(Las Vegas) A year ago, Michael Hage was experiencing the worst times of his life. The sudden loss of his father, in tragic conditions.
A year later, the pain is still raw. But what Hage experienced Friday night is probably the closest thing to healing that wound: being drafted by the Montreal Canadiens, his favorite club since he was a kid. And especially his father’s favorite.
“It’s incredible!” the Franco-Ontarian kept repeating, a few moments after the CH selected him at 21e rank of the first round. In minor hockey, he wore number 9, because Maurice Richard was, with Jean Béliveau, his father’s favorite player.
Along with his brother, he has followed the ups and downs of the Canadiens over the past decade. He still hasn’t gotten over the injury Chris Kreider inflicted on Carey Price in the 2014 conference final. He remembers jumping around the house when the Habs overcame a 3-1 deficit against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2021 playoffs.
Somewhere, Friday evening, his father was smiling, Michael Hage believes. And if he had been in Vegas with his son, he would have been really proud of it.
“I think he would have been happy no matter what,” the young man said, his eyes misty. “But it would have given him a big smile.”
PHOTO STEVE MARCUS, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michael Hage was drafted by Montreal at 21e first round rank.
The start of the most recent season was difficult for Michael Hage. It is understandable that he was suffering the aftereffects of the drama he had experienced during the summer, but he was also recovering from a serious shoulder injury suffered a few months earlier.
During the campaign, however, he found his stride. With the Chicago Steel in the USHL, he amassed 75 points in 54 games, which placed him fourth in league scoring. A big 6’1″, 190 lb center, he is known for his offensive touch and his intelligence of the game.
Mutual interest
The various projections had him in the second half of the first round, if not a little further. At the recent NHL Combine, 31 of the league’s 32 teams interviewed him – the 31ethe Tampa Bay Lightning, had no picks in the first three rounds.
The meeting with the Canadian had “gone well”, according to him. He had also told The Press the extraordinary situations with which he had been placed.
The interest was, we would learn, highly mutual. General Manager Kent Hughes actually made a trade on Friday morning to advance his speaking turn originally scheduled for the 26th.e rank.
Afterwards, he didn’t hide it: Flannel had Hage in his sights with this selection. Had he no longer been available, the pick may well have been traded.
His link with Montreal did not weigh in the balance, but it is an asset, he clarified. It is not common, in fact, for a boy who grew up in the suburbs of Toronto to express himself so fluently in French. Both of his parents, of Egyptian origin, were born and raised in the metropolis before settling in Ontario. His grandparents still live there.
Michael went to French school in elementary school and still converses with his grandparents in the language of Guy Bertrand (the one of your choice). He considers himself “rusty”, but the criticism is harsh.
What management likes about him is the fact that he has, in their eyes, “the offensive talent to play in a top 6 “, says Kent Hughes, whether at center or on the wing, like other established players in the organization: Oliver Kapanen, Owen Beck, Kirby Dach, Nick Suzuki, Alex Newhook… “We’re not worried of not having enough centers, said the DG again. Good hockey players play together, like Dach when he played with Suzuki and Cole Caufield in his first year. »
The main person concerned says he is ready “to play any role” in the team. And he doesn’t want to skip any steps to achieve his goals. Next fall, he will begin an NCAA career with the University of Michigan. The rest will happen “one year at a time”.
“I want to have an impact, help our university win games,” he said.
He takes great pride in his “work ethic”. A value inherited from his father, precisely.
PHOTO STEPHEN R. SYLVANIE, USA TODAY SPORTS
Michael Hage
When I was a child, [mon père] has always pushed me, and that’s why I hold myself to high standards. It was even more true this year. I continue to do everything as if he were watching me go.
Michael Hage
His long convalescence in the winter of 2023 also taught him a lot about himself, he says. “It was hard to go so long without skating. It made me feel a lot of gratitude towards [le hockey]it reminded me how passionate I am.”
And added: “Sometimes it’s when you lose something that you realize how much you care about it. »
We couldn’t have said it better.