McQueen learning on the job as a rookie

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This article was published 22/02/2023 (968 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Roger McQueen admits his rookie season in the Western Hockey League hasn’t been easy, but he’s confident he knows how to get through it.

After all, the six-foot-four, 182-pound Brandon Wheat Kings forward from Saskatoon has been through similar experiences in the past.

“I came in knowing it would be tough but it’s been a little bit frustrating,” McQueen said. “I’ve had a couple of years that been like this. I played an underage bantam year and it was really the same thing, It was just like I was playing with older guys and I wasn’t used to it. I adjusted and I was really good the next year and we won the championship.

“First year midget too, I just wasn’t very comfortable. You just have to get into it and face it.”

McQueen, who Brandon selected fourth overall in 2021, had a quick impact in the pre-season, with four goals and an assist in four games. But in 47 regular season games, he’s had three goals and eight assists with 24 penalty minutes.

“I think it’s always tough for everyone,” McQueen said. “Everyone adjusts at different times, It’s just so much quicker and faster and you have way less time with the puck. It’s just a way faster game and more physical. It’s just a totally different game from minor midget, bantam and peewee because now you’re playing with guys four or five years older than you.”

Brandon called the youngster up last season, and he earned an assist on a goal by Chad Nychuk in his debut against the Swift Current Broncos on Feb. 11, 2022, winning the draw straight back to the overage blue-liner.

After his under-18 campaign ended with the Saskatoon Blazers — McQueen had 24 goals and 37 assists in 41 games in his 15-year-old season despite being hindered early on by a sprained MCL in his knee — he joined the Wheat Kings for the end of the regular season and the playoffs.

He said that was a valuable experience.

“If I wouldn’t have played a couple of games last year, it definitely would have been a whole different thing,” McQueen said. “At least you got to see how it and in just a few games you kind of got comfortable with it. It still takes quite a while to get comfortable in this league but the games last year really set a tone for me and showed me how physical it is. It really helped.”

As far as the National Hockey League draft goes, McQueen still has time to grow into his game and that lanky frame. Since he was born on Oct. 2 — players born after Sept. 15 get pushed back a year in the draft by the NHL — he won’t be eligible until 2025, following in the footsteps of other recent Wheat Kings, including Braden Schneider, Vinny Iorio, Nolan Patrick and Nate Danielson.

But that also means McQueen is almost a year younger than the oldest players in his own cohort of 2006-born players and nearly five years younger than the oldest players in the league.

McQueen admitted he’s been surprised by the toll it takes on mind and body to be a full-time major junior player.

“It’s definitely a job,” McQueen said. “We play 68 games, and the most I’ve ever played is 40, and that was last year and it was a lot for me. Now with the transition to 68, I think it’s really important to take care of your body and stretch after games and always be loose and eating the right things and staying hydrated.

“It’s a totally different game. It’s more physical too, so it’s harder on your body.”

It’s also a different game because the expectations on him have changed. He’s no longer expected to be an offensive leader, which has been his role since he was a youngster.

If he wants it again, he’ll have to earn it.

“It’s super tough going from always being relied on to score all the time to transitioning to another team where you have a bunch of other guys who are all scorers and all do it really well and they’ve been in the league, like Nate Danielson and my billet brother, Brett Hyland,” McQueen said. “They both have 25 goals. It’s definitely different because you were always relied on for your minor teams. It’s upon you to take up that role.”

Instead, McQueen is trying to massage his game to suit a higher level of hockey, with his play on the other side of the puck a major theme for both the youngster and the coaching staff. That was true of both former head coach Don MacGillivray and current head coach and general manager Marty Murray.

“I’ve really focused on my defensive play,” McQueen said. “Both our coaches we’ve had this year really strived for me to better in my D-zone and I’ve really brought that upon myself. I really want to be better in my D-zone. That’s one of the things I can work on for sure and I think it’s probably the most important thing about hockey.

“To be good in the O-zone, you have to be good in the D-zone. That’s what I’ve been working on and I think I’ve got a lot better this year.”

Murray is confident McQueen will develop into an impactful player, but notes the 16-year-old forward remains a work in progress. He adds that’s partly due to factors beyond McQueen’s control.

“We all think he’s going to be a real good player for us and down the road beyond junior hockey,” Murray said. “He’s kind of in that awkward stage where he has to grow into his body a little more. A lot of Roger’s deficiencies are strength-based and that’s just going to come in time. He just has to learn to play with a little more pace and as his skating and legs get stronger, that’s going to come too.

“We feel that he’s going to be an elite goal scorer. We would like to see him shoot the puck more. That’s his best asset is his shot. He has to get himself into positions to use his shot a little more but we’re excited.”

McQueen is part of an unusual bit of Wheat Kings history that’s happening in Brandon for the second time in three seasons. Two years after Nate Danielson, Rylen Roersma and the since departed Tyson Zimmer were picked in the first round of the 2019 draft and debuted together at 16 during the shortened 2020-21 Regina hub season, McQueen has been joined by Charlie Elick and Caleb Hadland on this year’s Wheat Kings roster.

Elick was grabbed third overall and Hadland was 22nd in the 2021 WHL draft, which was moved from May to December.

“They’re both unbelievable guys and great hockey players. It’s the same thing for all three of us,” McQueen said. “It’s just awesome with Charlie and Hads, especially since I don’t have my licence yet so they kind of drive me around everywhere, which is super nice of them. It’s just been a great experience with them and I think it will be a life-long relationship.”

McQueen has a big fan in Elick, who expects the Saskatoon product to become an outstanding player as he gets older.

“He’s a big guy with a laser of a shot,” Elick said. “He’s a great guy to be around. I couldn’t say anything bad about him. It’s awesome growing up with him and playing with him in the past, and I’m lucky to have him with me on this team now.”

Brandon’s three 16-year-old rookies earned a brief respite from the rigours of the WHL season when they were all selected to play in the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in British Columbia in November. Hadland broke his leg early in his first game and missed nearly two months, but Elick had a very good tournament and McQueen was outstanding.

Skating against players his own age again, he piled up four goals and four assists in just six games.

“I just felt more free,” McQueen said. “It was back to the old minor days when you’re playing against guys your age. It was a less physical kind of game and a little easier to play in, and you play against all guys you know and have grown up with a couple of them and play against them in spring hockey all the time. It was a great experience and definitely a big confidence boost to play against guys your own age.”

On top of all his other challenges, McQueen is one of the increasingly rare players who came to Brandon without ever leaving home previously. In the age of the prep school and moving away from home early, McQueen was able to live with his folks as he played with the Blazers.

“I’ve never gone through it,” McQueen said. “Most of the other guys moved to prep teams but I stayed in Saskatoon. It’s definitely been a tougher year for that but as far as off ice goes, workouts and all that stuff are really tough too but it’s really good. We do yoga too, which is awesome.

“Moving away is tough but my mom and dad have come out to tons of games, which I’m super thankful for.”

Most of his classes are done online through his Saskatoon high school, Holy Cross, but he does have an in-person English class at Crocus Plains and also received some extra help with math, which he admits isn’t his academic strong point.

He’s also had some terrific tutors in the Hockey 101 classes he’s taking with the Wheat Kings.

“The biggest one is Nate Danielson,” McQueen said. “He’s such a great leader and a great guy. He’s upcoming in the draft and is probably going to go in the first round. I think he should be. He’s just an awesome role model, great to watch and a super nice guy. He’s brought in all the rookies and helped them out. He’s the best person I could have asked for.”

It’s Danielson’s role that McQueen no doubt covets in the future.

His time will almost certainly come when he’s once again counted on to be an offensive leader, and he’s eager for that day to arrive.

“It’s going to be such a great experience, and Brandon is such a great city and such great history,” McQueen said. “I can’t wait. The next couple of years will be great. I’m so excited to be held accountable but at the same time I’m going to do my work on the ice and off the ice to get to that spot.

“It’s definitely not going to be given to me. I have to do a lot of work to do to get there.”

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