Boston, Massachusetts: Bruins Place Rookie James Hagens on Injured Reserve, Recall Mikey Eyssimont

The Boston Bruins placed rookie forward James Hagens on injured reserve on Saturday and recalled forward Mikey Eyssimont from Providence, the team announced. The Bruins listed Hagens with a date of injury of Nov. 5. Injured reserve sidelines a player for at least a week, so Boston will play its next stretch of games without one of its top young forwards.

Hagens, 20, has played all 17 games for Boston this season, with six goals and six assists for 12 points. The total ties him for the NHL rookie scoring lead, and his six goals rank third among rookies. In 19 career NHL games, the Hauppauge, New York native has six goals and seven assists for 13 points. Boston picked him seventh overall in the first round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, and he signed with the club in April.

How Hagens was hurt

Hagens left Thursday night's game at Pittsburgh early in the third period after a cross-check to the back from Penguins defenseman Samuel Girard. He skated off holding his back, was checked by the medical staff on the bench, then went down the tunnel and did not return. Boston won the game 6-2.

After the game, head coach Marco Sturm said he had no update on the rookie. "To be honest, I called him up and he was not there," Sturm said, adding that he had not seen the play and hoped Hagens would be okay. The Bruins were off on Friday, and the team gave its answer on Saturday morning: the injury needs at least a week.

Eyssimont gets the call

Eyssimont, 30, comes up in the middle of the best scoring run of his career. In eight games with the Providence Bruins this season, he has 13 goals and three assists for 16 points. He leads all AHL skaters in goals and leads Providence in scoring, with six multi-point games and three hat tricks. The league named him its Player of the Month for October.

Boston fans know him from last season, when he played 56 games for the Bruins and recorded eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points. He made the opening night roster this fall, was placed on waivers on Oct. 4 and went to Providence after clearing. He has not played an NHL game yet this season. Across 269 career NHL games with Boston, Seattle, Tampa Bay, San Jose and Winnipeg, the Littleton, Colorado native has 33 goals and 41 assists for 74 points. Los Angeles drafted him in the fifth round, 142nd overall, in 2016.

The week ahead

Boston is 12-4-1 and leads the Atlantic Division with 25 points. The Bruins open a home stretch on Sunday afternoon against the Florida Panthers at TD Garden, and Eyssimont is in line to take the open spot in the lineup. Hagens can return after a week on injured reserve, and the team has given no longer timeline for his return.