It was a solid game from Hage, as he posted a well-rounded offensive performance. He had a handful of scoring chances of his own, finding space in the offensive zone to be open for passes, and he showed his crafty playmaking that I've raved about all year long. Hage showed his clever on puck handling to evade pressure in the offensive zone and swiftly spot open teammates in the slot for quality scoring chances on a numerous occasions. My favourite play of his was on the Vaughan Kings' first goal, where he connected on a chip play in the neutral zone to spark an odd-man rush. After he passed up ice, he continued up ice, following up on the play and finished his route to the net, taking a defender with him and opening up plenty of space behind him for his teammate to catch and release a pass into the back of the net.

Behind Valentini, Hage was the next most dominant player at the Silver Stick. Almost all of my notes revolve around Hage's ability to evade defenders with slick moves, dominate possession, and create scoring chances. He was so deceptive with the puck on his stick, allowing him to manipulate defenders and access anywhere on the ice he wanted. Many of these sequences occurred when Hage controlled the puck over the offensive blueline and worked his magic shortly upon entering the zone. Whether it was using a clever delay or a slick deke to dangle his way to the middle of the ice, Hage created non-stop off these rush sequences and where he truly shines. He was incredibly eager to attack the middle of the ice during these rush opportunities, and given his puck skills, he was quite successful at maneuvering his way around defenders and into the dangerous parts of the ice. His puck skills are at the core of his success, but his skating plays a pivotal role here as well. Alex has a long and explosive stride, which he leverages to attack with speed and gain separation. Hage was sensational at the Silver Stick and it was a performance that earned him top 5 considerations in my 2024 OHL Draft rankings.

I feel like I'm starting to sound like a broken record with Alex, similar to how I sounded about Lev Katzin last season. Hage simply dominates along the boards, is so deceptive with the puck on his stick and can constantly create something out of nothing. His combination of lateral mobility and puck skills enable Alex to solve any problem and navigate around defenders constantly. All throughout this game, he flexed those skills to create space for himself to drive the middle of the ice or set up a teammate for a scoring chance.

It was a "quiet" game for Hage relative to my expectations, but those expectations are sky-high after how well I've seen Hage play as of late. He was once again dominant, controlling the puck over the offensive blueline, using delays, and creating off these sequences. He's so evasive with the puck on his stick, allowing him to create space at will and control the play so well in small areas. Along the wall and the exterior, Hage's puck skills and creativity worked in tandem to dodge pressure and then move pucks to open teammates.

I thought Hage played fine in the first game of this series, but he made a much more significant impact in the second game. He was Vaughan's primary creator of scoring chances and controlled the flow of the game when he was on the ice. With the puck, his puck touches incredibly swift, which he uses all over the ice to dodge incoming pressure and navigate into safety. These evasive maneuvers allowed Hage to push play in transition, skirting anything that came his way, and also buy time in space within the offensive zone to wait for a passing lane to open up and then hit his open teammates. One of these crafty puck moves and passes sparked a goal for Vaughan as Hage used a smart on puck play to win a zone exit, putting Vaughan on the rush on which they capitalized. He scored Vaughan's second goal, picking up a loose puck in the slot and rifling a backhand to the top corner.

Hage was the standout forward on the Vaughan Kings. When he has the puck, he is so manipulative and deceptive that it is a treat to watch. Hage can solve any problem, evade any check, and dangle his way out of any situation in a magician-like manner. He looks like he has the puck on a string, weaving around defenders, advancing play into the dangerous parts of the ice. The on-ice puck skills are further made valuable by his quick, explosive skating that all work in tandem to be a nuisance for his opponents. Where Hage made his offensive contributions to the Kings' offence was via his playmaking. The on-puck deception enables Hage to open up so many passing lanes, and rarely does he miss an opportunity to exploit those gaps in the defence. Over the four Vaughan games I watched, he connected on so many passes to teammates in scoring positions. Typically, by combining a move to evade a defender, drawing in a second man, and then dishing it off to a teammate, Hage picked apart his opponent's defence all tournament long.

I tried my best only to include players who I didn't write about last week, but Hage made that job nearly impossible after how well he played. He controlled so much of the game, and it was a very impressive performance. What I appreciated the most was his usage of delays and patience. Upon entering the offensive zone, Alex never rushed his decisions and always was looking for a path to create a scoring chance. Plenty of times, he'd stop up along the boards, wait for a hole to open, and then exploit that passing lane that just opened. It's a small detail, but when a player can take over the game through patience and calmness, it goes a long way in my analysis. Alex was pesky on the backcheck and forecheck, disrupting a number of the opposition's sequences, and on one of these occasions, it led to a goal for Team Black.

It's been a while since I've seen Hage, and I was curious how he'd look. He was my favourite player on the Kings back at the Port Huron Silver Stick, but I haven't watched him since. Hage didn't take long to remind me what I liked about him. He is incredibly skilled with the puck on his stick and can dangle his way around any defender with slick moves. Hage combined his nifty puck moves with quick lateral cuts, making him very difficult to defend and contain. All of these skills allowed Hage to create separation and access the dangerous parts of the ice on plenty of possessions. The duo of Hage and Nyman is shaping up to be a fun duo to watch on the Vaughan Kings over the 2023-24 season.

Hage was the primary option on the King's powerplay. Almost every sequence flowed through him, and you can see why. He is an effective passer who can spot complex lanes to teammates in scoring positions. He could pick apart the defense through sticks and bodies to create chance after chance. He had one impressive pass from the top of the powerplay where he saucer passed the puck into the middle bumper position, which spoke to his effectiveness as a playmaker and creativity. Alexander also didn't hesitate to shoot on the powerplay, as he let go many shots, one of which wrung off the goal post. Hage threw a long-distance shot on net that created a rebound, resulting in the King's opening tally.