Roger McQueen is probably the biggest wild card in the 2025 NHL Draft. After starting off as a top 5 prospect in early rankings, the 6'5" center saw his draft stock fall a bit due to a significant lack of playing time and development this past season after facing a spinal injury. This has led to concerns from teams on if McQueen would be the best use for a high first round pick with experts predicting he could be picked from as high as 5th to as low as 20th. Whoever takes McQueen will hope that he can stay healthy and continue to develop towards being NHL ready.

ROGER McQUEEN SCOUTING REPORT | 2025 NHL DraftRoger McQueen Scouting Report with game highlights and statistical breakdown of his season with the Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL. He may be one of the big ...

Before his shortened season in 2024-25 where he put up only 20 points in 17 games, he was #3 in scoring on the Western Hockey League's Brandon Wheat Kings in 2023-24 tallying 51 points in 53 games with 21 goals and 30 assists. He also represented Canada in the  2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup notching 5 goals and 3 assists in 7 games helping them capture the gold in the tournament.

At 6'5 and 192 lbs, McQueen is on the larger side compared to other top prospect forwards, which could be enticing to NHL clubs who are looking for a player to slot into their lineups sooner than later without much wait for a player to grow and bulk up.

McQueen will have something to prove to whichever team drafts him on Friday after spending most of this past season injured and off the ice. Initially, the injury was rumored to be a slipped disc, but it was later clarified as a Pars fracture of the spine, a type of stress fracture, which is leading some teams to have concerns about his resilience. This could allow him to fall to #8 where the Kraken would have the chance to take a gamble on him if they felt he was the best choice for the team.

In the recent NHL combine, when questioned about his injury, McQueen was quoted saying, "One to 10, I'm at a 10, pain-free now, and there's no symptoms for the last while. So, it's been awesome, and I probably haven't felt better in the last three years."

If McQueen can stay healthy and continue to develop this next season with the Wheat Kings, the NHL team that selects him should be very happy and we could see McQueen in an NHL sweater sooner than later.

Related

NHL Draft - What Could the Future Hold for the Kraken's 8th Overall Pick? - Community PostWith the 2025 NHL Draft only a week away, the Seattle Kraken currently hold the 8th overall pick. Let's take a look at how the past ten players who were picked 8th overall are doing.

McQueen featured photo by - Rob Wilton via chl.ca

McQueen hero photo by - Jonathan Kozub via predlines.com