Wheat Kings’ McQueen ‘pumped’ for draft day

Roger McQueen’s big day has finally arrived.

The six-foot-five Brandon Wheat Kings forward is widely expected to go in the top 10 picks tonight when the National Hockey League hosts the first round of its entry draft from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

“It’s probably one of the biggest moments of my life so obviously I’m super thrilled,” McQueen said. “I’m happy that I can have a bunch of family there and friends too. It’s probably the most excited I’ve been for a while. I’m really pumped.”

Sportsnet begins its coverage tonight at 6.

It will be a terrific end to what was a vexing season for the lanky forward. After scoring four goals in the season opener, McQueen was knocked out of the lineup seven games later with the same back issue that cost him six weeks near the end of his 17-year-old season.

It proved to be a pars fracture — less colloquially known as spondylolysis — which is a stress fracture of the spine common in young athletes. It’s usually caused by repetitive stress rather than an acute injury.

The healing process included 12 weeks of rest, which gave McQueen a lot of time to think.

“I think the biggest thing is just being able to take the positives and throw away the negatives,” McQueen said. “Just being able to stay positive through the whole thing is going to go a long ways for me. Just staying resilient and going through it when I was young will really help me when I’m older.

“That’s a big thing for me. It was a big stepping stone for mental strength and developing that side of my game. I’m pretty thrilled I’m through it now and pretty happy to have it in my past.”

He returned to Brandon’s lineup on March 4, adding two more goals and seven assists in nine games to put his season totals at 10 goals and 10 assists in 17 games.

In Brandon’s first-round matchup against the Lethbridge Hurricanes, McQueen had one goal in the series when he left in Game 3 and didn’t return.

“With the fracture I had and being off for five months, a couple of muscles in my back, mostly the multifidus muscle, were overstressed and just overcompensated for it,” McQueen said. “I strained my multifidus muscle, which is right beside where I fractured the L4, L5 and a common thing for fractures.

“It happened in playoffs and then I rehabbed it for a week and it was good. It was just something that was lingering.”

Multifidus is a group of short, triangular deep back muscles that serve as an important stabilizer for the lumbar spine and works with the transversus abdominis and pelvic floor muscles for spine stability.

He said his back is in great shape now and that he’s spending lots of time skating, plus working in the gym doing weights, pilates and yoga with no restrictions.

“Everything has been awesome,” McQueen said. “It’s back to a normal summer that I haven’t had for a bit. I’m super thrilled.”

The good news is he was able to attend the NHL Combine in Buffalo from June 2 to 7 with his teammate Carter Klippenstein. While Klippenstein proved to be one of the top performers there, McQueen finished in the top 10 in one of the 13 physical tests, when he placed eighth in the musculoskeletal: horizontal jump.

“I was pretty happy,” McQueen said of the Combine, which allowed him to visit with many of his former national team teammates. “I had a lot of fun there. I like talking to people so that was fun, talking to all the new teams and seeing new faces and some of the old faces I saw at U18s I got to see again, so that was fun.

“Testing was good, I was pretty happy with how I did. I was rooming with Klippenstein and he did phenomenal. He was unbelievable … It was nice to have him, my teammate, there to talk to after the meetings so that was cool.”

Beyond the physical testing, the team meetings are also a priority. McQueen spent time with 24 clubs.

“I thought it was going to be a little different but most teams were really good and easy to talk to,” McQueen said. “They’re just trying to feel you out as a person and see who you are. Obviously all of them already know your game on the ice and they’re trying to get to know you as a person. They were pretty good. I had some really good meetings with a lot of good teams and a lot of friendly people. I thought it was awesome.”

Naturally, his back has been a frequent topic of conversation. He said it came up a lot in Buffalo.

“Quite a bit,” McQueen said. “In all those meetings and with all the media too. It doesn’t bother me. I’ve talked about it so much now that it’s easy to talk about now and I have it all memorized down pat. I’m just happy to have it behind me.”

Along with McQueen, the other Wheat Kings who were tagged among the North American skaters in the final rankings by Central Scouting are forwards Klippenstein (88th), Luke Mistelbacher (93rd) and Joby Baumuller (167th) plus defenceman Grayson Burzynski (191st).

In addition, Swift Current Broncos Josh McGregor of Brandon (111th) and Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman Aiden Ziprick of Russell (162nd) are included in the 224 top prospects.

The NHL has gone to a decentralized format for the first time, with the top 50 prospects invited to the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, but most of the team staff will be working in their home market.

McQueen flew down to Los Angeles on Saturday, and will be joined by his family and friends. In total, he expects to have 33 people with him tonight.

While it’s been a long, long season for the lanky winger, his big moment is finally near.

“It’s crazy how fast time flies,” McQueen said. “Just thinking back to even the start of the year, now it’s just right there. It’s pretty crazy thinking about how much time I’ve put in the game. It’s a nice achievement in the sense of a roadblock that you jumped over the hump.

“I’m excited for that. It’s something you always dream of as a kid.”

ICINGS: On Thursday, the Vancouver Giants announced the hiring of 49-year-old Hnat Domenichelli of Edmonton as the club’s new general manager and 40-year-old Parker Burgess of Calgary as the team’s new head coach. They replace head coach Manny Viveiros, who took a pro job in Austria last month, and former GM Barclay Parneta, who parted ways with the club in May after seven seasons. Domenichelli was a member of the back-to-back WHL champion Kamloops Blazers that won the Memorial Cup in 1994 and 1995, and also played in the American Hockey League with Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com