Roger McQueen News: Tenth overall pick at entry draft

McQueen was the 10th overall pick by Anaheim in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft on Friday.

McQueen has it all -- he's a massive right-shot pivot with game-breaking skill and great hands who is strong in possession, plays with a bite and likes to dig out pucks. Sounds like the perfect combination, right? It might be, or it might be a bust waiting to happen. McQueen has had on-again, off-again back issues over the last two seasons, including missing most of his draft year with a pars fracture in his lumbar spine. That's a fairly common injury for young athletes, and it's nothing like the injury that Cayden Lindstrom (Columbus) needed surgery to fix. But a lot of scouts got worried -- tall guy with a bad back -- and McQueen fell out of the top three. You'll see Tage Thompson comps everywhere because of the size-skill-finesse combo. He might be like him, or he might be a bit like Quinton Byfield. Regardless, it's going to take McQueen five-to-seven years to fulfil his draft promise. You need to have the flexibility to hold him a long time if you're drafting him.