Hagel's perseverance has led to opportunity with Canada at 4 Nations

CHICAGO -- Brandon Hagel summed up his current life, the Tampa Bay Lightning forward grateful for everything.

"Playing in front of a sold-out crowd every single night in the sun is a pretty good life," he said with a smile.

It's a life Hagel wasn't sure he'd ever have in hockey after being selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the sixth round (No. 159) of the 2016 NHL Draft, but not signing with them. He nearly gave up hockey at age 20, but around that time he got an opportunity with the Chicago Blackhawks and hasn't looked back.

Now the 26-year-old is in the first season of the eight-year, $52 million contract ($6.5 million average annual value) he signed with Tampa Bay on Aug. 22, 2023. He's one of the Lightning's top scorers and will represent Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, which will take place Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston.

Before that, Hagel and the Lightning will play back-to-back games this weekend, starting against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN).

"I've been pretty lucky with organizations I've been a part of," said Hagel, who was acquired by the Lightning from the Blackhawks on March 18, 2022.

"I think throughout my career, those ups and downs and not making it or not getting drafted in the bantam draft, getting drafted in the NHL Draft, not signing, going back to a 20-year-old signing (with Chicago), it's been a whirlwind. And now I'm able to represent my country and play with the best in the world."

Hagel has 263 points (114 goals, 149 assists) in 346 games with the Blackhawks and Lightning. This season, he has 56 points (24 goals, 32 assists) in 53 games, tied for second on the Lightning with Brayden Point (29 goals, 27 assists) and behind Nikita Kucherov, who's third in the NHL with 79 points (25 goals, 54 assists).

Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said 4 Nations could be Hagel's "coming-out party."

"Fans from bigger markets will have a chance to see him play and appreciate him more," said BriseBois, who is assistant general manager for Canada at 4 Nations. "If he was in a different market where there were more eyeballs on the team, I think he would get a lot more accolades than he does and that he deserves."

It's not something Hagel envisioned in 2018, when the Sabres lost their rights to him after not signing him prior to the draft that year. When Hagel went back to the Red Deer of the WHL for the 2018-19 season he made a deal with himself: give it until Christmas, and if he couldn't get an NHL contract, he'd go to school to become a teacher.

"I ended up signing about 15 games in," Hagel said of his free-agent contract with the Blackhawks on Oct. 30, 2018. After finishing his season in Red Deer, he played eight games with Rockford, the Blackhawks' American Hockey League affiliate.

"'Impressive' is the right word," said Blackhawks coach Anders Sorensen, who coached Hagel in Rockford from 2018-20. "I mean, his work ethic, his second and third efforts are unbelievable. He stays on pucks, and he wins a lot of battles. He wins them on his terms.

"He's not the heaviest guy, so he's not going to run guys over, but he stays on pucks and wins a lot of second and third effort. His ability to make plays and play up and down the lineup, like playing with those higher-end guys (in Tampa), is good to see. Good for him."

Hagel showed some offensive ability in his last season with Chicago, when he had 37 points (21 goals, 16 assists) in 55 games prior to the trade. When Hagel first got to Tampa Bay, Lightning coach Jon Cooper paired him with forward Anthony Cirelli and put the two in more defensive roles.

"The offensive side had not been exposed yet but then he grew this chemistry with Cirelli, and they went from defensive-minded players to all of a sudden, their offensive games grew," Cooper said.

"In part it was because they're best friends off the ice. They have this chemistry on the ice and they really both had offensive explosions. It's me helping, putting them in more offensive situations and positions to succeed but I think that's been the biggest thing. That was probably a little my fault that I didn't put 'Hags' in as many offensive situations as he should've been early in his tenure here but he's really exploded since."

Hagel had 64 points (30 goals, 34 assists) in 81 games in 2022-23, his first full season with the Lightning. Last season he had a career-high 75 points (26 goals, 49 assists).

"Just being able to play with 'Hags' pretty much since he got here has been huge," said Cirelli, who will also represent Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off. "He's an unbelievable player. He does everything on the ice – he's good in the O-zone, he makes plays, scores goals, great defensively, hardest working player on the ice.

"Just the familiarity and being able to go over there with him is another pretty cool aspect of it. Having him on our side and being about to do this with him. I couldn't be happier for him."

Hagel's perseverance has paid off. Life is good and it just keeps getting better.

"I think it's super special," Hagel said. "Things are coming, and I'm settled in in Tampa. I love it. I have best friends, I'm playing for one of the best organizations, I live in the sun, I can't complain."

NHL.com independent correspondent Corey Long contributed to this report