playing with the Whitecourt Wolverines and recording one goal and two assists in two games.[1]
Major junior
On September 17, 2015, Hagel was signed as a free agent by the Red Deer Rebels in the Western Hockey League.[1] In his rookie season with the team, he helped lead them to the 2016 Memorial Cup against the London Knights[3] and earned a final ranking of 104th overall by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau.[4] In an interview, Hagel attributed much of his success to head coach and general manager Brent Sutter, saying "having Brent as a coach, he pushes you every night. You have to get into the hard areas and the dirty areas for success to come...That’s what has sunk in is that for success to come, those things have to happen first. When those happen, success is going to come."[5] Hagel was eventually selected 159th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2016 NHL entry draft.[6]
Prior to the 2017–18 season, Hagel participated in both the Rebels' and Sabres' training camps. During a scrimmage with the Rebels, Hagel suffered a knee injury and was expected to be returned to the WHL to complete the season.[7] Despite this, he was named an alternate captain and recorded three goals and two assists in back-to-back games against the Edmonton Oil Kings.[8] Although he was healthy to begin the season, Hagel experienced an upper body injury and missed six weeks to recover.[9]
By June 1, 2018, the Sabres had not signed Hagel to a contract and relinquished their rights to him, allowing him to become eligible for the 2018 NHL entry draft.[10][11] He was subsequently invited to the Montreal Canadiens training camp on a tryout basis but began to 2018–19 season with the Rebels.[12] After recording 30 points in 19 games, he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks worth $925,000.[13] He continued his success through his final season in the WHL, where he set a new franchise record for most assists and was selected for the WHL Eastern Conference Second All-Star Team.[14] Hagel surpassed Arron Asham's 161 former franchise assist record on February 9, 2019, in a game against the Moose Jaw Warriors.[15] On March 1, 2019, Hagel scored his 100th WHL point and 38th goal of the season in a 4–7 loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers.[16]
Professional
Chicago Blackhawks
After the Rebels were knocked out of the 2019 WHL playoffs, Hagel joined the Blackhawks American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, for eight games and recorded one point.[17] He attended the Blackhawks training camp before the 2018–19 NHL season but was assigned to the Rockford IceHogs to begin the 2018–19 AHL season.[18] Hagel made his NHL debut on March 11, 2020, the day before the NHL season was postponed due to COVID-19.[19]
As a black ace in the Blackhawks' first-round playoff exit, Hagel did not feature in a game. With the 2020–21 season being postponed, Hagel was loaned to a second tier Swiss League club, HC Thurgau, on September 30, 2020.[20]
As a restricted free agent with the Blackhawks following his 2020–21 season, Hagel was resigned to a three-year, $4.5 million contract extension on August 6, 2021.[21]
In his third season with the Blackhawks, Hagel had already established new career highs with 21 goals and 37 points through 55 games. With Chicago out of playoff contention, the team traded Hagel alongside two fourth-round picks to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Taylor Raddysh, Boris Katchouk, and two first-round picks in 2023 (Oliver Moore) and 2024 (Sacha Boisvert).[22]
Tampa Bay Lightning
Hagel played the remainder of the 2021–22 season with the Lightning, recording 4 goals and 3 assists for a total of 7 points through 22 games. During the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, he posted 2 goals and 6 points with the Lightning en route to an appearance in the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals, in which they were defeated by the Colorado Avalanche in six games.[23]
In his first full season with the Lightning in 2022–23, Hagel achieved career highs in both points and goals, with 30 goals and 64 points in 81 games. He set a new career high in each category and finished fourth on the team in points.[23] In the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, he posted 1 goal and 5 points in a six game first-round exit to their Atlantic Division rival Toronto Maple Leafs.[23]
Before the 2023–24 season, Hagel and the Lightning agreed to an 8-year contract extension worth $52 million.[24][25] Hagel had another career-best season with 75 points across 82 regular season games. In the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, he registered 5 points in 5 games in Tampa Bay's first-round exit.[26]
Hagel recorded 35 goals and 55 assists for a career-high of 90 points in the 2024-25 season. He finished second on the team in points, behind Art Ross Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov. In February, Hagel was named the NHL's first star of the week after recording a league-high 4 goals and 4 assists.[27][28] In Tampa Bay's first round playoff exit, Hagel received a one-game suspension for a hit that sent Florida Panthers' captain Aleksander Barkov to the locker room in Game 2 of the series.[29][30] When Hagel returned in Game 4, Florida's alternate captain Aaron Ekblad struck Hagel in the head, taking him out of the game.[31] The team's medical staff confirmed Hagel suffered a concussion from the hit, officially ending his season.[32][33] The hit sparked controversy as Ekblad was only penalized after the game and went on to score an equalizing goal.[34]
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International play
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Hagel's success in the 2020–21 NHL season saw him earn his first invitation to represent Canada internationally, joining the senior national team for the 2021 IIHF World Championship. He called the opportunity "something special."[35] He did not register a point in the course of the tournament, which saw Team Canada lose its first three games before rallying to make a deep run to the championship game, where they defeated Finland for the gold medal.[36]
Following the Tampa Bay Lightning's ouster in the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, Hagel again joined Team Canada for the 2024 IIHF World Championship.[37]
In December 2024, it was announced that Hagel would be a part of Canada's 23-player roster for the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, which replaced the 2025 NHL All-Star Game.[38] Notably, in a game against the United States, Brandon Hagel and Matthew Tkachuk began to fight immediately following the opening puck drop.[39] This started a series of brawls, with play stopped three separate times due to fighting in the first nine seconds.[40][41][42] Team Canada and Hagel won the tournament after eliminating the United States in the final with a 3–2 overtime victory.[43]
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Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
Awards and honours
Records
Brandon Hagel currently holds the following NHL records:
Personal life
Hagel was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, but was raised in Morinville, Alberta.[48] He grew up idolizing Alexander Ovechkin, even decorating his childhood bedroom with an Ovechkin theme. His father was a sales manager in the roofing industry and his mother worked in insurance. He has two siblings, a brother, Tyler, and a sister, Chelsea.[49] During his junior hockey career, Hagel considered stepping away from professional hockey. At the start of the 2018 Junior A season, he planned to pursue a college education and become a teacher if he did not receive an NHL contract by December of that year.[50] He had already registered for classes[51] when, in October 2018, he signed with the Chicago Blackhawks, marking the beginning of his professional hockey career.
Hagel is an advocate for mental health awareness, having lost three family members to suicide since 2017. Since joining the Tampa Bay Lightning, he has been an active participant in the NHL’s Hockey Talks initiative.[52]
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References
External links
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