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!!! Yup, still waiting!!! 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, “100 percent,” Hagg said, “I want to play every single game and to do that I have to play as good as I can even during practice. Coming into this camp, I have no other goals than to break the lineup in the playoffs.”
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 lie 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. 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.
