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Overview of Habs prospects: Michael Hage has as many goals as Cole Eiserman
Credit: Since the start of the season in the various hockey leagues around the world, there’s one young prospect on the Montreal Canadiens’ side who really stands out from the crowd. Of course, we follow Ivan Demidov a lot in the KHL, but his performance is inconsistent due to his often very limited ice time. So […]

Since the start of the season in the various hockey leagues around the world, there’s one young prospect on the Montreal Canadiens’ side who really stands out from the crowd.

Of course, we follow Ivan Demidov a lot in the KHL, but his performance is inconsistent due to his often very limited ice time.

So I’m talking about Michael Hage, the Habs’ second first-round pick (21ᵉ overall) in the most recent draft.

Indeed, Hage has been simply smoking with the University of Michigan since the start of the NCAA season.

He’s collecting points at an excellent rate, and doing so as an 18-year-old rookie in the best junior league in the United States.

In short, the Habs prospect is impressing this season, and he really makes us understand why the Habs traded up a few spots to get their hands on him.

Last night, Hage was at it again, scoring another superb goal, this time a game-winner in a 2-1 win over rival West Michigan University.

The goal represented his 9ᵉ of the season, which now makes it 17 points in 13 games.

Nine goals is enough to put Hage in the top-5 of NCAA goal scorers, tied with a certain Cole Eiserman of Boston University.

Obviously, that name rings a bell, given that he was drafted just ahead of Hage at No. 20ᵉ by the New York Islanders in the last draft.

Eiserman had long been seen as one of the top prospects in the draft, but had ultimately slipped considerably, even raising hopes among Habs fans of getting their hands on Demidov AND Eiserman.

Many fans were therefore disappointed when Eiserman was taken just before the Habs’ pick, given that despite falling several spots, he was still seen as the top scorer in the draft.

Well, here we are a few months later, and Michael Hage seems to be just as good a scorer as Eiserman, at least if the stats are anything to go by.

Hage is scoring superb goals at the same rate as Eiserman, and more points to boot.

Eiserman has played one game more than Hage and has 13 points, including nine goals, in 14 games.

Obviously, this is a very small sample and I’m exaggerating a little when I say that Hage is such a good scorer, but in the end, it’s a noteworthy statistic that shows just how dominant Hage is at every level this season.

In short, young Hage is developing really well in the NCAA right now, and may one day become an excellent top-6 player for the Habs, with even star potential under the following model.

The Habs need offensive and attacking talent, and that’s exactly what Hage has to offer.

Other notable performances by CH prospects

  • Filip Eriksson scored his second goal of the season in Sweden.
  • Sam Harris is still at the top of the NCAA scoring charts.

Overtime

– Indeed.

– Hutson leads all Habs rookies among defensemen after 25 games.

– Help for Guy Boucher.

– The habs checking leaders, while Kiefer Sherwood simply hits everything that moves.

– Brock Neslon could be traded. Vancouver tried to acquire him last season. [Responsible Gambler]

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