It was not a long wait for Tij Iginla to hear his name called at the NHL draft on Friday as the Utah Hockey Club selected the Kelowna Rocket sixth overall.
HISTORY MADE ✅
— NHL (@NHL) June 28, 2024
The @utahhockeyclub has made its first ever #NHLDraft selection by drafting Tij Iginla with the sixth overall pick!
📺: 2024 Upper Deck #NHLDraft on @espn, @ESPNPlus, @Sportsnet, Sportsnet+, and @TVASports pic.twitter.com/RCrPgqYccm
Iginla is the first-ever draft pick in the club’s history since moving from Arizona earlier this year.
The Lake Country native now has bragging rights in his household as his father was selected 11th overall in 1995.
Iginla was acquired by the Kelowna Rockets in a trade with the Seattle Thunderbirds a year ago.
The son of Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla immediately made an impact on his hometown team, scoring Kelowna’s first goal of the 2023-24 season and recording 19 points in his first 11 games.
Iginla never looked back from that point, leading the team in goals (47) and finishing in second for total points (84), behind only Washington Capitals prospect Andrew Cristall.
THE FIRST EVER PICK FOR THE UTAH HOCKEY CLUB 🙌
— ESPN (@espn) June 28, 2024
Tij Iginla, the son of Hockey Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla! pic.twitter.com/QYkzDp8Lye
The Lake Country native was named the team’s MVP and a divisional all-star at the end of the regular season before going on a tear in the playoffs.
Iginla tied Cristall for the team lead of 15 points in 11 games, including nine goals, eight of which came in the first round against the Wenatchee Wild.
Following the Rockets' series loss to the Prince George Cougars, Iginla joined Team Canada at the U18 World Championship in Finland.
The 18-year-old finished the event with six goals and six assists, including the gold-medal game-winner, cementing his draft stock.
With Iginla's name now selected at the draft, the Rockets will wait to see if Hiroki Gojsic hears his name called.
The Rockets’ rookie of the year is ranked 63rd overall on the NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings of North American skaters.
If you get value from KelownaNow and believe local independent media is important to our community we ask that you please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter.
If you appreciate what we do, we ask that you consider supporting our local independent news platform.
