Who is Better? Brandon Hagel vs. Tyler McGregor

Continuing with our “Who Is Better?” series, we shift our attention to two of the grittiest, hardest-working competitors Team Canada is sending to Milan: Tyler McGregor and Brandon Hagel.

The Rules of the Game

Staying true to our passion for ice hockey, we will assess the players using the traditional “Five S’s” of hockey scouting: skill, sense, skating, size, and spirit. Not only does this allow us to cover the full spectrum of each player’s makeup, but it also provides an odd number of criteria — thereby ensuring a winner (or so we hope, as this sport is full of surprises).

The Tale of the Tape

Brandon Hagel
Birth: August 27, 1998
Position: Left wing
National Hockey League (NHL) team: Tampa Bay Lightning
Country: Canada

Tyler McGregor
Birth: March 11, 1994
Position: Right wing
Para hockey team: Team Canada
Country: Canada

Preamble

Every so often, a player comes along who wills not only himself, but his entire team, to success. Such players tend to share a strong work ethic, a burning desire for victory, and a certain disregard for their own self-well-being — sacrificing their bodies to make plays both big and small, and doing so selflessly for the good of their team.

This is the story of two such players.

Skill

The two subjects may both be Canadian, but they share a Swiss Army knife quality to their games: they can do, quite literally, everything.

Begin with Brandon Hagel. He may not possess a booming shot, yet he has recorded 30-goal seasons in two of the past three years and is currently on pace for more than 40. He doesn’t dissect opposing defences with cerebral passes, but he posted 49 and 55 assists over the past two seasons and is again tracking toward 40. His stickhandling won’t dominate highlight reels, but he may have no equal when it comes to finding pucks in traffic and making plays with a defender draped all over him.

So how does he do it?

Heart.

Sport cliches forever speak of players “wanting it more,” but wouldn’t you know it, this one actually lives the credo. He doesn’t live off a bread-and-butter skill but rather uses a mixed bag of well-above-average skills and then outworks his opponent until he achieves the desired result. And make no mistake, the skill set is entirely superior to the average player, but Brandon's ability to squeeze absolutely everything out of what he has is what makes him so special.

McGregor, on the other hand, is similar — but also different. The Team Canada captain does command some of those elusive “one-percent skills” the greats possess and the good lament, beginning with not just the quality of his shot, but his nose for the net. You could count on one hand the players who have as strong a goal-scorer’s instinct as Tyler does. 

His entire play in the offensive zone is predicated on “putting one up on the scoreboard" for his team, which in turn often begins with him finding open ice in the slot. Granted, there are several opponents who will argue that McGregor creates open ice as much as he finds it, but we would counterargue that that’s exactly the way we like it — and furthermore, with a playmaker like Dominic Cozzolino on his line, it’s a luxury he can afford.

Interestingly, during the 2025 World Championships, we witnessed the Canadian squad split up McGregor and Cozzolino from time to time. Moreover, we would also bring attention to the fact that Tyler recorded six assists in that tournament to complement his seven goals, not just placing him as the event’s fourth-leading scorer, but also showcasing his ability to “set ’em up” just as well as he can “put ’em in”, regardless of who is out there with him.

Edge: Hagel squeezes every drop from his skill set, but McGregor could easily shoot a banana past an watchful monkey, let alone put a puck behind a goaltender, so Captain Canada takes this one.

Scoreboard: McGregor 1–0

Sense

For all their similarities, the mental game may be where these two players intertwine the most.

Their offensive production is evenly split between goals and assists, reflecting a shared mindset: they want a goal for their team, not a number for themselves. Both players can regularly be found looking to receive a pass in the slot, and yet both will enthusiastically volunteer to muck it up along the walls.

In their own zone, both are effective — but on that fraction of the ice, Hagel's star shines brightest. Indeed, Brandon's defensive-zone prowess has changed the way the Lightning strategise their approach. When paired with Anthony Cirelli, the speedy and hard-working duo regularly outworks power plays and has become the measuring stick for the 1-3 penalty-kill formation. When defending 6-on-5 late in the third period, Tampa Bay has learned they can get away with having Nikita Kucherov play for the empty-net goal to ice the game because of the dependability of his teammates in their own end.

Offensively, however, the pendulum swings back to McGregor. While stylistically similar, Tyler’s instincts are a bit more astute. Goal-scoring isn’t just about how powerful a player’s shot is, but rather about his ability to identify which type of shot to use in each situation, from every location, and where at the net to direct it depending on how the gatekeeper is defending it. The greats — from Bossy to Ovechkin — master this art, and McGregor belongs firmly in that company.

Edge: Hagel may have the better penalty-killing instincts, but McGregor has greater offensive flair, and that is the hardest one to find. Tyler takes this round as well.

Scoreboard: McGregor 2–0

Skating

Of all the national teams who adorn the red and white maple leaf, the para hockey squad may best embody the spirit of “good, old-fashioned Canadian hockey.” And on that team, no one personifies that ethos better than its captain.

At the 2025 World Championships, he often spoke about Team Canada’s desire to play faster, but never at the expense of the squad’s signature physicality. Part of that is the team playing to its strengths, and part of it is out of necessity, with the American delegation having an extra gear over their northern neighbours.

This isn’t to suggest that McGregor lacks speed — far from it. His acceleration in tight spaces is quite noticeable, but his top gear would rank a notch behind the Jin Tao Tians (Team China) and Brody Roybals (Team USA) of the world.

Hagel, on his part, may not be overtaking Connor McDavid in a foot race, but his nimbleness is notable, as his feet are always moving, allowing him to maintain his speed even when he changes directions. 

This also benefits the Lightning forward when fighting through checks, as Hagel’s balance is cleverly selective—and intentional. There will be moments when Brandon stays on his feet to maintain puck possession even with a big defenseman on his back, and moments where he gets knocked down by that same opponent.

But watch all those moments closely and you will begin to notice a trend emerging.

The playmaking.

If Hagel’s energy is best served toward stickhandling in a tight space as to score on a rebound, that’s where it will go. He will allow his body to take the punishment and get toppled to the ice, focusing on his hands doing the important work. But if the primary objective is driving to the net while a defender tries pushing him to the outside, he will find the strength to stay on his feet — even if it means sacrificing the fluidity of his stickhandling — and continue his march toward the opponent's cage in an attempt to light the lamp. 

Edge: McGregor moves well, but Hagel’s dexterity gives him the nod.

Scoreboard: McGregor 2–1

Size

This category could stand alone. Neither player merely tolerates physicality—they relish it.
Hagel plays well above his listed size. No foe is too big or too strong. While the entire Carolina Hurricanes roster kept on its best behavior when playing Matthew Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers in the playoffs, Brandon has already dropped the gloves twice against the American forward, even though the Team USA skater has a 20-pound advantage.

And more importantly, both of those fights held strong significance. The first occurred within the opening seconds of the Canada versus United States game at the 4-Nations Tournament, and the second during a recent regular-season game between the Lightning and the Panthers after Tkachuk took a few liberties against Tampa Bay’s star forward, Kucherov. In context, neither fight was pageantry, but statements of loyalty—both were about Brandon being there for his team and his teammates, even against a physically more imposing opponent.

Meanwhile, it may be unknown whether McGregor has a fear of spiders or snakes, but there sure isn’t anything that seems to scare him on a hockey rink. Plainly put, he is at his best in physical contests. Yes, the tight-checking game is Canada’s game, but it is championed by a fearless leader.

For example, take the 2025 World Championships semifinal between Canada and Czechia. In a physical affair that featured 22 combined penalty minutes in a 45-minute game, McGregor led his team to a 3-0 victory on the strength of a two-point night (including the primary assist on the game-winning goal), a performance later highlighted by his selection as his team’s best player of the match. During his post-game interviews, he was all smiles — not just about the result, but also about his general enjoyment of having played three periods of “our (Canada’s) brand of hockey.”

Edge: Both men have plenty of sandpaper to their games and they both love the grind, but Hagel has the greater general disregard for his own person, so that tips the scale.

Scoreboard: 2–2

Spirit

Both players embody championship spirit.

Hagel’s path was anything but straightforward. Drafted in the sixth round by Buffalo in 2016, he was left unsigned and forced back to junior hockey for his overage season, at the beginning of which he made a deal with himself: sign an NHL contract before Christmas or go back to school to become a teacher.

In the end, he wouldn’t even need that much time. Indeed, on the 30th of October, Hagel signed a contract to become a member of the Chicago Blackhawks organization and then proceeded to go out and set the Red Deer Rebels team record for career assists with 176. He finished the season with Chicago’s American Hockey League affiliate in Rockford, thus making his professional hockey debut. The next season, he made his NHL debut. The one after, he became an NHL regular. And today, he is an Olympian.

Meanwhile, McGregor’s story is different, but equally powerful. In 2008-2009, Tyler was skating for the Lambton Jr. Sting U16 AAA team before having his leg amputated due to a cancer diagnosis. Rather than letting that stop him, he used it as fuel for the next chapter in his life. He began playing para hockey in 2011. By 2012, he was making his debut with the national team. By 2014, he was a Paralympian.

On the ice, his team can always count on him to give his best effort. During the 2025 World Championships gold-medal game, on a day when nothing seemed to go Canada’s way, McGregor refused to throw in the towel and kept battling for the comeback. Down 2-0 early in the first period, McGregor recovered a loose puck behind the net and fed teammate Liam Hickey with a quick pass to get Canada on the scoreboard. Moments later, Tyler delivered a thunderous body check on Evan Nichols as the American forward was gingerly skating along the blue line.

Granted, it would be easy to dismiss McGregor’s efforts in what was ultimately a losing cause, but doing so would reveal an inability to see the positives. Even though Canada’s players had every excuse to give up at that moment, its captain didn’t—and continued to push to get his team back into the game.

Off the ice, his impact may be even greater. In 2023, McGregor skated 420 kilometers on ice trails from Invermere, British Columbia, to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island in an inspiring effort to raise $100,000 for cancer research. For those unfamiliar with Canadian geography, that represents the entire length of the world’s second-largest country.

And somehow, McGregor’s efforts haven't stopped there. He is a member of the Canadian Paralympic Athletes’ Council, co-chair of the Own the Podium Athlete Advisory Committee, a board member for Make-A-Wish Canada, and a volunteer with ChildCan. Hockey Canada states that he enjoys playing the guitar in his spare time, but at this point, we are pretty sure it is just a ruse to have us believe he has free time.

Edge: Both journeys inspire, but McGregor claims this category.

Final score: McGregor 3–2

Last Minute of Play

Interestingly, when Tyler played U16 AAA, he did so with Ryan Rupert. Rupert would later skate for the London Knights with Max Domi. Domi would eventually play for the Columbus Blue Jackets with Oliver Bjorkstrand. And Bjorkstrand would go on to represent the Tampa Bay Lightning with Brandon Hagel. Therefore, we can identify four degrees of separation between the two athletes.

However, both McGregor and Hagel attended Hockey Canada's preparation camp during the summer of 2025, where hockey players from all branches were simultaneously brought together to begin the final push on their road to Milan. So, in the real world, there is just a single degree of separation. But metaphorically speaking, when considering the spirit with which these two athletes play their sport, one degree is indeed all that separates them.