Latest news with #AdamSandler
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
NHL Draft: Boston Bruins Steal James Hagens In 'A Dream Come True'
LOS ANGELES – The Boston Bruins pulled off a great feat at the 2025 NHL draft: they got a super-talented player lower than expected, while adding another chapter to the rivalry between Boston sports fans and New York sports fans by snapping up center James Hagens. While New York Islanders supporters hoped their franchise would use two first-rounders it got for moving Noah Dobson to trade up and select the Long Island native, Hagens ended up going seventh overall to the Bruins, who got a little help from Happy Gilmore himself in making the pick. Advertisement "You're just sitting, waiting to hear your name called and when you hear Adam Sandler call it, it's pretty cool," Hagens said. "This is a really cool moment." Hagens, of course, knows Boston well. He just finished his freshman season at NCAA Boston College, where he helped the Eagles rank at or near the top of the national polls pretty much all season. "It's the coolest thing in the world," Hagens said. "It's close to home, so it's nice for my parents. I wanted to go to school in Boston, and turns out I'm a Boston Bruin now, so it all worked out. It really is a dream come true." 2025 NHL Draft Tracker: Round 1 Picks, Reports, Rankings And More 2025 NHL Draft Tracker: Round 1 Picks, Reports, Rankings And More The 2025 NHL draft day is here. Check out the picks and scouting reports of the first round as they come in, as well as draft rankings and much more prospect coverage. Advertisement No doubt the Bruins were pinching themselves when their turn came, and Hagens was still on the board. The gifted pivot was a pre-season front-runner to go first overall, but as time went on, other players caught up and passed him. It's truly not an indictment of Hagens, who won world junior gold with Team USA and had a very impressive college season, given his age. But his frame is smaller than some of the other centers that went in front of him, and as history indicates, smaller players tend to get dinged on draft day, particularly in the first 10 selections. From the sounds of it, the Bruins kept pretty good tabs on Hagens this season. "I talked to them a lot," Hagens said. "My sister had a tournament in Boston so I drove her up, and I was able to meet with one of their scouts there. I was in contact with them a lot, obviously being close to them at Boston College." James Hagens walks up to the stage after Adam Sandler announced him as the Boston Bruins' pick. (Kirby Lee-Imagn Images) If Hagens needs any more inside info, he can just call up some of his Boston College teammates: Andre Gasseau, Dean Letourneau and Oskar Jellvik had already been drafted by the Bruins in previous classes. Advertisement As for all the hype about him potentially going to his hometown Islanders, Hagens wasn't going to bog himself down in what-ifs before the picks were actually made. "I blocked it all out," he said. "I didn't know what was going to happen. You're not sitting in those rooms, and I'm really happy to be a Boston Bruin." For a franchise in desperate need of centers now and in the future, the Bruins now have a very good option once Hagens is ready to turn pro – and it won't take long. Promo image credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
USA Today
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Here's how to buy tickets for Adam Sandler's 'You're My Best Friend' comedy tour
From Jacksonville to Vegas, here's how to buy tickets for every stop on Adam Sandler's 'You're My Best Friend' comedy tour. 2025 is turning out to be quite the year for our unproblematic fave, Adam Sandler. With less than a month until the Netflix premiere of the long-awaited sequel, 'Happy Gilmore 2,' Sandler has announced a 34-stop comedy tour, 'You're My Best Friend.' We love to see it. Get your oversized tees and basketball shorts ready for this one. The 'You're My Best Friend' comedy tour is expected to kick off Friday, September 5 in Jacksonville, Florida before making 35 stops and culminating on Saturday, November 1 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tickets are already on sale, you can find them on StubHub. Here's how to buy Adam Sandler 'You're My Best Friend' comedy tour tickets: How to buy Adam Sandler 'You're My Best Friend' comedy tour tickets Adam Sandler will kick off his comedy tour on Friday, September 5 at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida at 7:30 p.m. ET. Tickets are starting at $79, at the time of writing this. The tour will wrap up on Saturday, November 1 at BleauLive Theater at FountaineBleau Las Vegas in Nevada. Tickets are starting at $167, at the time of writing this. Buy Adam Sandler comedy tour tickets Adam Sandler 'You're My Best Friend' comedy tour schedule Buy Adam Sandler comedy tour tickets
National Post
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- National Post
What was NHL thinking with draft format that set league's entry draft back decades?
One of the highlights (low bar, admittedly) of the spectacularly ridiculous NHL entry draft on Friday night came when comedian Adam Sandler announced the Boston Bruins choice with the seventh overall pick in the opening round. Article content The joke, however, was on the league and its idiotic decision to effectively ruin the presentation of one of its signature events. Article content Article content With representatives from teams not on site in Los Angeles for the first time and the traditional meet and greet between player and management done remotely, well, you just knew there were going to be cringe-worthy moments. Article content And on cue, seconds after Happy Gilmore himself announced James Hagens as the Bruins prized selection, there may as well have been a laugh track. Once on stage, the Boston College product walked into something called the Draft House — don't ask — to look at a group of Bruins executives beamed in via Zoom from Boston. And look was all Hagens could do. Article content What was supposed to be an emotional welcome to the NHL moment instead turned awkward, thanks to technical difficulties that muted those Boston staffers presumably excited with their newest would-be star. So instead of an attempt at legit emotion, Hagens sheepishly waved at the screen and said 'thanks for drafting me.' Article content It got worse, as absurd moments stacked up on each other. It was unclear who the NHL could possibly have identified as a target audience that would appreciate what was happening, but from bizarre to juvenile, the misses were many. Article content Awkwardness was always going to be part of the show when the NHL went for cheap and contrived by opting for its 'decentralized' draft format for the first time, allowing GMs and their vast hockey operations departments to work from home, essentially. Article content Article content Unfortunately it set one of the league's signature events back decades with a futile format bordering on embarrassment. Article content Article content It sucked the emotion out of what was a dream sequence for every young hockey player with NHL aspirations. Article content It muted the excitement of the respective fan bases, given the cold and awkward approach to unveiling their new talents. Article content The main event itself was held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles where commissioner Gary Bettman was live, as were the first-round picks. But once a player was drafted and on stage, and sauntered into that inane Draft House for a contrived video interview with his new employers, it tended to go off the rails — at best — and fail spectacularly at worst.
Associated Press
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
With Adam Sandler announcing his pick, Boston College's James Hagens happy to be drafted by Bruins
Growing up on Long Island, James Hagens wanted nothing more than to be selected by the team he grew up rooting for, the New York Islanders. Though that dream failed to materialize at the NHL draft on Friday night, the 18-year-old Boston College center was more than happy with the consolation. Hagens is not only staying in Boston, after being selected seventh overall by the Bruins, he enjoyed the extra bonus of having his name announced by Adam Sandler. 'Just being on a team that wants you the most, I love Boston. I love the area,' he said after becoming the first U.S.-born player taken in the draft. 'It's so special to have Adam Sandler make that pick. It's something I'll never forget for the rest of my life.' It just so happens that Hagens lists his favorite movie as 'Happy Gilmore,' which features Sandler as a former hockey player who turns his attention to golf. Wearing a Bruins jersey, Sandler announced the pick on a video screen on the draft stage inside the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. As Hagens made his way up the aisle, Sandler could be seen celebrating on screen in the background. Sandler was one of numerous celebrities to introduce teams' selections with the NHL going to a decentralized draft format in which its 32 franchises made their picks from their own markets. That's different from the past, when all teams gathered inside the same facility to make their picks. At 5-foot-11, Hagens had 11 goals and 26 assist s to finish fourth in points among college freshmen last season. He scored five goals for America's gold medal-winning team at the world juniors championships. The Islanders had the first pick, and selected defenseman Matthew Schaefer. Finally, a trade The first 11 picks in the draft went by without any movement. Then, Commissioner Gary Bettman asked Kris Letang's son, Alex, to press the red button that brought 'Trade Alert' up on video screens. The Pittsburgh Penguins traded No. 12, which the New York Rangers transferred to them earlier in the week to complete the J.T. Miller deal with Vancouver, to the cross-state rival Philadelphia Flyers for Nos. 22 and 31. The Flyers took big center Jack Nesbitt. 'You were our guy all along,' general manager Daniel Briere told him. Celebrity pickers Bettman announced the first pick, then turned the responsibilities over to everyone from a WWE wrestler to a series of NHL alumni. Golfer Tony Finau did it for Utah, Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley for Philadelphia, members of the Goo Goo Dolls for Buffalo and Meredith Gaudreau, wife of late Blue Jackets star Johnny Gaudreau, for Columbus. ___ AP NHL:
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Boston Bruins select James Hagens with 7th overall pick in 2025 NHL Draft
The Boston Bruins have selected Boston College star James Hagens with the seventh overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. The 18-year-old Hauppauge, New York, native appeared in 37 games for the Eagles during the 2024-25 season, where he recorded 11 goals, 26 assists, totaling 37 points, which was fourth amongst freshmen in the NCAA. Hagens also maintained a plus-21 rating. Advertisement Hagens got a special introduction from award-winning comedian and 'professional golfer' Happy Gilmore Adam Sandler. The 5-foot-11, 177-pound forward ranked third among Boston skaters while also earning a spot on the Hockey East All-Rookie Team. In 2023-24, Hagens was a part of the U.S. National U18 Team as part of the National Team Development Program, where he appeared in 58 games, tallying 39 goals and 63 assists for 102 points. Most recently, Haggens was also a member of the United States' gold medal-winning team at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, which ranked second among U.S. skaters in points (9) Advertisement This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
