The first step on the road to this year’s World Junior Championship has been set, and a Brandon Wheat Kings’ forward is among the early candidates for a roster spot.
Forward Roger McQueen was one of 28 forwards and 44 players overall who was invited to Hockey Canada’s World Junior Summer Showcase team in Minnesota. McQueen is also one of eight players, all forwards, who is not able to attend as he recovers from injury.
McQueen, a 2006-born Saskatoon product, was recently the tenth overall pick in the NHL draft by the Anaheim Ducks. He is also one of 18 WHL players invited to the camp.
If McQueen were to make Canada’s WJC team, it would be just the latest in a long line of international achievements for him. McQueen has previously represented Canada at the World Under-17 challenge, the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and the World Under-18 championship. He won a gold medal at both the Hlinka Gretzky and the U18s, alongside then-Wheat King Charlie Elick. Elick was also invited to Canada’s camp.
With McQueen’s inclusion on the camp roster, this marks the third straight season the Wheat Kings have not only had a World Junior camp invitee, but the third straight season they’ve been represented at the U17, Hlinka Gretzky, and World Junior summer camps. The previous two players, Nate Danielson and Carson Bjarnason, both made team Canada.
