It’s that time of the year for The Win Column’s NHL Draft Rankings and Draft Profiles! Earlier this week, we released the TWC consolidated 2025 NHL Draft rankings. The 2025 NHL Draft will take place on June 27 and 28 in Los Angeles. The NHL is testing a decentralized draft this summer.
Up next in our draft rankings is Brandon Wheat Kings centre Roger McQueen. With a troublesome injury history and a big frame, McQueen remains the biggest wild card of this draft.
Who is Roger McQueen?
| Player | Position | Handedness | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roger McQueen | F | R | 6’5″ | 192 lbs |
McQueen’s on-ice production
| Year | Draft Relative | League | Team | GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | D-7 | SAAHL U15 | Saskatoon Stallions U15 AA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018–19 | D-6 | SAAHL U15 | Saskatoon Stallions U15 AA | 31 | 5 | 6 | 11 |
| 2019–20 | D-5 | SAAHL U15 | Saskatoon Stallions U15 AA | 31 | 29 | 58 | 87 |
| 2020–21 | D-4 | SAAHL U15 | Saskatoon Stallions U15 AA | 4 | 9 | 18 | 27 |
| 2021–22 | D-3 | SMAAAHL | Saskatoon Blazers U18 AAA | 41 | 24 | 37 | 61 |
| WHL | Brandon Wheat Kings | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2022–23 | D-2 | WHL | Brandon Wheat Kings | 55 | 4 | 10 | 14 |
| WHC-17 | Canada White U17 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 2023–24 | D-1 | WHL | Brandon Wheat Kings | 53 | 21 | 30 | 51 |
| WJC-18 | Canada U18 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2024–25 | D+0 | WHL | Brandon Wheat Kings | 17 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
McQueen began his WHL career with Brandon in 2022–23. He played in 55 games with the Wheat Kings, notching four goals and 14 points. It certainly took McQueen some time to get adjusted to the WHL. McQueen also participated in the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge with Canada White U17. He scored four goals and eight points in six games.
The 2023–24 season was a much better campaign after McQueen had adjusted to the WHL. In 53 games, McQueen scored 21 goals and 51 points in 53 games.
McQueen started the 2024–25 season off very strongly. In fact, he scored four goals in his first game of the season. Unfortunately, McQueen played all of eight games before he was sidelined with a spinal stress fracture. McQueen didn’t return to action until the beginning of March. McQueen ended the regular season with 20 points in 17 games. McQueen appeared briefly in the U18 World Championship, where he had one assist in two games played.
McQueen’s strengths
Puck skills
The most impressive trait in McQueen’s game is his play with the puck. He can move the puck so effortlessly. He can weave through opposing players while keeping complete control of the puck.
Offensive zone play
McQueen stands out in the offensive zone in all aspects. He’s a fantastic net front presence—screening the goalie or tapping in a puck on the rebound. McQueen has a very accurate shot and can find the softer spots on the ice with great opportunity to score.
Size
The thing that will excite people before they even dig into his stats or play style is his size. Standing at 6’5” already, the potential is through the roof. If there are two things NHL executives love, it’s big centres and big defencemen.
McQueen’s areas of improvement
Injury
The biggest question with McQueen is, of course, his injury history. That’s not really something McQueen can improve, but it will be a major deterrent for teams.
Physicality
For a player as tall as McQueen, you would expect some physicality in his game. That could be the extensive injury history that scares McQueen when he’s in contact situations.
McQueen’s comparables
The comparison to Tage Thompson is obvious. Like Thompson, McQueen has a good stride for a tall player and can weave through traffic. Another player McQueen has garnered comparisons to is Kirby Dach, given their position, right-handedness, and injury history. Quinton Byfield is a left-shot, but McQueen has also drawn comparisons to him.
Fit with the Flames
McQueen could slip due to his extensive injury history. A team with multiple first-round picks might be the one to take a swing. Enter the Calgary Flames. McQueen checks off a couple of major needs for the Flames—right shot and centre. The Flames have been looking for a right-shot centre for quite some time. Plus, McQueen adds size down the middle of the ice.
Summary
In five years, we could be looking back at McQueen and where he was drafted. It could be, “I can’t believe he was drafted that high”. Or, it could be “I can’t believe he fell to that slot”. There are lots of things to love in McQueen’s game, but there are genuine risks as well. Does high risk equal high reward here? His potential could be sky-high if everything goes right.
A similar story took place last year when Columbus selected Cayden Lindstrom fourth overall. A big and powerful player, Lindstrom had an injury history before being drafted. Since then, Lindstrom missed the entire 2024–25 season with a back injury.
Risk: 4.5/5
Reward: 4.7/5
Projection: Top-six centre
Check out all of The Win Column’s individual player profiles of selected 2025 NHL Draft prospects:
Matthew Schaefer | Michael Misa | James Hagens | Porter Martone | Anton Frondell | Victor Eklund | Roger McQueen | Caleb Desnoyers | Jackson Smith | Jake O’Brien | Carter Bear | Radim Mrtka | Lynden Lakovic | Brady Martin | Justin Carbonneau | Malcolm Spence | Cameron Reid | Logan Hensler | Cameron Schmidt | Ben Kindel | Kashawn Aitcheson | Cullen Potter | Braeden Cootes | Ivan Ryabkin | Blake Fiddler | Cole Reschny | Joshua Ravensbergen | Bill Zonnon | William Moore | Jack Nesbitt | Jack Murtagh | Milton Gastrin | Sascha Boumedienne | Henry Brzustewicz | Adam Benak | Shane Vansaghi | Cole McKinney | Jakob Ihs-Wozniak | Ryker Lee | Ben Kevan | Michal Svrcek | Arvid Drott | Conrad Fondrk | Charlie Trethewey | Luca Romano
