After missing almost a full year of action because of a shoulder injury, Michael Hage came into the 2023-24 season with a point to prove. He started the campaign showing off what makes him unique — his combination of dynamic skating, elite stickhandling, and high-speed reactions — and slowly but surely added to that skillset. 

Hage worked on his off-puck routes, his forechecking game, and his playmaking arsenal as the season went on; it directly led to a 16-game streak to end the campaign, which saw him score a whopping 31 points. Capping off his solid draft year with his selection at 21st overall by the Montréal Canadiens, safe to say Hage proved his point.

As he heads to Michigan to play for the Wolverines, Hage’s remaining areas of improvement — his puck-battle mechanics, his in-zone defe