Hockey

“Michael Hage is five years away from possibly making a significant impact with the Habs.”
Félix Forget
“Michael Hage is five years away from possibly making a significant impact with the Habs.”
Credit: Getty Images

Excluding NHL veteran Ivan Demidov, Michael Hage is the Canadiens' best forward prospect. A guy like Alexander Zharovsky, as talented as he is, is still far from Hage's level, who is seen as a top-quality prospect on the Bettman circuit.Scott Wheeler, this summer, placed him 51st in his ranking of the NHL's top prospects, after all.And in light of the Canadiens' current search for a 2nd center, Hage is a name that has people talking. The forward plays center, and has a number of interesting attributes that could make him the answer to the Habs' need any day now. But not everyone agrees… and Eric Macramalla ( TSN 690 contributor), on The Shaun Starr Show, agreed:

[Michael Hage] is five years away from making a significant impact with the Canadiens.

–

Eric Macramalla

https://youtu.be/ImpQNAqVSdI?si=QQCooQi7xyhg3Hok&t=1082

Hage, who just turned 19, scored 34 points in 33 games in his first NCAA season. He'll play another year in the American college circuit… and we expect to see him make the jump to the pros for the 2026-27 season.Or at the very end of the 2025-26 season, but his first full-time season in the pros won't be until 2026-27.In the event that Hage spends another year in the NCAA and needs a season or two to take off in the NHL, it's possible that his real impact in Montreal won't be felt for a few years. And I think that's the point: we can't (yet) consider Hage a sure bet for the second center position.Hage definitely has the potential to become the team's second center, but he still has some way to go in his development. And in reality, it wouldn't be surprising if he didn't become an excellent second center until, say, 2027-28 or even 2028-29.Can the Canadiens afford to be so patient? Inan ideal world, Kirby Dach would have developed sufficiently to be minimally a good transition option. But in the real world, his health is unclear… and he really hasn't proven to be the solution to that problem.No, there's a reason Mason McTavish is so linked to the Canadiens… and one wonders if sooner or later, the Habs will have to try to bring in reinforcements from the outside while waiting for Hage… if he really does become that much-sought-after second center, of course.

'Overtime'

– I like it.

– Incredible.

– It happens every summer, that.

– Things are bad in the Bronx.

– Ah.

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