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2024 IIHF Men's U18 World Championship

James Hagens Is On A Record-Shattering Pace At Men's U18 World Championship

James Hagens Is On A Record-Shattering Pace At Men's U18 World Championship

James Hagens has 16 points through his first four games at the 2024 IIHF World Men's Under-18 Championship and on pace to shatter Nikita Kucherov's record.

May 1, 2024 by Chris Peters
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ESPOO, Finland -- James Hagens will have to wait another year to hear his name called at the NHL Draft. However, when June 2025 rolls around, he's probably not going to have to wait long.

Playing in his second IIHF World Men's Under-18 Championship, the 17-year-old Long Island native exploded for six points in Team USA's 9-3 win over host Finland to close out preliminary round play, just one point shy of the single-game record at this tournament. He now has 16 points through four games for an absurd average of four points per game.

The single-tournament record for points at the U18 Men's Worlds was set by Nikita Kucherov in 2011, when he put up 21 points over seven games for Russia. It's hard to believe, knowing what we know now, that Kucherov slipped into the second round after that record-setting performance. Kucherov averaged three points per game that tournament, while Hagens is averaging a full point per game higher at this point.

Hagens is currently tied with Phil Kessel and Matvei Michkov for 10th most points in a single tournament already. Both of those players played in seven games in those years. He will need just four more points over his last three games to match the American record currently co-held by Will Smith and Jack Hughes.

So will Hagens actually do it? 

Team USA meets Switzerland in the tournament quarterfinal on Thursday and will be heavily favored. Hagens has scored no fewer than three points in any game yet in this tournament. While things get a bit more challenging for the Long Island native as the games intensify at the single-elimination phase, there's little reason to expect him to slow down at this point. Especially not after having his biggest game yet against his toughest opponent in host Finland. 

Should USA get past Switzerland, they will play the lowest remaining seed among the final four teams. The only team they surely won't see in the semifinals is Canada, which has a pair of record-chasing forwards of its own in Gavin McKenna and Porter Martone, the latter of whom will be one of Hagens' primary competitors for the No. 1 pick in 2025.

McKenna is just one point off of Canada's single-tournament points record co-held by Tyson Jost and Macklin Celebrini. Martone is just two points behind. Meanwhile, both are averaging over three points per game and will also have a chance to beat Kucherov's long-standing record.

It's also important to note that both Kucherov and Hughes in particular had their historic performances when this tournament was at full strength. Russia remains banned from IIHF competition amid its government's invasion and ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Without one of the top five countries when it comes to international competition, there are more games against lesser opponents, which definitely has an impact on the ability of these players to break these records.

That's not to say there should be an asterisk on these records. Producing at a level that exceeds three points per game at an IIHF event, regardless of the competition, is remarkably impressive and when you see the quality of the players putting up these numbers, it's still a major indicator of their talent. We're talking about three players that are very likely to be high picks.

Hagens in particular is playing some of his best hockey of this entire season. As a member of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program this season, Hagens has produced 96 points across all competitions. He needs two more points to get into the top 10 for single-season scoring at the NTDP. 

Only eight players have achieved 100 points in a season at the NTDP and all were or will be first-round picks. Additionally, each of the last three NTDP alumni that went first overall in the NHL Draft -- Patrick Kane, Auston Matthews and Jack Hughes -- recorded 100 points in a season. Hughes actually scored over 100 twice in his NTDP career.

The incredibly talented Hagens will play his draft season at Boston College, playing at one of the top programs in the country that looks to be returning a good number of its core players from its national runner-up performance this season. 

Before he gets there, however, he wants to end his NTDP career on a winning note. He's three more wins, and probably more than a few points off his stick, from making it happen.

How Do I Watch The IIHF World Under-18 Championship in the U.S.?

NHL Network will carry Team USA's games and select others live on television in the United States. Streaming information is not yet available.

How Do I Watch The IIHF World Under-18 Championship in Canada?

TSN is expected to broadcast every game from the 2024 IIHF Men's World U18 Championship with many games appearing on one of TSN's family of networks. The tournament will also be streamed in Canada on TSN+.

Team USA’s U18 Worlds Schedule

  • April 25: Slovakia vs. USA, W, 10-0
  • April 27: USA vs. Norway, W, 8-2
  • April 28: Latvia vs. USA, W, 7-1
  • April 30: USA vs. Finland, W, 9-4
  • May 2: Quarterfinals vs. Switzerland, 5 a.m. ET
  • May 4: Semifinals TBD
  • May 5: Medal Games TBD

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