Brandon Hagel

Brandon Hagel (born August 27, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). After making his NHL debut on March 11, 2020, the NHL season was postponed due to COVID-19.

Brandon Hagel
Born (1998-08-27) August 27, 1998
Morinville, Alberta, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Left wing
Shoots Left
NHL team Chicago Blackhawks
NHL Draft 159th overall, 2016
Buffalo Sabres
Playing career 2019–present

During his four season tenure with the Red Deer Rebels in the Western Hockey League (WHL), he set a new franchise record for most assists.

Early life

Hagel was born on August 27, 1998, in Morinville, Alberta, Canada.[1]

Playing career

Hagel began his Bantam and Midget AAA ice hockey career with the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers in the Alberta Midget Hockey League (AMJHL).[2] In spite of recording 41 points in 33 games during the 2012–13 AMJHL season, he was overlooked in the 2013 Western Hockey League (WHL) Bantam draft being too slight. Following this, he finished third around the AMJHL in scoring and was named to the Second All-Star Team.[3] He finished his Bantam and Midget career playing with the Whitecourt Wolverines and recording one goal and two assists in two games.[2]

Major junior

On September 17, 2015, Hagel was signed as a free agent by the Red Deer Rebels in the Western Hockey League (WHL).[2] In his rookie season with the team, he helped lead them to the 2016 Memorial Cup against the London Knights[4] and earned a final ranking of 104th overall by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau.[5] He attributed much of his success to head coach and GM Brent Sutter, saying "[h]aving 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."[6] Hagel was eventually selected 159th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.[7]

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-on-knee injury and was expected to be returned to the WHL to complete the season.[8] In spite of this, he was named an alternate captain and recorded three goals and two assists in back-to-back games against the Edmonton Oil Kings.[9] Although he was healthy to begin the season, Hagel experienced an upper body injury and missed six weeks to recover.[10]

By June 1, 2018, the Sabres were unable to sign Hagel to a contract and relinquished their rights to him, allowing him to become eligible for the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.[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 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 7–4 loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers.[16]

Professional

After the Rebels were knocked out of the 2019 WHL playoffs, Hagel joined the Blackhawks American Hockey League affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, for eight games and recorded one point.[17] He attended the Blackhawks training camp prior to the 2018–19 season but was assigned to the Rockford IceHogs to begin the 2018–19 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 return to play first-round playoff exit, Hagel was unable to feature in a game. With the following 2020–21 NHL season to be delayed, Hagel was loaned to second tier Swiss League club, HC Thurgau, on September 30, 2020.[20]

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2014–15 Whitecourt Wolverines AJHL 6 1 1 2 0 4 0 1 1 0
2015–16 Whitecourt Wolverines AJHL 3 1 2 3 2 — — — — —
2015–16 Red Deer Rebels WHL 72 13 34 47 46 17 1 9 10 18
2016–17 Red Deer Rebels WHL 65 31 40 71 85 7 7 1 8 10
2017–18 Red Deer Rebels WHL 56 18 41 59 45 5 5 1 6 16
2018–19 Red Deer Rebels WHL 66 41 61 102 80 4 4 2 6 8
2018–19 Rockford IceHogs AHL 8 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
2019–20 Rockford IceHogs AHL 59 19 12 31 39 — — — — —
2019–20 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2020–21 HC Thurgau SL 14 8 7 15 8 — — — — —
NHL totals 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —

References
  1. Pike, Ryan (May 26, 2016). "Brandon Hagel – The Next Ones: NHL Draft Prospect Profile". thehockeywriters.com. The Hockey Writers. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  2. "Rebels Add Brandon Hagel". reddeerrebels.com. Red Deer Rebels. September 17, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  3. "Passed over in bantam draft, Hagel now an NHL prospect". reddeerrebels.com. Red Deer Rebels. September 29, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  4. Morreale, Mike G. (2016). "Tkachuk leads London into Memorial Cup". nhl.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  5. "2016 NHL Central Scouting Rankings - NA Skaters/Goaltenders". tsn.ca. The Sports Network. April 12, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  6. Coccimiglio, Brad (November 5, 2018). "CHL Notebook: Hagel taking game to another level with Red Deer". sportsnet.ca. Sportsnet. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  7. "Three Rebels Taken In NHL Draft". reddeerrebels.com. Red Deer Rebels. June 27, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  8. Baker, Kris (September 13, 2017). "CHL-eligible prospects set for start of Sabres camp". nhl.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  9. Meachem, Greg (September 27, 2017). "Hagel and Rebels teammates off to a hot start". reddeerrebels.com. Red Deer Rebels. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  10. Meachem, Greg (March 15, 2018). "Hagel and linemates dominating WHL opponents in timely fashion". reddeerrebels.com. Red Deer Rebels. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  11. @BuffaloSabres (June 1, 2018). "The Buffalo Sabres have relinquished the rights to Brandon Hagel, Austin Osmanski and Vojtech Budik and all three are now eligible for the 2018 #NHLDraft" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. "With return of Alexeyev, Barteaux, Rebels have full roster to open regular season". reddeerrebels.com. Red Deer Rebels. September 19, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  13. Grant, Robin (November 13, 2018). "Rebels Forward Brandon Hagel signs deal with Chicago Blackhawks". Red Deer Express. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  14. Hackett, Byron (March 20, 2019). "Rebels Brandon Hagel named WHL Eastern Conference second-team all-star". Red Deer Advocate. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  15. Hackett, Byron (February 9, 2019). "Hagel sets new franchise assists mark, Rebels fall 2-1 to Moose Jaw". Red Deer Advocate. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  16. "Rebels gain all-important point in shootout loss to Raiders". reddeerrebels.com. Red Deer Rebels. March 1, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  17. Hackett, Byron (December 5, 2019). "Hagel flourishing in early days of pro hockey". Red Deer Advocate. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  18. "Rockford IceHogs Training Camp to begin Sept. 30". nhl.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  19. Taft, Jay (March 17, 2020). "NHL dreams on hold for Nicolas Beaudin, Brandon Hagel". Rockford Register Star. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  20. Chicago Blackhawks (September 30, 2020). "Blackhawks loan forward Brandon Hagel to Swiss League". Twitter. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
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