Tij Iginla

Tij Iginla (born August 4, 2006) is a Canadian ice hockey player who is a forward for the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL) as a prospect to the Utah Mammoth of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the son of Calgary Flames legend and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Jarome Iginla. He was the first-ever draft pick of the Utah Mammoth, selected sixth overall in the 2024 NHL entry draft.

Playing career While attending RINK Academy in Kelowna, where as a 15-year-old playing at the under-18 level he recorded 48 points in 32 games, Iginla was drafted ninth overall by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the 2021 Western Hockey League (WHL) bantam draft.

Iginla scored his first WHL goal on October 14, 2022, against the Edmonton Oil Kings. In 48 games with the Thunderbirds in his rookie 2022–23 season, he scored 6 goals and 18 points. Seattle would win the Ed Chynoweth Cup as 2023 WHL champions, and would make it to the finals of the 2023 Memorial Cup, but Iginla would only play three games, all in the first round. In June 2023, Iginla was traded by the Thunderbirds to the Kelowna Rockets. Though not the reason for the move, it allowed him to live at home rather than with a billet family. In December 2023, Iginla was selected as one of 40 draft eligible prospects to compete at the 2024 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. He finished the year with 47 goals and 84 points in 64 games. The Rockets qualified to the WHL playoffs, facing the Wenatchee Wild in the first round. Iginla scored eight goals over the course of the series, which the Rockets won in six games, tying a franchise record for goals in a single playoff series. They were defeated by the Prince George Cougars in five games in the second round, and Iginla finished the postseason with nine goals and fifteen points in eleven playoff games.

Considered a likely selection high in the first round of the 2024 NHL entry draft, Iginla was taken sixth overall by the Utah Mammoth (the then Utah Hockey Club). As the team had been newly established with the personnel of the deactivated Arizona Coyotes, he was their first-ever draft selection, which he called "a huge honour," adding that it "would've been a surreal feeling to get picked by any team. But to be the first pick of a franchise is really cool."

On July 11, 2024, Iginla signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Utah Mammoth.

International play

Iginla made his international debut for Canada as a member of Team Canada Red at the 2022 World U-17 Hockey Challenge. He scored two goals and five assists in seven games and won a silver medal. He represented Canada at the 2024 IIHF World U18 Championships, scoring six goals and six assists in seven games, including a three-point performance in the gold medal game against the United States, where he scored the game-winning goal.

In December 2025, he was selected to represent Canada at the 2026 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. During the tournament he recorded four goals and four assists in seven games and won a bronze medal.

Personal life Iginla is the son of Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Jarome Iginla and his wife Kara. His younger brother Joe plays for the WHL's Vancouver Giants and was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the 2026 NHL entry draft. His older sister Jade played for Brown University and was drafted to PWHL Hamilton in the 2026 PWHL Draft.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2021–22 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 3 0 1 1 4 — — — — — 2022–23 Seattle Thunderbirds WHL 48 6 12 18 19 3 0 1 1 2 2023–24 Kelowna Rockets WHL 64 47 37 84 35 11 9 6 15 0 2024–25 Kelowna Rockets WHL 21 14 18 32 13 — — — — — 2025–26 Kelowna Rockets WHL 48 41 49 90 29 9 7 5 12 4WHL totals 184 108 117 225 100 23 16 12 28 6

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2022 Canada Red U17 7 2 5 7 0 2024 Canada U18 7 6 6 12 0 2026 Canada WJC 7 4 4 8 0 Junior totals 21 12 15 27 0

Awards and honours Award Year RefWHL Ed Chynoweth Cup champion 2023