SASKATOON -- Saskatoon Minor Hockey product Roger McQueen is a member of the Anaheim Ducks.
The Ducks selected McQueen with the 10th overall pick in the 2025 National Hockey League Entry Draft on Friday night at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, making the Brandon Wheat Kings standout the highest selection among Saskatchewan players in the Draft.
“It’s unbelievable,” McQueen said on the Sportsnet.ca Draft broadcast. “It’s one of those things you work towards your entire life and it’s kind of crazy, there are no real emotions, just shock at this point. I’m so grateful to be with them and it’s unbelievable.”
The 6-foot-5, 192-pound forward was limited to 17 games with the Wheat Kings this past season due to a neck injury, but looked like an NHL first-round pick when he was on the ice -- eventually finishing with 10 goals and 20 points in 17 games.
That production despite missing so much time to injury was one of the reasons Anaheim selected McQueen as high as they did.
“What we really liked is obviously he has size, but what goes along with that is the skill and skating ability and basically that he’s a very hard player to play against,” said Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek shortly after selecting McQueen. “We’re looking forward to him being a power forward in our organization.”
McQueen has been high on scouts’ radar since the 2019-20 season when he put up 29 goals and 87 points as a 13-year-old playing with Saskatoon Stallions in the Sask U15 AA league.
His offensive acumen continued in his lone season of U18 AAA hockey, where McQueen had 24 goals and 61 points in 41 games as a 15 -year-old.
McQueen played 53 games with the Wheat KIngs in the 2023-24 campaign and had 21 goals and 51 points.
