Tij Iginla on the possibility of being drafted by the Calgary Flames: ‘It’d be a lot of fun’

It remains to be seen whether Tij Iginla will even be available when the Calgary Flames first arrive at the podium at the upcoming 2024 NHL Draft.

The Kelowna Rockets forward exceeded all expectations in his draft year in the Western Hockey League, racking up 47 goals and 84 points in 64 games during the regular season before adding nine goals and 15 points in 11 playoff contests.

Of course, the Iginla family needs no introduction around these parts. Jarome Iginla is widely considered the best player in Flames history; his three children have also been the subject of widespread fan interest in Calgary. But with Tij now less than a month away from being drafted, the scrutiny upon him has increased exponentially — and, naturally, so has the hype.

The Flames currently possess the No. 9 pick in this year’s draft. General manager Craig Conroy knows the Iginla family extremely well. Most draft rankings have Iginla slotted in right around the Flames’ wheelhouse.

How, then, would the middle Iginla child react to being selected by the Flames? He discussed that possibility, and more, in an interview released on Friday with TSN’s Mark Masters.

“It sounds like it’d be a lot of fun,” Iginla said. “It’d be a cool opportunity. Obviously, I don’t know exactly how things are going to shake out, and I try not to speculate too much, but I know they’re there at pick 9 or whatever it is. I guess we’ll just have to see where it goes, but that’d definitely be pretty cool.”

Iginla, who won’t turn 18 until August, is one of the youngest players projected to go in the first round of this year’s draft. He’s also coming off winning a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship, scoring six goals and 12 points in six games.

The Seattle Thunderbirds originally selected Iginla with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2021 WHL Bantam Draft. The 6′ forward skated in 48 games as a rookie with the T-Birds in the 2022-23 season before being traded to Kelowna ahead of his draft year.

A natural centre, Iginla spent the majority of his draft year playing left wing; he shoots left, unlike his right-shooting father. His older sister, Jade, has 33 goals in 61 games over her first two seasons at Brown University; his younger brother, Joe, had five points in five WHL games with the Edmonton Oil Kings this season and will be eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft.

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