Brandon Hagel

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

Brandon Hagel
Hagel with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2023
Born (1998-08-27) August 27, 1998
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 179 lb (81 kg; 12 st 11 lb)
Position Left wing
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Tampa Bay Lightning
Chicago Blackhawks
National team  Canada
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 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, but was raised in Morinville, Alberta.[1]

Playing career

Hagel began his Bantam and Midget AAA ice hockey career with the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers in the Alberta Midget Hockey League (AMHL).[2] In spite of recording 41 points in 33 games during the 2012–13 AMHL season, he was overlooked in the 2013 Western Hockey League (WHL) Bantam draft being too slight. Following this, he finished third in 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-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 7–4 loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers.[16]

Chicago Blackhawks

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 season to be delayed, Hagel was loaned to second tier Swiss League club, HC Thurgau, on September 30, 2020.[20]

As a restricted free agent with the Blackhawks following his breakout 2020–21 season, Hagel was re-signed to a three-year, $4.5 million contract extension on August 6, 2021.[21]

In his third season with the Blackhawks in 2021–22, with the team well out of contention for the playoffs and having established new career marks with 21 goals and 37 points through 55 games, Hagel was traded by Chicago alongside two fourth-round draft picks to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for two first-round picks in 2023 and 2024, Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk on March 18, 2022.[22]

Tampa Bay Lightning

Hagel played the remainder of the 2021–22 season with the Lightning, posting 4 goals and 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 had a breakout year, with 30 goals and 64 points in 81 games. He set new career marks in each category, and ranked 4th on the team in scoring.[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]

On August 22, 2023, Hagel and the Lightning agreed to an 8 year contract extension with an AAV of $6.5 million.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
2014–15 Whitecourt Wolverines AJHL 61120 40110
2015–16 Whitecourt Wolverines AJHL 31232 —————
2015–16 Red Deer Rebels WHL 7213344746 17191018
2016–17 Red Deer Rebels WHL 6531407185 771810
2017–18 Red Deer Rebels WHL 5618415945 551616
2018–19 Red Deer Rebels WHL 66416110280 44268
2018–19 Rockford IceHogs AHL 80112 —————
2019–20 Rockford IceHogs AHL 5919123139 —————
2019–20 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 10000 —————
2020–21 HC Thurgau SL 1487158 —————
2020–21 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 529152411 —————
2021–22 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 5521163723 —————
2021–22 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 224378 2324625
2022–23 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 8130346454 61450
NHL totals 211646813296 29381125
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Ice hockey
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2021 Latvia

International
Year Team Event Result GPGAPtsPIM
2021 Canada WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 100000
Senior totals 100000

References
  1. Rode, Danny (November 17, 2016). "Brandon Hagel-Michael Spacek line combination working out well for Red Deer Rebels". reddeeradvocate.com. Red Deer Advocate. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  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.
  21. "Blackhawks sign Brandon Hagel to three-year extension". Chicago Blackhawks. August 6, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  22. "Hagel traded to Lightning by Blackhawks". Chicago Blackhawks. March 18, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  23. "Brandon Hagel Stats and News". NHL.com. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
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