“Michael Hage is likely to be frustrating for the same reasons as Kirby Dach.”

Félix Forget
“Michael Hage is likely to be frustrating for the same reasons as Kirby Dach.”
Credit: Twitter screenshot

Over the past few days, Michael Hage has been in the news for all the right reasons. The Habs prospect has been on fire at the WJC, scoring the winning goal for Canada in overtime on Saturday night.

He now has two goals and four points in two games since the start of the tournament. And tonight, he'll have the opportunity to add to his record against Denmark.

As a result, more and more people in Montreal see him as a guy who'll be in the club's top-6 sooner rather than later. But in reality, there are those who have a few more doubts.

Hadi Kalakeche, who works for Elite Prospects, is one of those who seem to have doubts… and there's one sentence that catches the eye in his observation:

Michael Hage will probably be frustrating in his NHL debut, for the same reasons that made Kirby Dach frustrating at times. – Hadi Kalakeche

What he explains is that, a little like Dach, Hage has certain shortcomings in terms of his physical play, positioning, and forechecking. These are aspects that can be corrected, but generally, it takes a long time.

We could also add difficulties at the face-off circle as a common weakness of both players.

In reality, this doesn't mean that Hage will never be a top-6 player. After all, we've seen Dach have those flashes at times, and you'd think his development would have been further along if he wasn't constantly injured and COVID-19 hadn't made his early career a little unusual.

That said, if the Habs want to turn the corner, going after a big name next summer might be a better idea than trusting Hage, according to Kalakeche. Because while the Canadiens' system could help hide Hage's shortcomings, it could also prevent him from reaching his full potential, at least in the short term.

Hage, like the vast majority of prospects, is an interesting project who is not, however, a sure thing. That said, just because he has certain shortcomings doesn't mean he isn't a promising young player.

But to place him in the top-6 next season is a bit audacious.


In Overtime

– Keaton Verhoeff will be in uniform for Canada against Denmark tonight.

– Yegor Chinakhov, who requested a trade from the Blue Jackets several months ago, has been traded to the Penguins.

– Former Habs prospect Hayden Verbeek is one of the referees for the game between Finland and the Czech Republic at the WJC.

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