BOSTON — Agganis Arena was packed Saturday night, as Boston University opened its home slate of games with an exhibition matchup against the United States National Team Development Program's U18 team.
The Terriers faithful had lots to cheer about...and the home team lost 8-2.
That was in large part due to Cole Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass.), a recent BU commit, notching a hat trick, along with two assists. New England hockey fans in attendance also enjoyed seeing Teddy Stiga (Sudbury, Mass.) post two helpers and Mount St. Charles alum James Hagens score a goal and add two assists.
All three players have faced a career-changing last 12 months filled with big decisions. Over the next 12 months, they will face more.
Cole Eiserman reflects on decommitting from Minnesota, picking BU and the NHL Draft
When opposing players are announced for the starting lineup, it's normal for home student sections to boo them. But the Terriers students didn't do that when Eiserman was announced on Saturday night.
Even if they had, they would've been drowned out by Section 105 — the section taken up mostly by the Eiserman friends and family.
"That's kind of the reason up there," Eiserman said, pointing to the stands where his family was, regarding why he decommitted from Minnesota late last month and is deciding to go to BU instead. "And how many people are here and do that every night."
It all goes back to family for Eiserman.
"Over the summer, family stuff happened," he said. "We decided to sit down as a family and talk about it a little bit. It came into my mind to maybe come back for however many years it is. Me and my family decided that it'd be pretty cool to be back."
This season is also massive for Eiserman due to the looming NHL Draft in June. He's one of the top prospects, and he took the ice against BU's Macklin Celebrini, who will also hear his name called early in June's draft. The two are good friends after having played at Shattuck St. Mary's together.
"It was cool," Eiserman said. "I don't see him a lot. So it's definitely cool to be able to see him when I do."
With tons of NHL scouts in attendance, Eiserman's five-point performance Saturday night certainly strengthened his case to be selected in the top three come June. He now has 13 goals and 18 points in eight games.
Eiserman is known for his wicked shot. That was the case on his second goal of the game when he one-timed a shot past BU goalie Henry Graham, who had no time to adjust to the laser. It feels like nobody is able to find soft spots in opposing defenses and capitalize quite like Eiserman.
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But what really stood out was his ability to make plays happen. His first goal of the game came when he got the puck at the offensive blue line off the rush and streaked past BU defenseman Ty Gallagher and backhanded one past Graham. Then, early in the second period, Eiserman had the puck in the offensive zone, carried it around the net and looked off the defenders. When he did that, he fired a pass across the zone to linemate Max Plante for a goal.
It's plays like that that will continue to raise the eyebrows of NHL teams.
So, how does Eiserman think about the draft much?
"Not really," he said. "Obviously it gets brought up a lot. But I'm just trying to stay in the moment of what we're doing now and kind of the games and practices and kind of going day by day and trying to enjoy my last year with this group."
James Hagens explains why he chose Boston College
Eiserman committed to BU based on family, and so too did Hagens when it came to Boston College.
Hagens knew he wanted to play with his older brother Michael, who's a defenseman with the USHL's Chicago Steel. Michael was initially committed to Harvard but decommitted to pick a new school along with his brother.
"I kind of took my time," the younger Hagens said. "I had a long talk with my family, especially with my brother to see because I really wanted to play with him again. He made the decision to decommit and we both knew that we wanted to be close to home and be able to go to the same school together. It's something that's special to not only us but our family as well.
"BC was the right option for us and they've been so good to me and my family. So it's really cool and exciting."
Along with talking to his family, Hagens got help in picking BC from the players at the program. Of course, there was Stiga, his current teammate. But then there was Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.), Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.), Will Vote (Arlington, Mass.), Gabe Perreault, Aram Minnetian and Drew Fortescue — all players on last year's U18 team — who gave him reassurances that BC was the perfect fit.
"I was actually with them really often and they're such good guys and they made me feel like I was welcomed there and that I'm going to play a big role there," Hagens said. "So being able to have those guys to talk to and kind of ask questions to. It's been really helpful."
A big reason why Hagens, who has six goals and 17 points in nine games this season, was so coveted on the recruiting scene was due to his days developing as a U14 and U15 at Mount St. Charles.
"I feel like that was the best choice me and my brother made throughout our hockey career was going there," Hagens said.
It was at Mount St. Charles that Hagens became known as a puck-moving wizard. It was also a place where he worked on rounding out his two-way game.
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"I feel like I tried to be in the shooting room a ton and kind of work on moving pucks and trying to make everyone else better around me," Hagens said. "That was something I took a lot of pride in. I also took a lot of pride in face-offs and the defensive zone. I know that's not talked about a lot but that's something that Mount preached on and that was something I started to take a lot of responsibility in."
Hagens isn't NHL draft-eligible until 2025. This time next year, he will face a similar level of hype that Eiserman will have entering this draft.
Teddy Stiga's outlook on offseason improvement and the NHL Draft
The first year in Plymouth, Mich., is typically hard for most players and that was the case for Stiga last season. The pace was faster than anything he'd experienced and the game was more physical. As he started to adjust during the back half of the season, he got injured.
It ended up being the best thing for him.
"I was in the gym every day," Stiga said. "Honestly, getting hurt, for me, was kind of a blessing in disguise. I was able to put on a lot of muscle and weight and get stronger for this year and I feel a difference a lot this year. I feel a lot stronger on the puck, faster and the game is just coming a little easier this year."
Stiga's feelings are confirmed by the eye test. The Belmont Hill product has seven goals and 13 points in nine games. On Saturday, Stiga forechecked hard and looked the part when landing bodychecks on older defensemen. The 5-foot-10, 177-pound left wing was able to use his feet to find open ice in the slot and when challenged, he held his ground. He was quick on pucks and was strong on the penalty kill.
Life is good these days for Stiga, especially since he gets to receive slick passes from Hagens.
"I think it's been great," Stiga said. "We're starting to build some chemistry and hopefully that'll continue and continue maybe into college."
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Stiga is eligible to be selected in the upcoming NHL Draft. His profile is growing, especially after his hot start to this season. At this rate, his name should be called sooner rather than later on Day 2.
"I think just putting it behind you and playing your game is the best thing you can do," Stiga said on his outlook. "And it's been hard to do because there's so much buzz about it and you hear guys talking about it, but you just can't worry about it. You've just got to play your game."
