PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 09: Robert Hagg #48 of the Philadelphia Flyers making his NHL debut skates back on defense against the Carolina Hurricanes on April 9, 2017 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)
Robert Hagg and Oskar Lindblom are best buds. Hagg, of course, is over the moon that his best bud has beaten Cancer as one could imagine, “Everybody’s happy for him,” Hagg said yesterday, “I talked to him yesterday, happy of course. As you guys heard, he’s back home in Sweden right now, seeing his family and all his friends. He’s really happy, that’s all I can say. I’m happy for him too.”
However, there are more important things in life than just a game of hockey. Lindblom signed a contract extension a few days ago, “I was really happy when I found out,” Hagg said, “He deserves it after what he’s gone through. It’s so good for him. I’m glad he’s back home to see his family and all his friends. Hopefully he comes back soon.”
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, but some put too much stock into stats to see that he actually had a solid year. He’s never been a defenceman that puts up points on the stat sheet, or a defenseman that doesn’t struggle at times. Yes, Hagg has had his fair share of difficulties with passing the puck for clean zone exits, however, against all odds Hagg was as reliable for a 5th or 6th defenseman, as any other defenseman in the NHL.
This young 25-year-old defenceman in Hagg has played his best this season, and is really found his niche, while being paired with Justin Braun. For the season, Hagg had three goals, 10 apples, a Corsi (Ev) of 43.3%, 15:36 ATOI, registered 136 hits, 79 blocks, and finally had six takeaways to go with 31 giveaways. Not bad numbers by any means, and he’s ready to make an impact in the playoffs, “I was able to skate quite a lot actually,” Hagg said about the pause, “I came back home middle of March. I followed all the restrictions they had back at home, but pretty much skated every single day. That was nice. Going to take some time to get back to where we finished. I think we are doing good, moving in the right direction here. I feel like the practices are ramping up each day. I think we’ll be good.”
The Flyers were unsure what player they would receive this year in Hagg, but maybe Lindblom may have pushed him over the edge in a good way, “I don’t know,” Hagg said, “There’s a lot of good defensemen in this organization, so you always have to have confidence in practice. I think that helps everyone including myself. Just go to the rink, try and do my best. Hopefully show the coaches what I can do. I feel pretty confident in what I’m doing. If I can help the team, I will.” 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. Now with Hagg in the lineup it appears throughout camp thus far, Oskar Lindblom has become a rallying cry for this young Flyers team, “Absolutely,” Hagg said of his best friend in Lindblom, “I think we can see that during the season as well. When he came to the rink or to a game, I don’t know what happened, but we played a hell of a game that night. He brings a lot of energy, even though he is not on the ice, just him around the boys and the locker room. It’s helped this team so far this season and it’s going to help us in the playoffs too, especially now that we know he is cancer-free and everything is good. I think we are going to go on a deep run here and he’s going to be a part of it.”
The 25-year-old in Hagg continued, “It was nice to see him (Lindblom). I went home there in March and came back three months later. He was in good spirits the whole time. I talked to him on the phone when I was back home in Sweden. To be able to see him when I got back was really good. There was only a couple days left on his chemo treatments. It was fun to be around him during that time when he had his last chemo. We had a good time afterwards.”
Hagg played his way onto the roster, while beating out his competition in Myers and Morin originally. He earned a 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 for his efforts he has definitely played well in his role as a 5th or 6th defenceman this season. He has earned this trip to Toronto, and maybe a spot in the lineup, as well, “It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Hagg said, “I can tell you that. I can think back that it’s December, 6-7 months ago, we didn’t think it would be possible. Here we are, and we hope we can make it that far that he’s able to come back and give us an extra push in the end.”
