Roger McQueen, I repeat Roger McQueen

I was in the cautious category of people watching Brandon Wheat Kings star Roger McQueen, who is eligible for the 2025 NHL Draft.

He might be a bit of a project, rather than a guy worthy of a top-10 pick, not because of what he can't do. Because of what he hasn't been on the ice to do, and the effects that missing key development time. Late bloomers are indeed as good as some stars, McQueen isn't the former, but the concern of how he would shake off the rust had me worried.

The projections and potential didn't just melt away like the Rideau Canal in March, McQueen is still six-foot-five, strong, he skates fast and is fantastic with the puck on his stick. Physically he is hard to handle, because he leans on opponents and inserts his stick pry pucks loose on the backcheck. On the forecheck he converges quick on opponents, wrapping them up and then ripping the puck away.

I even compared McQueen with 2024 fourth overall pick Cayden Lindstrom, who hadn't played much at all, after undergoing a microdiscectomy to address a back issue that had been ailing him. Lindstrom has returned to the ice, and skated with the Columbus Blue Jackets, but his draft-plus-one season was a total write-off. McQueen, meanwhile is projected to play 17 WHL regular season games, but he has the playoffs to look forward to.

And scouts are going to do the same, watching McQueen keenly, which also gives me loads of confidence that he is going to put himself in a place to get selected early in June.

If that doesn't happen, I think that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, because I am convinced that he will develop into, at the very least, a top-nine centre, with great size and some bite. His ceiling, however, is what is so intriguing, and worth selecting him. I think trading up for this player could be a wise piece of business, perhaps for Kent Hughes.

I do think that Michael Hage is going to be the Canadiens second-line centre in the long-term, but I don't hate the idea of having both in the lineup. Having the pair on the same line could also be fun. For me, McQueen checks the same boxes as Hage, but he is four inches taller, and will likely add 15 lbs of muscle before he plays any NHL games.

There is a high intrigue factor with McQueen, and the skillset and nose for the net are very much NHL translatable traits. If he slips out of the top-10, I would be surprised by it. And if I were Hughes I would pick up the phone and make something happen to get into a position to draft McQueen.

Throw Ivan Demidov on the wing

At this point, we have no clue who is going to play where when both Hage and Ivan Demidov are in the Habs lineup. There are multiple ways to do it, and the likelihood of having a veteran with them makes a lot of sense. I'm not so sure Martin St. Louis will want to mess with his top line's chemistry, though, so bringing in a smart, skilled and versatile forward will be crucial.

I don't see Demidov staying on the Habs second line for very long, and Hage, I think will stick on the second line in the centre role. Putting your best players together makes a lot of sense, but evenly distributing the talent makes the lineup more balanced. Even if the Canadiens draft a centre or winger in June, it's unlikely the player is with the Habs in 2025-26, so Hage and McQueen (for the sake of the conversation) are in the Habs fold, the second line won't benefit from the pair until, at minimum, 2026-27.

Demidov will assuredly play on the wing, and Patrik Laine opposite him, but the pair are left without a centre. This is concerning, more now, ahead of the playoffs than during the offseason. Hughes knows that a great second-line centre will be tremendous for the two star wingers, and to make the team more complete.

I'm not sure what the plan is with Laine, but the issue isn't putting wingers into the lineup. Even if Laine doesn't stick around, while a tremendous loss, it isn't as dire as the need for a centre. Montreal will do their best with the end of this season, and hopefully, the playoffs, but the offseason shopping list is a definite organizational priority.