orangecrush8
Registered User
I’m late to the party. But this is extremely well put.First off (if you have bravely read all the way to here ), welcome to the Boards, Scott. Thanks for sharing your perspective. I can relate to your experience as a Flyers fan growing up in hostile hockey territory. Try doing that in Montreal!
For me, Hagg is a lightning rod. He is overused (coach) and overhyped (media). He was also selected to start the season over the much more talented Sanheim, which as you know didn't go over too well here. It's hard to divorce bad feelings for coaching / GM decisions from the player who (I feel) unjustly benefits to the (I feel) detriment of the team. It is particularly difficult when the coach has a tendency to use different metrics for ice time for different players.
My impressions of Hagg's skill level aren't as pointed as those of others here, but I see his shortcomings. He needs a lot of work to refine his defensive game and a LOT of work to refine his offense. Yeah, stats don't tell the whole picture, but they bring a set of evaluable numbers to compare with the eye test, particularly as a player progresses in leagues. Hagg's low offensive acumen in the AHL doesn't give optimism that he can improve at the highest level of competition.
Put Hagg on the bottom pairing in a lineup without Andrew MacDonald? Not a peep from me.
I especially agree with the comments about his success in the AHL. This isn’t this guy’s first year of pro hockey. He never once put up anything above below average offensive numbers anywhere. It unlikely it will appear at this level
There was one play in particular last year that I will honestly never forget. The Flyers had the puck in the ozone for at least a minute and had managed to make a line change while still controlling the puck. The puck then came on Hagg’s stick at the blue line along the boards and he floated a wrist shot in on a completely unscreened goalie. Killed all the momentum and allowed a line change for the opponent. It was one play, but holy moly that told me pretty much everything I needed to know about that guy.