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Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporterJun 28, 2024, 09:09 PM ET
CloseKristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.
LAS VEGAS — The Utah Hockey Club went with legendary offspring for its first-ever selection in the NHL draft Friday, selecting forward Tij Iginla, the son of former Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla, at No. 6 overall.
Iginla is coming off a standout season for the Western Hockey League’s Kelowna Rockets, where he produced 47 goals and 84 points in 64 games. The 17-year-old could barely wrap his head around taking a place in the history books as the first draftee to the NHL’s newest expansion team.
“It’s unreal,” Iginla said. “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet.”
Utah will slide into the Central Division next season after the league relocated its former Arizona Coyotes club to Salt Lake City in April. Rather than go through an expansion draft (as new franchisees usually do), Utah inherited the entire Coyotes roster, management and coaching group.
Now Iginla is part of the franchise and will look to follow in his famous father’s footsteps. The elder Iginla played over 1,500 games in the NHL, scoring 625 goals and 1300 points, prior to retiring in 2017. Iginla was a six-time NHL All-Star, and in 2020 was elected into the NHL Hall of Fame.
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Iginla shares some similarities with his father on the ice, including an excellent release and quick hands. Where Iginla has his dad beat already, though, is that he was drafted five places higher than where the Dallas Stars grabbed Jarome Iginla at No. 11 in 1995. But don’t expect the younger Iginla to be needling pops about that just yet.
“I’ve got to build my resume a little bit before I can brag,” he said, laughing.
Jarome Iginla, for his part, couldn’t be happier to see where his son ended up.
“You dream of it,” he said. “You don’t know how the day’s going to be. We’re up there and it’s so unpredictable. Every city’s a great city, but Utah, we’re excited. We’re very happy for him. He’s worked…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/40454747/utah-hockey-club-takes-tij-iginla-no-6-overall-nhl-draft
Author : Kristen Shilton
Publish date : 2024-06-29 02:21:11
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