The Ducks came away with Roger McQueen on Day 1 of the 2025 NHL Draft. General manager Pat Verbeek held a video conference call with media following the conclusion of the first round.

Below is a full transcript, which has been lightly edited for clarity and length:

What did you see in McQueen that made you believe he was the right pick at 10th overall, even with all the injury concerns that he had this past season?

I watched him when he was with the U18s, with Team Canada at a tournament probably almost two years ago now, liked what I really saw. He's going to be a different player than, say, Leo (Carlsson) or Mason McTavish in the sense that he has the ability to score goals. There's certainly power forward written all over him in how he plays the game. He has a little bit of a mean side to him, which I like. There's high compete there with him. And so I think that when we went through the injuries that he had, I think that we felt comfortable drafting him. Just all the things that he's gone through to overcome the injury, we felt comfortable drafting him.

It's been said that McQueen might have among the highest ceilings of players in this particular draft. Is that something that you agree with?

Well, it's hard to predict. Had he not gone through the injuries, he probably would have been arguably top-4, top-5 in this draft. 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 score. 
So I think that he's just going to play a little different game than some of the guys that we have now in our mix.

And how extensively did you guys dig into his medicals and make sure that he checked out physically?

Very, very extensive. We dug deep and consulted a lot. Consulted our doctors, consulted Mike Barwis, our sports science guy. So, there was a lot of due diligence put into Roger, making sure, you that we did our homework. And, at the end of the day, we felt comfortable that he's going to overcome any of the setbacks that he had last year.

You had mentioned the 10th overall pick possibly being in play (for a trade). You hung onto it. Was that more about your guy being there, or maybe a combination of that and the market (for the pick) not being there?

There were a couple of things that didn't pan out. And then when we were able to get Roger, I think that everything became moot and we just went ahead and made the selection.

As for tomorrow (Day 2 of the draft), you've gotten a look at the trade market today. Are you thinking that there might be any moves afoot, or are you thinking more about going into free agency and then reassessing on July 2nd, July 3rd?

Well, I'm not sure at this point. It's hard to say right now. 
We continue to look at a bunch of different things. You never know how these things are going to turn out until they either do or they don't. So, I can't project anything that could happen from our side at this point.

When we spoke to McQueen, we asked him what things he felt he needed to improve on in his game. For him, he said the No. 1 thing was just filling into his frame. What sort of things do you need to see him improve on in his development to get towards being an NHL player?

These kids, they just have to gain weight and gain strength, right? 
I think that there's a lot of talent there. (His) skating ability when he gets stronger is going to continue to improve. This thing of getting stronger is the biggest part of being able to get to the NHL. Many kids have the skill level and all of that. Some of them even have the ability with their skating ability, but strength is the hardest thing for them to make up when they play. If they don't have the strength, it makes it hard for them to be able to put their skill game or their type of game on the ice. That's the biggest thing for me for Roger. 
We're super excited about his skill. We're super excited. (He) plays a 200-foot game. When I saw him play at the U18s, I think a year and a half ago, he plays a physical game, so he ended up getting suspended in that tournament for being physical. That part of his game excites me as well. I think every player has something to work on, but I would say the main thing is just getting stronger.

And do you have a projected timeline for him?

No. He didn't play much last year. He's going to have to get back to junior and get a good season of training (during) the rest of the summer under his belt. Go have a good season and hopefully play for Team Canada at (World Juniors). Then, we'll see. We can afford to take our time with Roger, so I think that's the good thing about it. We can take our time with him and let him progress in his own natural timeline.

There's a new NCAA/CHL agreement. Is the NCAA an option for McQueen, or is he straight back to the WHL next season?

That's hard to say. Whatever Roger decides. I think a lot of kids are being asked to (swap the CHL for collegiate hockey). We'll leave that up to Roger. It'll be his decision and I don't think that we really can interfere with that too much. He can ask us our opinion, but at the end of the day, it's his decision, what he's going to do. Will he get opportunity? I'm sure he will get opportunity. The toughest part is trying to understand his scenario and where he wants to go.

It looks like you guys gave McQueen the first-class treatment today with the helicopter ride and the visit to Disneyland. Did you have any role in setting all that up for him and giving him that first-class treatment?

Do you think I have time to organize that? *laughs* No, it was a great idea by our marketing department. It was a unique opportunity to be able to give the kid a ride of his lifetime. It was a special moment for him.

Some rumblings about John Gibson being in play, maybe even working with his agent on finding him a new home? Is there anything to that?

Yeah, I'm having discussions. I'm not sure where any of it's going to go. As I've talked to you guys in the past, I always look at things that get presented to me. If it makes sense for the Anaheim Ducks, we'll pursue it. If it doesn't, then we won't.

There were a lot of teams that moved up this draft (via trade). 
Was there any thought at all, as the draft progressed, about using one of those extra second-rounders to move back into the first round?

We pursued trying to move up . That was what we looked at. 

Featured image caption: Jun 27, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Roger McQueen is selected as the tenth overall pick to the Anaheim Ducks in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft at Peacock Theater. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images