Hockey

Michael Hage: winger on ÉCJ’s third line, as predicted by Craig Button
DansLesCoulisses.com
Michael Hage: winger on ÉCJ’s third line, as predicted by Craig Button
Credit: Getty Images

Michael Hage didn't get a chance to play for Canada at the last World Junior Championship. Hage was Canada's top scorer with four goals and one assist in four games, a performance that will certainly earn him a place on Team Canada this year. Despite his superb results, we can‘t expect him to be a cornerstone of Canada's World Junior team.

The good news is that Hage is part of that line-up. The worst part is that he wouldn't even be at center on this line. What would prevent Hage from having a better position is the amount of talent that's on this team with him. Here's what Craig Button's prediction would look like for the top two trios

  • Gavin McKenna – Roger McQueen – Porter Martone
  • Michael Misa – Berkly Catton – Beckett Sennecke

Hage starts late against these players, because they're all top-10 draft picks, with the exception of Gavin McKenna, who will obviously be the very first pick in the next NHL auction. Still, it would be interesting to see Hage play alongside Tij Iginla and Caleb Desnoyers on a third line. We're talking about three players who can play center and who all have good vision of the game

And, even if he's only on the third line, Hage can console himself with the players left out of this list. Jett Luchanko, Cayden Lindstrom and Sacha Boisvert were all passed over by Button, even though they were drafted ahead of Hage in 2024. Hage is the only Canadiens prospect to make Craig Button's roster. Owen Protz, who participated in the WJSS, was not named by the TSN expert, not even among the players who could possibly join the team. This line-up prediction is not official, but it's good to see that Michael Hage could finally earn a spot with ÉCJ.

'Overtime'

– A first NHL contract for the first pick of the last draft.

– Was he inspired by a certain Canadiens defenseman?

– Well done!

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