The Calgary Flames have gone with familiar bloodlines in the third round of the 2026 NHL Draft.

At 65th overall, using a selection they acquired from the Vancouver Canucks in the Nikita Zadorov trade in 2023, the Flames have selected forward Joe Iginla.

Yes, that Joe Iginla, the youngest son of Hockey Hall of Famer, special advisor to Flames general manager Craig Conroy, and all-time franchise leading scorer Jarome Iginla. His older brother, Tij, went to Utah in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft. His older sister, Jade, went to PWHL Hamilton in the second round of the 2026 PWHL NHL Draft.

Iginla is a bit of a reach according to the public scouting consensus. He was the 200th-ranked North American skater by the NHL’s Central Scouting Service. He was not on the rankings for either Daily Faceoff or Elite Prospects.

One of the younger players in the 2026 draft class as an August 2008 birthday – born a month before the cut-off for the 2027 draft – Iginla is a right shot forward listed at 5’10” and 170 pounds. He split the 2025-26 season between the Western Hockey League’s Edmonton Oil Kings and Vancouver Giants, posting 15 goals and 31 points across 59 games. His season was derailed a bit by a mid-season injury, and he was actually on the shelf at the time of his trade from Edmonton to Vancouver.

On one hand, Iginla hasn’t exploded offensively yet the way some of the higher-tier WHL prospects did in their second full season in the Dub. On the other hand, he nearly doubled his prior season scoring rate, going from nine goals in 2024-25 to 15 in 2025-26 and 16 points in 2024-25 to 31 in 2025-26. He’s shown a ton of promise at lower levels, and perhaps with a bit of stability and a clear role with the Giants in 2026-27, he can find another level to his game and his offensive production.

On the surface, taking Iginla at 65th overall may be seen as a bit of a reach. That said, between his bloodlines and the potential he’s shown in prior seasons, it also feels like a gamble that could make the Flames brass look pretty smart if it pays off in the future.

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