In the National Hockey League’s annual entry draft, players get selected by clubs for any number of reasons. Sometimes they’ve ripped it offensively in their draft year. Sometimes they have qualities that make scouts excited for their potential for growth.

So let’s make one thing clear: all due respect to the young man, but Joe Iginla’s performance to date in the Western Hockey League probably would not warrant selection in the third round of the 2026 NHL Draft.

If you go to Elite Prospects and filter just for first-time draft-eligible skaters in the WHL scoring list, Iginla was 39th in points and points-per-game with 31 points in 59 games. Following the 2025-26 season, Iginla was rated 200th among North American skaters by the NHL’s Central Scouting Service. He did not appear on any of the major agency’s public draft rankings.

Yet, Iginla was selected in the third round, 65th overall, by the Calgary Flames. Where his father, first-ballot Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Jarome Iginla, is the longest-serving captain, all-time leading scorer, and currently special advisor to general manager Craig Conroy.

The pick was followed by some online fan criticisms that ranged from the somewhat polite (“That was a bit of a reach…” and “Don’t like that pick,” and “Seems a bit early.”) to the more blunt (“Worst pick of the draft.“). The Athletic’ Scott Wheeler dubbed the selection “one of the biggest reaches of Day 2.”

If you’re skeptical of the pick – and understandably so – Flames brass acknowledged the potential criticisms of taking someone (a) with the last name of someone who works in management and (b) who was quite far down Central Scouting’s rankings.

“I just think that we saw it differently,” said director of amateur scouting Tod Button, chatting with the media on Saturday after the conclusion of day two. “Like, I don’t even know where Joe ended up. I just know I went through the first five pages. ‘Like, okay, I’m not even looking anymore.'”

“I think Joe, if you’ve watched him over the years, I think he’s a little bit of a late bloomer,” said Conroy, also chatting after day two.. “We believe there’s still room to grow. As the season went along, he had good stretches, and then he broke his ribs. Obviously, he tried to play through the broken ribs. Maybe the production was down a little bit this year, but the work ethic, the person, obviously we know exactly everything about him. and we’re betting on him that he’s going to continue to progress.”

Originally selected in the Western League’s draft by the Edmonton Oil Kings, Iginla was traded to the Vancouver Giants on Jan. 5… but didn’t make his debut for the Giants until a few weeks later due to his injury. Conroy related the decision to bank on Iginla’s potential for growth to a missed opportunity the club had a few years back at the draft with another second-generation player.

“I think the one thing Tod said where he made a mistake a few years ago was on Josh Doan,” said Conroy. “He went through a draft. We talked about taking him. Then the next year he went in the second round. Had a great year in the USHL. they took him in the second. You know, and you’re thinking, we could have just taken him the year before.”

Doan had 14 points in 45 games in 2019-20 with the USHL’s Chicago Steel and went undrafted in 2020, then went 37th overall in 2021 after producing 70 points in 53 games the following season. Doan’s situation, and the parallels to Iginla’s season, drove some discussions among Flames scouts and management.

“And that’s what we said, we’re not going to let that happen again,” said Conroy.

Both Button and Conroy were clear about one thing: Joe’s dad wasn’t involved in any scouting discussions regarding his son. Instead, the Flames’ scouting staff leaned on their evaluations and their guts, and made a bet that Iginla’s potential will out-weigh his draft year performance. And for a team that’s made 33 picks in a four year span under Conroy’s management, it’s a pick the Flames feel comfortable making.

“I don’t think it was insider information about the rib injury,” said Button. “I think it’s like, again, smart player, competitive player, good hands, just undersized.”

Speaking to the media via Zoom after being selected, Joe discussed his mindset regarding going to his father’s team.

“Obviously, you know, some people are going to… like, haters are going to always say something, and people will say, like, oh, something about your dad,” said Iginla. “But I feel like at this point in my career, I’ve heard about every insult and chirp there is about my dad, so I think, you know, I’m just gonna go out there and try to prove them wrong.”

If their 65th overall selection was anybody else with any other last name, the pick probably wouldn’t be scrutinized as it is – Jake Boltmann’s 2020 selection at 80th overall didn’t generate much furor – but the factors involved create a unique dynamic. Betting on Joe Iginla’s potential at 65th overall is a move that could make the Flames look really, really smart.

Or, well, not.

Time will tell how this unfolds.