Tij Iginla

Playing career

Iginla was drafted ninth overall by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the 2021 WHL bantam draft after recording 48 points in 32 games as a 15-year-old at the under-18 level while attending RINK Academy in Kelowna. He scored his first WHL goal on October 14, 2022, against the Edmonton Oil Kings, and finished his rookie 2022–23 season with 6 goals and 18 points in 48 games. The Thunderbirds won the Ed Chynoweth Cup as 2023 WHL champions and reached the finals of the 2023 Memorial Cup, though Iginla played only three games, all in the first round.

In June 2023, he was traded to the Kelowna Rockets, a move that allowed him to live at home rather than with a billet family. Entering the 2023–24 season, Iginla held a "B" rating from NHL Central Scouting, indicating a projected second- or third-round pick, but after scoring 13 goals and 21 points in his first 12 games he was upgraded to an "A" prospect. He was selected for the 2024 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in December 2023 and finished the season with 47 goals and 84 points in 64 games.

In the WHL playoffs, Iginla scored eight goals in a first-round series win over the Wenatchee Wild, tying a franchise record for goals in a single playoff series. The Rockets were defeated by the Prince George Cougars in five games in the second round, and Iginla finished the postseason with nine goals and fifteen points in eleven games. Considered a likely high first-round selection, he was taken sixth overall by the Utah Mammoth in the 2024 NHL entry draft, becoming the franchise's first-ever draft pick. He signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Utah Mammoth on July 11, 2024.

International play

Iginla made his international debut for Canada at the 2022 World U-17 Hockey Challenge as a member of Team Canada Red, scoring two goals and five assists in seven games and winning a silver medal. He represented Canada at the 2024 IIHF World U18 Championships, recording six goals and six assists in seven games, including a three-point performance in the gold medal game against the United States where he scored the game-winning goal. In December 2025, he was selected for the 2026 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he recorded four goals and four assists in seven games and won a bronze medal.

Did You Know?

• His younger brother Joe plays for the WHL's Vancouver Giants and was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the 2026 NHL entry draft.
• His older sister Jade played for Brown University and was drafted to PWHL Hamilton in the 2026 PWHL Draft.
• Iginla's father Jarome is a Hockey Hall of Fame inductee and Calgary Flames legend.