Editor’s Note: this article is part four of a 10-part series about this year’s crop of new Vernon Viper players.
Hagan: The Quiet Hit Man
Don Klepp
Oct 19-2011
Alex Hagen is soft spoken and a skilful hockey player, so it might surprise some that his body checks leave an impression on opposing players.
Viper fans have had just two opportunities in the first three weeks of the regular season to view the skills of the slick centre man from Bronxville, New York, just north of New York City.
His most notable contribution in the Vipers’ opening 5-1 win on September 23 was a strong check half way through the first period, on Salmon Arm’s Joel Kipp, whom Alex outweighs by 35 pounds. Kipp played the remainder of the period, but later was taken to hospital with a ruptured spleen.
Alex remembers little about the incident, “other than it was a normal check. I was surprised to get a penalty for it.” He has missed the Vipers’ subsequent four games because of an off-ice injury.
The 19-year-old, who played for the Choate prep school the last two years, is noted for his playmaking and his ability to convert scoring chances. He was a prolific scorer for his hometown high school, setting records as a freshman and sophomore. He continued to score at the Choate prep school, with 40 goals and 42 assists in 56 games.
Viper fans saw evidence of that scoring touch in the pre-season, as he played mainly with Colton Sparrow and Marcus Basara. He also fired a laser over Mitch Gillam’s glove in the Vipers’ 4-1 win over Chilliwack on October 7.
Alex Hagen’s hockey career started at age three, encouraged by his father Kevin, a Calgarian who played hockey at S. Lawrence University. Alex says, “I loved the game right away.” He will follow his father to St. Lawrence next year: “I love the school, and the coaches are great there. My dad’s pretty happy, too.”
He’s glad he went to Choate for his third and fourth years of high school. “I picked it because of the education. Choate taught me a lot about the real world because it’s a very diverse place with students from every country you could imagine. Everybody’s there to prepare for university. It’s very competitive, with everybody trying their best.”
In continuing to prepare for St. Lawrence, Alex is taking two classes at Okanagan College. His hockey preparation brought him to the Vipers, who Alex says “have a very good reputation for prepping players for college and pro hockey. We played fewer than 30 games a season at Choate so the BCHL schedule will get me used to a more demanding schedule.”
“Because I was injured for a while,” he adds, “I haven’t contributed as much as I’d like, but I’ve learned a lot already and I’ve enjoyed it here. I see what I have to improve, mainly getting stronger on the draws; I need to work out more. And I need to be more aware of where players are. I think my strength is playmaking, creating a play out of nothing.”
In the meantime, he’s enjoying living in Vernon. “New York is exciting, but it’s panicky and rushy. You always have to be somewhere, to do something. Here, it’s a lot more relaxed.”
No comments:
Post a Comment