Roger McQUEEN

Forward
6’5/190
Right
Brandon Wheat Kings/WHL

Related: Ivan Ryabkin

Standing 6-foot-5 and tipping the scales at 190 pounds, McQueen’s combination of size and skill represents the type of talent that is difficult for NHL scouts to ignore. He is a 6 foot 5, right-shot center with speed and skill who ticks all the boxes to be a No. 1 center. Last season, McQueen had a solid season, scoring 21 goals, 51 points in 53 games with the Wheat Kings, along with 4 goals and 5 points in 4 games. McQueen was a part of Canada at the U18 WJC, although he only appeared in 2 games, tallying 1 point. His breakout performance on the international stage was at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he put up 4 goals and 7 points in 5 games, to help lead Canada to the Gold Medal. The Wheat Kings star has his focus set on team success in 2024-25. McQueen is on pace to have a dominating season in the WHL in 2024-25, already having tallied 8 goals and 11 points in 6 games. While the rest of the hockey world salivates over McQueen’s potential to shoot up draft boards during his NHL Draft year. If McQueen continues to have an impressive campaign during his draft year, he could compete with Ivan Ryabkin to be the 5th selection in the draft.

Size/Strength Excellent
Skating Average
Shot/Scoring Good
Puckhandling Excellent
Physical Play Average
Offensive Play Great
Defensive Play Average
Hockey Sense Excellent
Competitiveness Excellent

Strengths

1. A 6-foot-5, McQueen is hard to miss out there, he is tenacious and has great puck handling skills.
2. His willingness to go get pucks in the corners and do the dirty work, and use his teammates well, makes him a perfect contributor on offense
3. Ability to control and manipulate pucks in tight to his body, with his length, that I think distinguishes him and gets scouts excited.

Areas of Improvement

1. A Primary area of concern has been the mechanics of his skating; that will need continues improvement.
2. Is still very green in his raw skillset, so he will need to improve drastically before he makes the jump to the next level.

Scouting Report

Roger McQueen is on pace to have a dominating season in the WHL in 2024-25. The massive forward had 51 points in 53 games last season while averaging 17:31 of ice time. With another year of growth, McQueen could put himself into contention to be one of the top picks in the draft. McQueen would be a good selection for a team that is a few pieces away from contending, as his frame and the way he uses it could see him make an early entrance into the NHL. There are some concerns about McQueen’s skating abilities, but there will always be a place in the league for players like him. McQueen has some physicality to his game, but he won’t make it to the NHL and become a prototypical powerforward. He has an impressive ability to control pucks in tight and is a force around the net. The good thing about skating being a concern is that it’s a fixable skill. The positive thing is that McQueen has some attributes that you just can’t teach, like Hockey IQ, and size, which makes him an very intriguing prospect. McQueen has a hard shot, but his release is average and he doesn’t seem to be a natural scorer from distance, where he shines is around the net, and in front of the net. Roger McQueen has the power to be the heart and soul of a team. He is a defensively well-rounded player, who sometimes doesn’t have the coordination with his skating to defend tremendously well. This doesn’t mean that he doesn’t try, it means that he will tire out quickly and also that he hasn’t filled into his body, this is actually an overwhelmingly good trait because you want him to still be growing/developing physically. When he falls behind, he is scarily fast on a backcheck and ruthlessly aggressive with his prey. On offense, he does a great job of keeping his feet moving. Off-puck, McQueen can find great separation, hard to believe because he is so tall. I have seen the raw effort and athleticism in his tape that I have not seen in anyone else’s this year. Roger McQueen is comparable to Quinton Byfield in the sense that he was a bit of a late bloomer, so since McQueen has so many things that he might need to work on and develop before he is NHL-ready, it might take 4-5 seasons for him to fully breakout. Roger McQueen could very well be a top 5 pick in the draft, but depending on the needs of teams and other risers in the draft, it’s more than likely he ends out as a top 20 pick.

Skill: Big, tenacious forward, with great puck skills, and the ability to put the puck in the back of the net

NHL Comparable: Quinton Byfield

NHL Potential: Top 6 Forward

Season	Team	League	GP	G	PTS
2023-24	Brandon Wheat Kings	WHL	57	25	56
2024-25	Canada U18	Hlinka Gretzky Cup	5	4	7
	Brandon Wheat Kings	WHL	6	8	11