One of the most significant trades in Calgary Flames history occurred on Dec. 19, 1995, when Joe Nieuwendyk — the 1988 Calder Trophy winner and 1989 Stanley Cup winner — was traded to the Dallas Stars, who had moved south from Minnesota three years prior. In return, the Flames picked up Jarome Iginla, who was the 11th overall pick of the 1995 draft.
The move was integral in getting the Stars over the top as they became a dominant team and won the Stanley Cup in 1999. For Calgary, they moved one franchise cornerstone for a high-end prospect who became the next face of their team and eventually led them back to the Stanley Cup Final in 2004 and won the Rocket Richard Trophy twice.
The last time we saw an Iginla in the NHL was 2017 when Jarome wrapped up his career in a season split between Colorado and Los Angeles. Seven years on from that, we may be getting closer to a new generation of NHL Iginlas.
In December, Eric Francis went to the Circle K Classic U-18 tournament in Calgary to see Joe Iginla, Jarome’s 15-year-old son who has already played a couple games for the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings and is an intriguing prospect for the 2026 NHL Draft.
And, still, there is another Iginla…
Closer to the NHL’s radar is 17-year-old Tij Iginla, who has 31 goals (fourth in the WHL) and 55 points in 40 games with the Kelowna Rockets. Tij played in Wednesday’s CHL-NHL Top Prospects Game, where he was named player of the game for the losing side.
Prior to that game, Iginla — and other prospects — sat down with our Jason Bukala and Sam Cosentino for interviews as Sportsnet’s prospect experts do their work to better know the upcoming draft class. Iginla told them about how he lives at home with his family while playing for Kelowna and the huge benefit it is to have that structure and familiarity with his home life.
Iginla also discussed how difficult it was for him last season, when he was a member of the WHL champion Seattle Thunderbirds. On such a strong roster, Iginla only got into 48 regular season games, then just three post-season games, and didn’t play at all in the Memorial Cup, where Seattle lasted until the final.
Coming off such a season where he wasn’t used as a full-time player, Iginla started outside of our initial top 32 draft rankings for the 2024 class in October. However, by the time our second list came out in November, Iginla had risen to No. 25, in December he was 23rd and in our most recent list in January he had climbed all the way to No. 12.
Could he be a top 10 prospect in this class? Clearly a player on the rise, we’ll see where Iginla ranks in Bukala’s rankings next week, and Cosentino’s next list a couple weeks later.
For more on Tij Iginla, we turn to Bukala for a scouting report out of Wednesday’s Top Prospects Game.
SCOUT’S ANALYSIS
When you have a name like “Iginla” there will be inevitable comparisons:
• When the Dallas Stars selected Jarome Iginla in the first round of the 1995 draft, he was coming off a season where he scored 33 goals and 38 assists for the Kamloops Blazers.
• Tij should easily eclipse his father’s goals and points in his draft year. He has already produced 31 goals and 24 assists for the Kelowna Rockets.
• The game has changed over the years. When Jarome was drafted as a goal-scoring, power-forward type, he was whistled for 111 penalty minutes.
• Tij isn’t shy about battling in the trenches and has an edge to his game on occasion, but his overall approach isn’t as physically aggressive as his father’s was at the junior and NHL levels. So far this season, Tij has 19 penalty minutes.
If a goal scorer is going to play to his identity at the pro level there are three things I look for before breaking down their skill attributes:
1. The prospect has to play the game quickly and fast enough. If he lags with his pace, he will have no chance of playing to his offensive element at the NHL level.
2. The player has to display the ability to think the game effectively when things are happening quickly around him.
3. There aren’t any easy days in the NHL. Prospects have to be programmed with relentless compete.
Tij Iginla is a match for me in all three categories.
He’s sturdy and strong (5-foot-11, 182 pounds), has the pace to be a threat off the rush, and battles to extend plays along the boards and out front the net. When a lane opens up, he’s aggressive ripping pucks on net and follows the play to the crease looking for secondary chances.
Tij played exactly to his identity at the prospects game in Moncton. His handles in transition were well thought out. When an opponent gapped up, he chipped the play deep and worked to win the puck back as the first forward on the forecheck. He absorbed contact along the wall, sometimes from more than one defender, which opened up space for his linemates to make plays. I especially noticed how he surveyed the ice in the offensive zone and rotated off the cycle, making “low to high” plays.
Tij cannot be described as the power forward his father was, but he’s a better skater at the same age and has his dad’s puck touch when it comes to directing pucks on net with authority.
NHL Projection: Top six forward. Goal scorer, power play contributor. Competes in hard areas
NHL Draft Stock: Top 10 pick projection is looking likely
NHL Arrival: Could tease at first NHL training camp, but more realistically will compete for an NHL job in the fall of 2025.