McQueen in Disneyland
Roger McQueen got quite the surprise after the Anaheim Ducks selected him No. 10 on Friday.
The center from Brandon of the Western Hockey League was escorted, along with his mother and father, to a nearby helicopter and short flight to Disneyland in Anaheim. Roger and his mom and dad got to spend the night at a Disneyland resort.
Video and pictures of McQueen in Disneyland were unveiled upon his arrival midway through the first round. In fact, he was hanging out with Donald Duck, exchanging high-fives in front of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle.
There were questions where the ultra-skilled McQueen (6-5, 198) would be chosen since his 2025 NHL Draft-eligible season was limited to 17 games because of a fracture in his lower back.
“Certainly, had he not gone through the injuries, he arguably would have been in the top four, top five in this draft,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said. “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. He’s going to play a little different game than some of the guys we have now.”
Collection of collegians
There were 10 current or committed NCAA Division I players chosen during the first round, marking the third-most in college hockey history and the most since 2016.
The 2016 NHL Draft and 2007 NHL Draft each featured 11 current or committed collegians in the opening round.
Hagens, who had 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) in 37 games as a freshman at Boston College, was the first college player off the board to the Bruins.
The 18-year-old was one of five rising sophomores to hear his name called in the first round. The others: Wisconsin defenseman Logan Hensler (Ottawa Senators, No. 23), Michigan forward William Horcoff (Pittsburgh Penguins, No. 24), Boston University defenseman Sascha Boumedienne (Winnipeg Jets, No. 28), and Arizona State forward Cullen Potter (Calgary Flames, No. 32).
“The main reason I wanted to play college hockey is because I want to be in the NHL someday,” Potter said. “Taking that next step in my development to play against guys that are closer to the NHL is what I wanted to do. I think I developed a lot as a player and am working towards playing in the NHL.”
Goalie guild
Multiple goaltenders were chosen in the first round for only the second time in the past 13 drafts.
Pyotr Andreyanov (6-0, 207), who was 23-6-6 with a 1.75 GAA and .942 save percentage in 37 regular-season games with CSKA in Russia’s junior league, was selected by the Blue Jackets at No. 20. Joshua Ravensbergen (6-5, 191), who was 33-13-4 with a 3.00 goals-against average and .901 save percentage in 51 games with Prince George of the Western Hockey League, went to San Jose at No. 30.
It marked the first time since 2021 that multiple goalies were chosen in the first round (Sebastian Cossa, No. 15, Detroit Red Wings; Jesper Wallstedt, No. 20, Minnesota Wild).
“I think the scouts have done their homework throughout the year, in the last two years, really,” San Jose GM Mike Grier said. “As we followed our board, he was the best player available. We’re not at the stage to whatever other people might think our need is in the organization. We’re taking the best player here.”
There were 24 goalies chosen in the 2025 draft. The record is 36 in 1993.
Oh, Canada!
For the first time in 38 years, at least 20 Canada-born players were chosen in the first round of the draft.
It is the fourth instance in NHL history that Canada has produced that many first-round picks, joining 1987 (21), 1982 (20), and 1979 (20). Twelve Canadian players were chosen among the top 15.
Additionally, the Canadian Hockey League produced 21 first-round picks, one short of the all-time record (22) established in 2013. There were nine players taken from each the OHL and WHL, and three from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. It marks the fifth time since 1969 that 21 CHL players have been taken in the opening round.
Canada produced 88 players chosen in the 2025 draft, the most since 89 were selected in 2016.
How Swede it is
Sweden had a 13-year run with at least one player chosen in the opening round end in the 2024 NHL Draft when the earliest pick was forward Lucas Pettersson to the Anaheim Ducks in the second round (No. 35).
This year, there were two Sweden-born players picked in the first round — center Anton Frondell (No. 3, Chicago Blackhawks) and right wing Victor Eklund (No. 16, New York Islanders), each of Djurgarden in Sweden’s second division.
There were 27 Sweden-born players selected over seven rounds, third most of any county after Canada (88) and the United States (50).
Frondell and Eklund became the 15th pair of Swedish teammates to be taken in the first round of the NHL Draft, something that has now happened in four of the past five drafts: Otto Stenberg and David Edstrom of Frolunda Jr. (2023), Noah Ostlund and Liam Ohgren of Djurgarden Jr. (2022), and Jesper Wallstedt and Fabian Lysell of Lulea (2021).
“I think it’s important,” Frondell said. “It shows how good of a country we are at ice hockey. We were close to winning the (IIHF) World Championship this year. We didn’t do it. We lost against the U.S. in the semis, but Sweden is a good country in hockey.”
