Should Bruins roll the dice on a 6-foot-5 center in Roger McQueen with No. 7 pick?

Roger McQueen could be the ideal addition to a Bruins squad lacking elite talent and with a strong emphasis on size and snarl.

For Boston, the 18-year-old McQueen fulfills many requirements.

The 18-year-old, who weighs 198 pounds and is 6 feet 5 inches, already has an impressive physique. McQueen, who has scored 31 goals and 71 points in his last two seasons in Canadian juniors (70 games), is a premier playmaker on the ice for the Brandon Wheat Kings and is far from just a netfront presence or pure power forward.

Most significantly for Boston, if the Bruins decide to select him at No. 7 overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, he is a center who may be a top-six stalwart down the middle.

In a scouting report on McQueen, an NHL scout told Corey Pronman that, based only on talent, he is a top-three choice. Being four inches taller, he performs the same actions as Anton Frondell.

McQueen’s profile as a big-bodied playmaking center would seem to put him as the next man up in what is thought to be a rather tame selection class, even if defenseman Matthew Schaefer and forward Michael Misa appear to be in the consensus top two in this 25th draft class.

[6-foot-7] from being here in Buffalo Regarding his player similarities, McQueen stated earlier this month at the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo that Tage Thompson is the man that is simply unbeatable offensively and can kind of create anything with his stature and pace of play. And I believe that his greatest strength is his skill.

Ryan Getzlaf is someone I believe I’ve mentioned for my player comp because he’s attempting to [play] both a skill game and a heavy game there. I really want to play like that man as well.

By the time Don Sweeney and the Bruins are on the clock, why is McQueen still on the board?

There’s a catch, of course, since McQueen just finished an injury-plagued season.

McQueen missed much of the season due to a lower back fracture, and he only made 17 appearances with Brandon this past season (10 goals, 10 assists). In addition to missing nearly five months of the regular season before making a comeback in March, he had a muscle ailment during the WHL playoffs that made it difficult for him to perform his best in the closing months.

Due to the possibility that those back ailments would persist, McQueen’s high ceiling has been undermined by those injury worries, which have also limited some of his draft status.

McQueen’s back ailments actually started in August 2023, according to NHL.com. He made it through the 2023–24 season with Brandon, scoring 51 points (21 goals, 30 assists) in 53 games and played for Canada at the 2024 World Juniors.

McQueen was a full participant in the tests and gave himself a clean bill of health at the combine in spite of those worries.

Speaking with a few of the physicians I’ve dealt with this year, they don’t see anything emerging regarding McQueen’s back problems. He went on to say, “I’m able to take contact right now.” I have been able to get in touch for the past month and a half. In the past three years, I have not felt better.

Despite those injury concerns, McQueen still ranked No. 5 on Craig Button’s TSN rankings and No. 7 on NHL Central Scouting’s final rating of North American skaters.

For a team like the Bruins, who are in dire need of a potential top-six center, McQueen poses an intriguing dilemma.

McQueen is the kind of player that many teams, including Boston, would like to have in their roster.

McQueen is the kind of big-bodied, playmaking center who can sustain a top-six team for the long run, provided he stays healthy.

However, McQueen poses a significant risk if those problems continue, in contrast to a talent like Brady Martin who is projected to be a high-floor player but has a lower offensive ceiling.

Boston may have a better chance of adding at least one NHL regular to their lineup if they select someone like Jake O Brien or Martin, if he is present. However, what would happen if McQueen escaped the Bruins’ grasp and ended up scoring 80 points for a team like the Sabres (No. 9) or Kraken (No. 8 pick)?

Throughout this draft class, Roger McQueen stands for a lot of things.

A prospect is too good to pass up.

A risk of injury with multiple warning signs.

And perhaps a risk worth taking.

How Sweeney and the Bruins react to such a bright but divisive potential is still unknown.

Since 2023, Conor Ryan has worked as a staff writer for Boston.com, covering the Boston Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox.