2025 NHL Draft profile: Roger McQueen, Brandon Wheat Kings

On Friday night, Roger McQueen is expected to walk the stage under the bright lights of the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles as a first-round NHL Draft pick.

But for now, he feels much more like a kid on vacation as his family basks in the California sunshine for baseball games and he zips between rides with friends and his younger sisters at the various Disney Parks in the area.

Much like one of his favourite rides- the Incredicoaster- McQueen is coming off a season that’s flown by with stupendous highs, gut-punching drops, and unexpected twists.

McQueen potted 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points in 17 regular-season games, highlighted by a four-goal outburst in Brandon’s season opener and eight goals in his first six outings.

“He’s elite,” Wheat Kings General Manager and Head Coach Marty Murray said. “He’s a six-foot-five player with skill, unbelievably quick hands and a ripper of a shot. He can shoot the puck as good as any pro… The width of his body covers a lot of ice, and the ability to do all that moving in at a high pace really makes him difficult to defend. So when he’s scoring, he’s fun to watch.”

While a pars fracture to his spine forced the 18-year-old to miss the bulk of the season, the Brandon Wheat Kings centreman is still considered a potential top-10 pick with his 6-foot-5, 197-pound frame and strong body of work.

Lightning McQueen once said, “Life’s a journey. Enjoy the ride.”

We feel that Roger McQueen echoes a similar sentiment.@bdnwheatkings | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/zZe797dtE3

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) June 14, 2025

He was able to post eight points (2G-6A) in his final six games of the regular season before adding a goal in three playoff matches.

Last season, he put up seven points (4G-3A) en route to a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and snagged another first-place finish at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Junior Championship, while putting up 51 points (21G-30A) in 53 games in his sophomore WHL campaign.

“Trying to be a high-end power forward with lots of skill and being able to put the puck in the net,” McQueen assessed. “I try and think of a player comp, and a guy who comes to mind (is) Ryan Getzlaf. Just being able to play kind of both sides of the puck, a guy who can produce on both ends of the ice and also be a guy that’s hard to play against in a seven-game series.”

While he may have missed out on typical draft-season experiences, like participating in the CHL USA Prospects Challenge presented by Kubota Canada, McQueen chose to remain in Brandon for the bulk of his recovery in order to support his teammates.

“I was always so focused on just getting back healthy and getting in the gym, so it was a different feeling,” McQueen added. “I think I missed out on maybe some of the games in that sense, and the feeling of playing in your draft year… But I think I was able to kind of learn the other side of the game, just your mental side and being able to stay positive and learn to be resilient. I knew I couldn’t really do much about it. So just being able to be positive and help younger guys out, I think my leadership probably got a lot better.”

McQueen is already focused on new goals for next season- namely, becoming a 50-goal scorer in the WHL and representing Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship.

He was able to show teams that he’s healthy and ready to go at the annual NHL Combine in Buffalo, N.Y., where he spoke to 24 NHL clubs.

Speed, Roger is speed!🏎️@bdnwheatkings | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/R95an1cAYG

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) June 25, 2025

The Saskatoon, Sask. product is ranked eighth among all North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting in the agency’s final rankings, and has been projected from a potential top-five pick to mid-first-round pick.

McQueen has also gotten some handy advice and encouragement from the summer group he skates with back in the Land of Living Skies, a formidable lineup helmed by former Prince Albert Raider Jordan Trach that includes the likes of Spokane Chiefs Captain Berkly Catton (Seattle Kraken), 2024 WHL Champion Brayden Yager (Winnipeg Jets), Prince George Cougars Captain Riley Heidt (Minnesota Wild), and current NHLers like Kevin Korchinski (Chicago Blackhawks), Connor Zary (Calgary Flames), Connor Ingram (Utah Mammoth) and Braden Schneider (New York Rangers).

He’ll have more than 30 family and friends in attendance on Friday, June 27, when the NHL Draft begins at 5:00 p.m. MST.