Why Canadiens fans are going to fall in love with Michigan’s Michael Hage

Hunter Crowther
Hunter Crowther
Why Canadiens fans are going to fall in love with Michigan’s Michael Hage

When you’re watching hockey, it usually doesn’t take long to figure out who the best player on the ice is. They’re dangerous on every shift, hunting for loose pucks, able to score every time the puck is on their stick, with skating that puts them in the best position to succeed at all times.

All of that describes Michael Hage perfectly, the No. 21 overall pick of the Montreal Canadiens in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, who in his first season with the University of Michigan has become of the best players in the NCAA. His 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points in 17 games leads the Wolverines in scoring, and his 1.24 points-per-game (PPG) is 14th in the country. Not only that, but Hage’s 11 goals are tied for eighth in the NCAA, and he nearly doubles the next closest freshman in that category.

Hage and the Wolverines faced the Ohio State Buckeyes on Jan. 3 in the Big Ten’s Frozen Confines series at Wrigley Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs. The two schools are known for their historic football rivalry, but within hockey’s Big Ten Conference, they’ve developed their own feud, each game chippier than the last. This one was no different, as the unique conditions of Wrigley Field gave the match a playoff feel, with less space to navigate and defenders checking tighter than usual.

In that type of environment, offense is generated through error, and players like Hage find ways to produce. With less than two minutes in the first period, a careless pass from a Buckeye defender was stripped by Hage, who buried a wrist shot and gave Michigan a 1-0 lead.

Hage’s offense didn’t stop there. With 10 minutes to go in the third period and the game tied at two, Michigan was on the power play when Hage found fellow freshman Will Horcoff, assisting on his first career NCAA goal to give the Wolverines the lead.

The pass came from Hage’s usual spot on the power play, the top of the circle on the right side. From there, he can do several things at an elite level: feed the bumper a tip-in pass (like he did with Horcoff), fire a wrist shot past the goaltender or go cross-ice to a right-handed teammate for a one-timer. It’s with the man advantage that Hage is arguably most dangerous, but it’s just another tool in his tool belt.

When you watch Hage’s highlights, they’re as visually pleasing as you can imagine. There’s a smoothness in his game you can only find when you’re watching someone who is better than nearly anyone on the ice. There are goals Hage scores that reminds you of a top NHL pick who goes back to the CHL and is just toying with all the other teenagers, like a cat with a mouse, as if it’s out of boredom … except most of these players aren’t teenagers, they’re twentysomethings with beards and may be fully grown, with Hage dancing around them.

But it’s not just the SportsCenter highlight goals or silky smooth passes from Hage that make him a special player. If he gets possession of the puck in his own end, his speed gives him a leg up on an opponent who has to scramble, as Michigan breaks out with purpose when he’s on the ice. His acceleration makes you sit up, a player with his size who can shift so quickly that it throws off the timing of opponents and creates new lanes for him to attack.

There are areas to Hage’s game that still need to develop, and he’ll continue to physically grow into his 6-foot-1 frame. His defensive instincts are good, but there are flashes where he’ll lose his man in his own end, or he isn’t supporting his defenders like a center is expected to do. But this will improve with time, and he has been more than capable through his freshman season.

There may be an appetite to sign him to a professional deal after this season, especially if he finishes among the highest scorers in the NCAA, but another year in college could really help him round out the parts of his game that are away from the puck. Either way, Montreal fans should be salivating at the prospect of an all-world talent like Hage being in their organization.

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