Bruins
McQueen could be a legitimate top-six talent, but has some injury concerns.
For a Bruins team short on high-end skill and rooted in an identity that prioritizes size and snarl, Roger McQueen might be the perfect prospect.
The 18-year-old McQueen checks off plenty of boxes for Boston.
The 18-year-old already boasts an imposing frame at 6-foot-5 and 198 pounds. Far from just a netfront presence or pure power forward, McQueen has a top playmaker when he’s on the ice for the Brandon Wheat Kings — recording 31 goals and 71 points over his last two seasons in Canadian juniors (70 games).
And most importantly for Boston, he’s a center — giving the Bruins a potential top-six stalwart down the middle if the Bruins opted to take him at No. 7 overall in the 2025 NHL Draft.
“On pure talent, he’s a top-three pick,” one NHL scout told The Athletic’s Corey Pronman in a scouting report on McQueen. “He does what Anton Frondell does while being four inches taller.”
Even if there seems to be a consensus top-two in this ‘25 draft class between defenseman Matthew Schaefer and forward Michael Misa, McQueen’s profile as a big-bodied playmaking center would seemingly put him as the next man up in what is regarded as a relatively tame draft class.
“From being here in Buffalo, [6-foot-7] Tage Thompson is the guy that offensively is just unbelievable, and can kind of create anything with his size and pace of play,” McQueen said at the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo earlier this month about his player comparisons. “And I think his skill is his top notch.
“I think a guy that I’ve kind of said for my player comp is Ryan Getzlaf — just trying to be able to [play] both a skill game and a heavy game there too. So that’s another guy I really want to play like.”
So why is it that McQueen could still be on the board by the time Don Sweeney and the Bruins are on the clock?
There’s a catch, of course — with McQueen also coming off a season that was rife with injuries.
McQueen only appeared in 17 games this past season with Brandon (10 goals, 10 assists), missing a majority of the year after suffering a fracture in his lower back. He missed close to five months of the regular season before returning in March, but was also hindered by a muscle injury during the WHL playoffs that sapped him of his strength down the stretch.
Those injury concerns have hampered some of McQueen’s draft stock — undercutting his high ceiling with the potential that said back injuries will linger.
According to NHL.com, McQueen’s back injuries actually began in August 2023, with him playing through it during a 2023-24 season with Brandon, where he posted 51 points (21 goals, 30 assists) in 53 games while also representing Canada at the 2024 World Juniors.
Despite those concerns, McQueen gave himself a clean bill of health at the combine — and was a full participant during testing.
“Talking to a couple of the doctors I worked with this year, they don’t see anything coming forward,” McQueen said of his back issues, later adding: “I’m able to take contact right now. For the last month and a half, I’ve been able to take contact …It’s been the best I’ve felt in the last three years.”
Even with those injury concerns, McQueen still sits at No. 7 on NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking of North American skaters — and No. 5 on Craig Button’s TSN rankings.
McQueen represents an interesting conundrum for a team like the Bruins that is desperate to add a potential top-six center.
McQueen is exactly the type of player that Boston — and plenty of other teams — would want to add to their system.
So long as he’s healthy, McQueen is the type of big-bodied, playmaking center who can anchor a top-six grouping for the long haul.
But unlike a prospect like Brady Martin — who projects to be a high-floor player, but with a lower offensive ceiling — McQueen holds a considerable amount of risk if those injuries persist.
Taking someone like Martin (if he’s there) or Jake O’Brien might increase the odds of Boston adding at least an NHL regular to their lineup. But what if McQueen slips through the Bruins’ grasp, and ends up being an 80-point force for a team like the Kraken (No. 8 pick) or Sabres (No. 9)?
Roger McQueen represents many things in this draft class.
A potential can’t-miss prospect.
An injury risk with several red flags.
And potentially a gamble worth taking.
It remains to be seen how Sweeney and the Bruins view such a promising — albeit polarizing — prospect.
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