We took a look at all 35 players in the system that are aged 25 or younger (as of October 1, 2023) and ranked them. It’s the Top 25 Under 25. The fun keeps rolling with our 22nd ranked player – defenseman Alex Gagne.
Bio
Age: 21
Position: Defense
Draft: 2021 Round 6 (#192 overall)
2023-24 Team: University of New Hampshire
2022 Ranking: Not Ranked
Stats
Scouting Report
As a hockey community we haven’t really found a way to evaluate the performance of a defensive defenseman that is already in the NHL, so judging the progress of a prospect that profiles out as one is even harder. There aren’t easy metrics like goals, assists, saves, or wins to show progress. In the case of Alex Gagne, a quick look at his stats seems to indicate things have stalled for the 21 year-old.
Look past those stats and there are some indications that things are moving forward for Gagne. As a sophomore for the University of New Hampshire he was named an alternate captain and picked up a defender of the week award in December. He also used his 6’4″, 207 lb frame to block a team-leading 70 shots (which was also good for fourth in the Hockey East conference).
Gagne spent time on the Wildcats’ top pairing in a heavily competitive Hockey East conference as a second-year player and more than held his own. As with many of the prospects in the Lightning organization he reads the game pretty well and is usually in the right spot to make the play.
Like most prospects, especially with later-round prospects, his skating could use some work and he spent time with Barb Underhill at the recent rookie development camp. If he can improve on that aspect of the game, it will be the biggest help for him in making it to the next level of the game. It’s unlikely that he’s ever going to blazing up and down the ice and leading the attack a la Victor Hedman or Erik Karlsson, but the Lightning don’t need him to do that. Just get to the point where he’s able to move around in his own zone against quicker skilled forwards, or make that extra stride or two to get the puck cleared out of the zone.
With his size and physical nature, his ceiling is likely a third-pairing defender that can also kill penalties. He already has the size to control the front of the net and a few more years in the college ranks can help him develop physically in order to control the front of the net or win puck battles along the boards. His path to the NHL will be in improving those skills, not by racking up big point totals.
There is a good chance that Gagne follows the Nick Perbix path to professional hockey by spending all four seasons in collegiate hockey before turning pro. The Lightning retain exclusive rights to him until August of 2025 so there is no pressure or rush to sign him.
Gagne did make it onto all five individual ranking lists with two writers having him as high as 19 and one (that’s me!) at 25.
