Tij Iginla is the son of a Hockey Hall of Famer and wowed his coaches and Kelowna Rockets fans as he nears the NHL draft. Here's a sneak peek from THN's Draft Preview.
Tij Iginla is the son of a Hockey Hall of Famer and wowed his coaches and Kelowna Rockets fans as he nears the NHL draft. Here's a sneak peek from THN's Draft Preview.
Longtime NHL star Jarome Iginla was one of the best power forwards on the planet. And in this feature story from The Hockey News’ most recent Draft Preview edition, writer Carol Schram profiled Iginla’s son, Tij Iginla, as he prepares to be taken in the NHL draft.
Tij Iginla had a stellar season in 2023-24, posting 47 goals and 84 points in 64 games for the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets. And he is expected to go very high in the 2024 NHL draft. But long before that, he was impressing his coaches. But he didn't always get quality ice time on the road to the draft.
Check out a preview from the Draft Preview, available with a subscription at THN.com/Free, which also includes access to more than 76 years of articles at The Hockey News Archive.
IGGY POP REVIVAL
By Carol Schram
Kids are always the hardest to impress.
On Feb. 28, 2010, when Jarome Iginla fed Sidney Crosby for Team Canada’s golden goal at the Vancouver Olympics, three-year-old Tij Iginla had more important things on his mind. “The only thing I remember from that trip is playing with bath toys in the hot tub, to be honest,” he said.
It’s nothing new to see a passion for hockey passed down through generations. Notable examples include Gordie Howe suiting up alongside sons Mark and Marty with the WHA’s Houston Aeros and NHL’s Hartford Whalers, Bobby Hull and son Brett each with multiple 50-goal seasons, and, more recently, Keith Tkachuk watching sons Matthew and Brady rise to stardom.
In the Iginla household, resistance was futile for middle child Tij and his siblings Jade and Joe. The path to the Hockey Hall of Fame for their father, Jarome, began when he was drafted 11th overall by the Dallas Stars in 1995.
Twenty-nine years later, Tij has the potential to go even higher in Vegas in June. He’s a sharp-shooting center in a defense-heavy draft. After breaking out with 47 goals for his hometown Kelowna Rockets in the WHL, Iginla sits ninth among North American skaters on the 2024 NHL Central Scouting rankings and ninth overall in THN’s rankings – and he’s regarded even more highly in some circles.
“Some people are just born to score goals, and he’s one of those guys.” - Rink Hockey Academy's Maco Balkovec
After Jarome and his high-school sweetheart, Kara, were married in 2003, the couple put down off-season roots in Lake Country, B.C., a half-hour north of downtown Kelowna. All three kids were born there, between 2004 and 2008.
The late stages of Iginla’s 20-year NHL career were infamously nomadic as he chased a Stanley Cup. After Jarome retired in 2017, the family briefly settled in Boston.
In 2021, they returned to the Okanagan, where Winnipeg’s Rink Hockey Academy had just expanded by acquiring Kelowna’s Pursuit of Excellence program. Jade, Tij and 13-year-old Joe all signed on as full-time student-athletes, and Jarome took on the coaching duties with Joe’s U-15 squad.
With years of coaching experience under his belt as well as a successful stint at the helm of the Burnaby Winter Club prep program, Maco Balkovec was hired by the RHA team to serve as executive director in Kelowna.
The arrival of the Iginlas gave the new brand instant credibility in the region, on both the boys’ and girls’ sides.
“Jade was the star,” Balkovec said. “She’s the oldest and she was the most prominent member of the family coming in…other than Jarome, obviously.”
And while most youth-hockey coaches don’t share Iginla’s star power, his amiable demeanor quickly put everyone at ease.
“Who isn’t awed when Jarome Iginla walks in the room?” Balkovec said. “There’s not a person who’s in hockey that doesn’t know who that is. But he carries himself with such grace, and he has such a warm smile and makes tremendous eye contact.
“The other side of it is that he’s an incredible competitor. He really loves that part of the sport and wants everybody to get better.”
In addition to his administrative duties, Balkovec served as the assistant coach for Tij’s U-18 team, working under former NHL player and longtime Iginla pal Byron Ritchie.
Even at 15, Tij was already showing off his elite traits. “You could tell he had such an incredible talent and drive,” Balkovec said. “Some people are just born to score goals, and he’s one of those guys. He wants the puck on his stick.”
On a team that also included Ritchie’s son, Ryder, and 2026 draft-eligible sensation Gavin McKenna, Iginla led the way with 26 goals in 32 games in 2021-22. When the WHL held its 2021 prospect draft in December, he was picked ninth overall by the Seattle Thunderbirds. Less than three weeks later, he made his major-junior debut, picking up an assist in his first of three games with the Thunderbirds as a 15-year-old.
In June, the Iginlas made the trek to Wisconsin to watch Jade become the second member of the family to win gold with Team Canada, at the 2022 women’s world U-18 tournament. That event, Tij remembers vividly. “My whole family was there,” he said. “It was really cool.”
In the fall, he was back in Seattle full time. But after reaching the 2022 WHL final before falling to the Edmonton Oil Kings, the Thunderbirds had loaded up their roster with older, more proven performers, and kept adding through the year. They were successful in their championship quest, and reached the Memorial Cup final, but Iginla had a hard time carving out quality ice time. He finished the year with six goals and 18 points in 48 regular-season games and dressed for just three playoff games, all in the first round.
Just three days after the Quebec Remparts shut out the Thunderbirds to win the Memorial Cup, Iginla was on his way back home.
To read the full article, check out The Hockey News Draft Preview 2024 issue at THN.com/Free or at The Hockey News Archive.
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