There has been a ton of attention lavished on James Hagens after the Boston Bruins selected him with the seventh overall pick in last month’s NHL Draft, and rightfully so given the undeniable talent and high ceiling for him as an 18-year-old offensive game-breaker just growing into his full potential.
The hype is justified for a player who’s expected to carry the Boston College offense this coming hockey season.
But everybody also agrees that it was Boston’s entire 2025 draft class that’s strong, deep and full of talent, and might be the best draft class they have had since Don Sweeney took over as general manager.
It certainly should at least rival the 2015 NHL Draft that saw the B’s produce Jake DeBrusk, Brandon Carlo, Jeremy Lauzon and Dan Vladar, and that means it’s more than simply the marquee name taken near the top of the draft. That elevated level of talent bore out in Bruins development camp earlier this month, with a number of incoming prospects showing that there will be some intriguing individual talents to track and watch develop over the next few years. Czech skater Vashek Blanar stood out as a skilled defenseman after being selected with a fourth round pick, third round Minnesota high school scoring prodigy Cooper Simpson flashed some very real goal-scoring skills and Will Moore looks to be another very high end center prospect taken in the second round with the 51st overall selection.
The 18-year-old Moore, in particular, is an interesting, unusual prospect with an eclectic, impressive background different from most of the other top hockey prospects in the world. He’s the first in his family to play hockey and he’s also a talented pianist, and violinist, that played at Carnegie Hall as a 10-year-old winner of the Little Mozarts International Competition, an accomplishment at a time in his life when most of his draft pick peers were spending every idle weekend hitting the ice.
“He seems like a really bright kid who really thinks outside the box,” said Bruins’ director of player development Adam McQuaid, during development camp. “You can really see that in the way he plays.”
The creativity, as well as the rangy, talented 6-foot-3 frame that will pack on added strength and muscle in the coming years, was on display at development camp, as well as in the highlights that helped lead to his second-round selection.
#NHLBruins use their 2nd Round Pick to select William Moore
— Michael Sullivan (@_MikeSullivan) June 28, 2025
Moore is a 6’3” Left handed C/LW weighing in at 181 pounds.
He will be joining James Hagens at BC for his freshman season.
In the WJC he posted 11 points in 7 games.
VC: ProspectShifts/YT🎥 pic.twitter.com/mFa6pa3ab2
Moore was also the rare player at the US National Team Development Program who grew up in Canada and came up through the Toronto area youth hockey system rather than being a strictly US-born product. In fact, Moore and second overall pick Michael Misa were often playing hockey in the same circles growing up in the Greater Toronto Area, or GTA as the kids up there like to call it. Moore’s father is American-born and worked in Toronto, and his mom is a native of Brazil who had the youngster playing soccer as well as hockey growing up in the Mississauga area.
Moore quickly chose hockey over soccer as a youngster, though, and the rest has been history for the gifted, achieving teenager as his family discovered the new world of hockey.
“He really plays piano and he’s damn good at it. He values the hard work and the ambition that (his parents) have. He applies that in every way,” said Sweeney after selecting the 6-foot-3, 181-pound center with the 51st overall pick. “He’s a good student. With the piano he was dedicated. In hockey, he’s very dedicated. Those are kids that find a way to excel in whatever they choose to do.
“He’s got a lot of physical maturing to still do and I think the college environment will lend to him to be able to do that with their strength program. It’ll be a nice test for him, the skill, the hockey sense, the skating ability, they’re right on track for him to jump in that lineup and compete for ice time.”
All of it makes for a well-rounded hockey prospect that’s put up 46 points in 60 games for the USNTDP over the last two seasons, and is slated to suit up at Boston College with Hagens, Dean Letourneau, Andre Gasseau and Oskar Jellvik this coming season. Moore was part of the group of Boston College hockey players that were pranked during Bruins development camp in a lighthearted moment amid a frenetic week of workouts, media obligations and charitable appearances.
All musical skills aside, the skill, the athleticism, and the offensive potential on the frozen sheet are what sets Moore apart as a highly regarded young hockey player amongst the other prospects. The high intelligence and super-high achievement levels across a number of disciplines just shows the vast potential that Moore possesses as he pours all of that energy into hockey in the prime of his athletic career.
“I love learning. I love adding new things to my game,” said Moore. “I love learning new things off the ice. I think it’s great, especially when you can be creative in other ways and just keep developing your mind in a unique way. I think it helps with hockey and it’s also great to just put your mind on other things.”
Both Hagens and Moore are on the fast track to be members of Team USA for the IIHF World Junior hockey tournament, a nice accomplishment for the Black and Gold when they have had few players at the World Juniors over the last few seasons.
And Moore showed off his high-end offensive gifts at the Bruins Development camp earlier this month, even if it wasn’t quite as eyebrow-raising as Hagens speeding through drills. Now that the 18-year-old has made an excellent first impression with the Bruins, it’s off to the Heights in the fall, where there will be a ton of Bruins fans with a vested interest in Boston College to see what their future on the ice is going to look like a few years from now.
