It’s a bittersweet day for Roger McQueen and the Brandon Wheat Kings. On the one hand, the CHL named him among their best prospects for the coming NHL entry draft. On the other hand, he won’t be able to represent them against the top prospects from the United States.
McQueen was one of 11 WHL players named to the roster for Team CHL for their games against the United States National Team Development Program (NTDP) on November 26 and 27. This year will be the first time the two teams have faced off.
After starting the season with four goals in his first game, McQueen kept his foot on the pedal and racked up 11 points overall in his first eight games. He was injured, however, in a game against the Medicine Hat Tigers on October 11 and hasn’t played since.
In McQueen’s absence, the Wheat Kings have put together a 2-1 record and several older forwards have stepped up to fill the void he leaves in the depth chart. Despite missing the last three games, McQueen is still the Wheat Kings’ leading goal scorer with eight on the season so far.
The CHL vs NTDP games are new this season, designed to replace the CHL Top Prospects game which formerly took place every January.
