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Michael Hage: A second NCAA year is not to be ruled out.

Marc-Olivier Cook
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Michael Hage: A second NCAA year is not to be ruled out.
Credit: Getty Images
Michael Hage is doing well in his first year in the NCAA.

He has accumulated 24 points (eleven goals) in his first 21 games of the season, proving that the Canadiens do not look crazy for selecting him with the 21st pick in the last draft.

When we see him score goals like that, we realize he has talent:

Seeing him perform well at the college level, it’s natural to think he has a chance to sign his first contract with the Canadiens at the end of his college season.

This would allow him to jump to the pros quickly.

But Hage – in an interview with Guillaume Lepage (NHL) – asserts that there is no rush at the moment. He will sign his contract when the Canadiens tell him he’s ready to do so.

And his coach (who also spoke with Guillaume Lepage) seems to share the same view.

Before entertaining the idea of seeing his protégé leave the collegiate circuit to play professionally, Brandon Naurato would like the Canadiens’ prospect to start dominating (in a clear way) the NCAA:

He’s doing very well in terms of production. But he’s not dominating games.

Ryan Leonard dominates games. Lane Hutson dominated games last year. That’s the next step for Michael. – Brandon Naurato

The coach is right:

Michael Hage’s coach knows that his player has talent.

After all, Brandon Naurato does not understand Canada’s decision to overlook Hage for the last World Junior Championship, and according to him, the Canadiens’ prospect would be a player scoring around 150 points per season if he were playing in the CHL.

But the coach’s comments are logical because to make the jump to the pros at such a young age, a player must be too good for the league he’s in.

Hage is having a great season, and there’s no doubt about that. But he’s not dominating either, and we must not forget that the Canadiens’ prospect is only 18 years old.

He will celebrate his 19th birthday in April (the 14th)…

Could a second year in the NCAA hurt him? In my eyes, not necessarily. We all look forward to seeing him arrive in Montreal, and that’s normal, but a second college season would allow him to gain strength (and maturity) and give him the opportunity to be fully prepared for the awaited moment.

Unless he starts being really too good in the second half of the season at Michigan…


In Brief

– It has to be done.

– Nice list.

– He looks fit.

– Note:

– Not a surprise.

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