LOS ANGELES – Anaheim Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said the team tried to move up from No. 10 in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft on Friday at Peacock Theater, but ultimately, the club stood pat and took its swing at 6-foot-5 power center Roger McQueen.
Verbeek noted that the Ducks liked so much what they saw from McQueen and from his current medical reviews following a spinal fracture two seasons ago to be comfortable making their pick of another strong two-way pivot to provide more future depth down the middle.
“There’s certainly ‘power forward’ written all over him and how he plays the game,” Verbeek said in a media call. “He has a little bit of a mean side to him, which I like. There’s a high compete there with him. When we went through the injuries that he had, I think that we felt comfortable drafting him just all the things that he’s gone through to overcome the injury that we felt comfortable drafting him.”
Anaheim doesn’t have a timeline for his development, as they are comfortable with their current organizational depth and will allow him to improve on a natural timeline, especially coming off the injury and simply needing more time to fill out his lanky frame.
Verbeek also confirmed some rumors that the Ducks were discussing a possible John Gibson trade around the league. However, Verbeek said that they’re always asking around, and if the deal doesn’t work, they won’t make it.
“I’m having discussions. Not sure where any of it is going to go,” Verbeek said. “I always look at things that get presented to me. And if it makes sense for the Anaheim Ducks, we’ll pursue it. If it doesn’t, then we won’t.”
Anaheim has nine picks remaining in the second through seventh rounds of the 2025 NHL Draft on Saturday at Peacock Theater.
Below is a full transcript of the media availability with Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek on Friday (questions and responses edited for clarity):
What did you see in Roger McQueen that made you believe he was the right pick at 10, especially with all the injury concerns that he had this past season.
I watched him when he was with the U18s with Team Canada at a tournament probably almost two years ago now. And liked what I really saw. He’s going to be a different player than say Leo or Mason McTavish in the sense that he has the ability to score goals. There’s certainly power forward written all over him and how he plays the game. He has a little bit of a mean side to him, which I like. There’s a high compete there with him. When we went through the injuries that he had, I think that we felt comfortable drafting him just all the things that he’s gone through to overcome the injury that we felt comfortable drafting him.
It’s been said that Roger might have among the highest ceilings of players in this particular draft. Is that something that you may sort of agree with?
Well, it’s hard to predict. Certainly had he not gone through the injuries, he probably would have been arguably top four, top five in this draft. Certainly, he’s a unique package in the sense that he moves really well for a 6-foot-5 guy. He has really good skill, and he has the ability to be able to score. So I think that he’s just going to play a little different game than some of the guys that we have now in our mix.
How extensive did you guys dig into his medicals and make sure that he checked out physically?
Very, very extensive. So very. Certainly, we dug deep and consulted a lot. Consulted our doctors, consulted our sports science guy, so there was a lot of due diligence put into Roger making sure that we did our homework, and at the end of the day, we felt comfortable that he’s going to be able to overcome any of the setbacks that he had last year.
You had mentioned this week the 10th pick being in play for a trade. Obviously, you’ve hung on it. Was that more about your guy being there or maybe a combination of that and the market?
There were a couple things that didn’t pan out. And then when we were able to get Roger, I think that everything became moot, and we just went ahead and made the selection.
As far as tomorrow, you’ve gotten to look at the trade market today. Are you thinking that there might be any moves afoot, or are you thinking more about going into a free agency and then reassessing July 2, July 3?
I’m not sure at this point. I’m not sure. It’s hard to say right now. We continue to look at a bunch of different things and I’m not sure. You never know how these things are going to turn out until they either do or don’t, so can I can’t project anything that could happen from our side at this point.
When we got the chance to talk to Roger, we asked him what sort of things he felt he needed to improve on in his game, and he said it was for him the number one thing was just filling into his frame. What sort of things do you need to see him improve on in his development to get towards being an NHL player?
Well, obviously, these kids, they just have to gain weight and gain strength, right? I think that there’s a lot of talent there. Skating ability, when he gets stronger, is going to continue to improve. But I think always, this thing of getting stronger is the biggest part of being able to get to the NHL. There’s there’s many kids that they have the skill level and all of that, and even some of them has the ability with their skating ability, but the strength is the hardest thing for them to make up when they play, and if they don’t have the strength, it makes it hard for them to be able to put their skilled game or their type of game on the ice.
That’s the biggest thing for me for Roger. We’re super excited about his skill. We’re super excited that he plays a 200 foot game, and I love that when I did see him play it at the U18s, he got–he ended up–he plays a physical game. So, he ended up getting suspended in that tournament or for being physical, and that part of his game excites me as well. I think every player has something to work on, but I would say the main thing is just getting stronger.
Do you have a projected timeline for him?
No, no. He didn’t play much last year. He’s going to have to get back to Junior, and get a good season of training the rest of the summer under his belt, and go have a good season, and hopefully play for Team Canada at the Christmas tournament and then we’ll see. We can afford to take our time with Roger, so, I think that’s the good thing about it. We can take our time with him and let him progress at his own natural timeline.
There’s a new NCAA-CHL agreement. Is the NCAA an option for Roger or is he straight back to the WHL next season, do you think?
Well, that’s hard to say. Whatever Roger decides. I think a lot of kids are being asked to do that, and you know, I’m not sure. We’ll leave that out to Roger. It’ll be his decision. We really can’t interfere with that too much. He can ask us our opinion, but, it’s really, at the end of the day, it’s his decision to decide what he’s going to do. Will he get opportunity? I’m sure he will get opportunity. So the toughest part is, you know, trying to understand his scenario and where he wants to go.
You guys gave Roger first class treatment today with the helicopter ride and the visit to Disneyland. How much did you have any role in that? Setting all that up for him?
Do you think I have time to organize that? No, it was a great idea by our marketing department. It was a unique opportunity to be able to give the kid a ride of his lifetime. It was a special moment for him.
A little more serious, some rumblings about maybe John Gibson being in play for a trade, maybe even working with his agent on finding him a new home. Is there anything to that?
Yep. I’m having discussions. Not sure where any of it is going to go. I always look at things that get presented to me. And if it makes sense for the Anaheim Ducks, we’ll pursue it. If it doesn’t, then we won’t.
There was a lot of teams that moved up on this draft. Was there any thought at all as the draft progressed about using one of those extra second rounders to move back into the first round?
No, no, that was never a thought. We actually, we pursued trying to move up. That was what we looked at. We didn’t want to go below 10.