Tij Iginla eager to follow in his Hall of Fame father’s footsteps as NHL Entry Draft approaches Achi-News

Tij Iginla doesn’t shy away from his famous last name, instead embracing the expectations that come with being the son of a Hockey Hall of Famer.

The 17-year-old is so comfortable as Jarome Iginla’s son, he welcomes the prospect of following in his father’s footsteps should he be selected by the Calgary Flames in this weekend’s NHL draft in Las Vegas.

“I think there might be a little extra attention and expectations and pressure. But for me, having my father and having my family, the pros far outweigh the cons,” Iginla said earlier this month.

“Obviously, if I went to Calgary, that would be kind of a spotlight,” he added.

“That, I’d love to go anywhere. But I think it would be cool to play in a Canadian market where the fans have as much passion as they do.”

Jarome Iginla spent 15-plus of his 20 NHL seasons with the Flames after being traded to Calgary by Dallas six months after the Stars selected him with the 11th pick in the 1995 draft.

The mystery of yet another Iginla landing in Calgary has become a topic of discussion after the 6-foot, 182-pound forward significantly boosted his draft stock. His 47 goals in 64 games for the Kelowna Rockets ranked sixth among Western Hockey League players and he finished 22nd overall with 84 points; it was an improvement of 41 goals and 66 points from his rookie season.

The Flames currently hold the ninth pick, and Iginla happens to be NHL Central Scouting’s ninth-ranked North American skater, though his overall ranking falls outside the top 10 when adding European skaters.

Jarome Iginla, now a Flames advisor, recently told Sportsnet.com that he has no input into the team’s plans.

More family ties

Tij Iginla leads the prospect list with direct NHL connections expected to be picked this weekend. Notables include Finland’s Aatos Koivu, son of former Canadiens captain Saku Koivu, who also played for Anaheim.

There is also Lukas Fischer, whose father Jiri won a Stanley Cup championship with Detroit, and Noah Lapointe, whose father Martin won two titles with the Red Wings. Max Plante is the son of former NHL player Derek, and then there is Miroslav Satan Jr., whose father of the same name played more than 1,000 NHL games.

“Maybe take some advice from him, but do my own thing,” said Koivu, 18, when asked about his father who is an adviser to his son’s Finnish League team, TPS.

“Maybe sometimes he could motivate me a little bit because he was playing. So I want to show people that I can play too, and I can be a good player myself.”

It’s about family for Iginla, who spent his first WHL season in Seattle before being traded last summer to Kelowna, where he had to stay with his younger brother, Joe, in one of his parent’s homes outside out for the season. Returning to familiar surroundings benefited Iginla after he struggled as a rookie finding a niche on a veteran-laden Seattle team.

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“This is the first time in my life I feel healthy,” Iginla said of being limited to just 48 regular season games and three playoff games for the eventual WHL champions.

“I tried to use it as fuel and motivation as much as I could,” he added.

“Going through that adversity, I think it helped me build a lot of grit.”

Answer questions

Rockets coach Kris Mallette was impressed with how Iginla responded to adversity while being open to constructive criticism and improving his game. Mallette said he often relayed to Iginla conversations he had with NHL scouts on what they saw as the player’s shortcomings.

Some said it was too individualistic. Others questioned his lack of physical play. One by one, Iginla checked off lingering questions.

“That showed the NHL scouts, OK, this is a coachable player,” Mallette said. “Did he like it? Probably not. But he took it upon himself to keep working on it and trust the process and see the results because of it.”

Central Scouting chief Dan Marr referred to Iginla as “a complete package.”

“He’s an exciting player. He has speed, quickness and skills. And he can finish,” Marr said. “This is not a kid playing off his name.”

Iginla draws on experiences growing up around the NHL. He recalled sitting at the “kiddie table” when his father invited Avalanche teammate Nathan MacKinnon over for Thanksgiving, and meeting Sidney Crosby, after his father was traded to Pittsburgh in 2013.

“From an outside perspective, it might seem like there’s more pressure, more expectations,” Tij Iginla said. “But for me, my motivation comes from within.

“I want to succeed because that’s what I want to do, and my dream.”

& copy 2024 The Canadian Press