Incoming, “You got mail.” How many people would have thought that Robert Hagg of all players on this young Flyers team would be a solid defenceman at the start of the season? Waiting, waiting for a show of hands!!! Hagg has played solid hockey for the most part, against what some may believe. He has done a little bit of everything this season, to include being a Professional rotating in and out of the lineup at times, “I can’t control if I’m going to be in or out,” Hagg says, “The only thing I can control is playing as best as I can, night in and night out, that’s what I’ve been focusing on this year.”
Hagg is not a flashy high-octane, offensively touted defenceman, so people often forget about him. However, he has been a solid, steady stay at home defenceman this season. Hagg can lay a big hit, or just lay hits in general, as well as, block shots. Simply put, Hagg has been solid this year, “You know what, Bobby plays a hard game,” Carter Hart said yesterday, “Brings a lot of grit. Plays the game the right way. He loves to block shots. I don’t know if he loves to block them, but he does it. As a goalie, you got to love that and appreciate that. Just how hard he competes. He’s an intimidating force out there when he’s playing. I know some guys when they get under his skin, you don’t want to be on that other side. We’re lucky to have Bobby out there on the backend.”
This young 24-year-old defenceman in Hagg has played his best this season, and is really finding his niche, while being paired with Justin Braun. For the season, Hagg has three goals, 10 apples, a Corsi (Ev) of 44.1%, 15:36 ATOI, has registered 136 hits, 79 blocks, and finally has 5 takeaways to go with 31 Giveaways. Not bad numbers by any means, “I don’t know if it’s different,” Hagg said in reference to this year’s playoffs, as opposed to 2017-18, “The only thing I remember from those two games is everything went so much faster and quicker so you have to be on your toes. The coaching staff has been saying that everybody has a short leash and you have to perform to be able to play. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. It’s going to be fun.”
The Flyers were unsure what player they would receive this year in Hagg. He had a bit of a down year last season, but Hagg was good at times, as well. Hagg was under much trade speculation throughout the offseason, as the Flyers had eight defencemen at one point. Philippe Myers, was once a shoe in to make the big club out of camp, and of course Samuel Morin figured to be the seventh defenseman to the start of the season (With Myers making the club). This left Hagg out of the picture, and he was already waived or traded before the pre-season even began, and now he will play in the round robin tournament, “I can only agree with that. Its games you want to play instead of skating around in practice. Looking forward to tomorrow,” Hagg said yesterday.
Hagg played his way onto the roster, while beating out his competition in Myers and Morin. He earned his spot in the Flyers lineup, and Hagg tried to make the most out of the opportunity. Hagg takes the bodies on his opponents, and has done well along the boards. Overall, Hagg has been a solid stay at home defenceman for the most part this season, and he is definitely played his role well as a solid 5th or 6th defenceman this season.
