Introduction

It was somewhat of a surprise that Michael Hage elected to head back to the University of Michigan for his Junior season, but there’s no doubt that the Wolverines’ coaching staff will be thrilled to have their star player back. The Montreal Canadiens’ 2024 first-round pick has been a massive part of their program for the past two seasons, scoring over a point per game as a freshman before becoming a top-five scorer in the country as a sophomore.

Habs fans were expecting him to potentially make the jump at the end of his second campaign, but that didn’t happen. Then, the talk was about him joining the team to start this upcoming season, but again, the academically inclined Hage decided to forego NHL money in the interim. Heading into this season, he doesn’t have a lot left to prove at the NCAA level, but the expectation will be for him to dominate. Luckily, looking at his last two years, it doesn’t seem that he’ll have much of a problem doing precisely that.

He also got the chance in 2025-26 to represent Canada at the World Juniors. He ended up being the top scorer, and arguably the most impressive player for a Canada team that admittedly underwhelmed in a semifinal loss to Czechia. Still, the hype around Hage grew as he was not only torching the NCAA, but showing what he could do on the international stage among his peers.

Most pundits are in agreement at this point that there is legitimate star potential with Hage. The Habs traded up in that 2024 draft in order to get him, and that decision has looked better by the game. Hage watch will be a hot topic throughout the season as we start to wonder when he’ll get his NHL shot. Where that chance comes might be another question, but we’ll get to that later.

Voting

The consensus with Hage is that be belongs in the top 10, with most of our panellists placing him in the four-to-six range. I had him right where he ended up at number four, as I think the majority of fans would agree he is the most complete player in the organization that isn’t in the NHL already.

As we’ve seen with the last few players profiled, there’s a barrier at third place that marks the start of the current tier. Hage is the player atop this group that sits just behind the current NHL stars.

Top 25 Under 25 History

It has been a steady rise for Hage on our list, debuting at 13 after being drafted, rising into the top 10 after a strong freshman year, and now finding himself inside of the top five.

History of #4

Year
#4

2026
Michael Hage

2025
Juraj Slafkovský

2024
Kirby Dach

2023
Kaiden Guhle

2022
Kaiden Guhle

2021
Mattias Norlinder

2020
Alexander Romanov

2019
Ryan Poehling

2018
Victor Mete

2017
Phillip Danault

2016
Nathan Beaulieu

2015
Nikita Scherbak

2014
Jarred Tinordi

2013
Lars Eller

2012
Lars Eller

2011
Lars Eller

2010
Benoit Pouliot

Strengths

Hage loves to attack in transition, where he pairs sharp crossovers and elite puck-handling to freeze defenders before he chooses a drive to the net, a shot, or a dish to a teammate. His instincts and positioning away from the puck are excellent as well, but the sheer ability he possesses in carrying the puck through the neutral zone and into the danger areas means that the Wolverines really rely on him to carry the mail. At the NCAA level, the opposition has to send help to shut him down, but his precision passing makes that a dangerous game; he will bait a double-team his way and then dish off to a teammate that benefits from extra space that Hage created.

His shot is bordering on criminally underrated at this point, mostly because he won’t use it without a very clean look. He’s accurate, has great velocity, and can beat goaltenders clean, but he’s such a gifted playmaker that even when he’s working himself into an advantageous shooting position he’s acutely aware of where his teammates are and how much better their shooting position could be. His instincts for where the best shot is located are unmatched, and he has no qualms about sacrificing his own goal-scoring to make sure the team gets its tallies.

While not an extremely physical player, his size can’t be ignored either. He stands at 6’1″ and around 200 pounds, yet still looks a little lanky. He will be able to add some more size over the next few years, which will benefit him greatly when he transitions to playing against the men in the NHL. Offensively, you’re talking about the complete package with Hage; size, elite skating, elite puck-handling, elite vision, and goal-scoring potential that is only being hampered by how excellent a playmaker he is.

Weaknesses

While he is about as complete a playmaking centre prospect as you can ask for, he does have some areas he’ll want to focus on. That starts with his faceoffs, where he posted a 46% win rate in his first two NCAA seasons, and saw even more difficulty when playing on the international stage. Many will argue that what you do after a faceoff is a lot more important than winning or losing it, but right now he would be behind almost every centre on the Habs roster if you’re choosing who to send for a vital, late-game draw. That could make it difficult to earn a top-six spot as a centre, and has at least a few pundits wondering if he’ll end up as a winger.

Defensive consistency will also be an important development for his NHL career. He defends well enough for the NCAA, but there is an ocean between the competition he’s facing now and what he’ll face at the next level, particularly if he slots into the top six as quickly as he’s believed to do. He can afford for his defensive compete level to drift a little in the NCAA, but that won’t be an option when he’s regularly skating against top competition in the show.

Projection

This is a player with top-six playmaker written all over him, and while there are some whispers about a transition to the wing, most see him as a potential number two behind Nick Suzuki when he makes the jump. Of course, we can’t ignore the elephant in the room; he has elected to return for a Junior year in the NCAA, and the Habs need that number two sooner than later. Every single time the Habs are even tangentially linked to an established centre in trade talks, Hage figures to be a part of the rumoured ask. So far, the Habs have apparently been unwilling to bite that bullet, but it is completely reasonable to wonder how long they can hold out, or what names might be coming available during this season that would push them to act.

Trade rumours are unlikely to subside, but if we can put those on the back burner for a moment, he should get an immediate opportunity with the Habs when he finishes his NCAA season. That won’t give him a lot of runway to acclimate to the NHL with a team that is expecting to be back in the playoffs again and may be competing for a division title when he arrives, but his skill level should enable him to find a role with the big club and run with it. Whether that will be the second-line centre role immediately or something else to get his feet wet, he should eventually be getting looks on a line with Ivan Demidov behind the Suzuki trio.

That is perhaps the most tantalizing future state of the Canadiens. Hage has everything you would want in a player that can truly maximize Demidov’s output, and could probably line up there for the season-opener and look like he belongs. That may be a little frustrating for Habs fans to hear — it was certainly frustrating for me to write — but there is some very warm comfort in thinking about how opposing teams will struggle to contain a future line that holds these two young stars. I won’t lie, I really wish that he would have made the jump this season, but if I’m right about what he could do, it will be worth the wait.