James Hagens is 2025 NHL Draft’s wild card — with Islanders a possibility

LOS ANGELES — The mystery of the NHL draft Friday night surrounds James Hagens. 

There’s the question of whether the Long Island native who came into the season as the potential No. 1 pick could slide as far as 10th or 11th.

There’s the much-rumored possibility the Islanders will find a way to move back into the top 10 to take the hometown kid.

There’s the potential for both outcomes to intersect. 

“If I slide, I’ll go to a spot that wants me the most,” Hagens said Thursday. “I’ll prove it on the ice. I’m not worried about any of that. It’s an honor just being here and being in this spot, being able to get picked. It doesn’t matter where, the draft’s an honor. I know that wherever I go, that’ll be a chip on your shoulder. You have something to prove.” 

Hagens, who grew up in Hauppauge with John Tavares as his favorite player and going to games at Nassau Coliseum and Barclays Center, would give the Islanders a story for the ages if they can put together a deal — the Bruins at No. 7 and the Mammoth at No. 4 are two teams widely discussed as potentially open to moving their picks — that nets him as well as Matthew Schaefer, whom the Isles will likely take with the first pick. 

Though Hagens has said on many occasions he’ll be happy wherever he goes, it’s no secret staying near home would mean just as much to him as it would to Islanders fans who have never gotten to root for a hometown player of his stature. 

“Somewhere you grew up, something you put so much pride in as a kid and still to this day, it’d be really something that would be really cool,” Hagens said. “Being able to come home, to go back to where it all started, it’d be special. 

“I’ve been around it for my whole life. It’s what got me to love hockey. It’s something I know and love.” 

If the Islanders attempt to move up, they could try to use either Noah Dobson or a package including some combination of Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Alexander Romanov and futures as the means of doing so. 

Dobson and Romanov are restricted free agents on July 1, and Dobson in particular looks like a possibility to move if the Islanders choose not to meet his contract demands. 

Hagens, of course, is not thinking in such terms. He just wants to hear his name called. 

“I don’t think you’d be disappointed getting picked by any team here,” he said. “It’s an exciting time wherever you go. You just want to be in a place that wants you.”