Ducks Select Roger McQueen 10th Overall
ESPN Screenshot
By Thomas Harrington
The New York Islanders won the draft lottery, and as expected, they selected defenseman Matthew Schaefer first overall. The San Jose Sharks held the second overall pick and selected forward Michael Misa, starting a run of eight straight forwards. Buffalo broke the mold by taking defenseman Radim Mrtka ninth overall. Rounding out the top five, Chicago chose Anton Frondell third overall, Utah chose Caleb Desnoyers fourth overall, and Nashville chose Brady Martin fifth overall.
The Ducks stepped up to the podium with the 10th overall pick and the stars aligned as they chose center Roger McQueen, which was my prediction(I get lucky sometimes). McQueen continues Pat Verbeek’s trend of picking players with size, as he stands at 6’5” and has a high degree of offensive skill. He’s played for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL for the past few seasons. A lot of people thought McQueen’s skill level could have made him a top five pick, but a back injury caused him to miss most of this past season. He only played in 17 regular season games but still scored 10 goals and 20 points. He also appeared in three playoff games and scored one goal.
Given how much time McQueen missed this past season, there’s no question that he’ll be returning to junior hockey for at least one more season. Hopefully he can stay healthy and lead his team on a deep playoff run. It will probably be two to three years before we see McQueen suiting up in an Anaheim uniform. He instantly becomes Anaheim’s top center prospect, and one of the top prospects in their system. Between McQueen, Leo Carlsson, and Mason McTavish, the Ducks now have three heavy centers with a high level of skill. It will be fun to watch the three of them on the ice together for years to come.
After only taking one player on the first day of the draft, the Ducks enter day two with nine picks: 45th overall, 60th overall, 72nd overall, 101st overall, 104th overall, 136th overall, 159th overall, 168th overall, and 200th overall. I expect the Ducks to take at least one more center, and probably a goaltender in the third round or later.
During the draft, the Anaheim Ducks flew Roger McQueen and his family directly to Disneyland in Anaheim. What a fitting draft selection and end to the day for the Anaheim Ducks and the McQueen family.
He will wear number 95 like Lightning McQueen in the Cars movie. KaaaaaaaChow!
Related Article:
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June 27th, 2025
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