Flames drafting Tij Iginla comes with several pros and cons
The Calgary Flames will have the opportunity to add a special prospect to their organization at the 2024 draft.
The Flames are currently projected to select 12th overall, where plenty of great talent will remain up for grabs. One such player who many believe could remain on the board at that time is Tij Iginla.
Fans have been hoping that the thought of drafting Iginla, who is the son of Flames icon Jarome, can soon be a reality. The 17-year-old forward is having a great season for the Kelowna Rockets in the Western Hockey League, with 47 goals and 83 points through 62 games. There is no denying that adding him would make the future of this team all the more exciting.
Rejuvenating Flames fan base
Flames fans have grown frustrated in recent years due to the team’s lack of direction. They have long refused to enter a rebuild, but fail to put together a roster that is capable of contending for a Stanley Cup. As a result, you have a team that has found themselves in the middle of the pack for some time.
That has begun to change under general manager Craig Conroy, who has traded several players off this roster in exchange for prospects and picks. The frustration from the fans has cooled down somewhat under his watch, and drafting Iginla would only help further that.
Iginla would instantly become the face of this “re-tooling” stage the Flames find themselves in, though he would be one of several talented young pieces the organization has. With others such as Connor Zary, Matt Coronato, Jakob Pelletier, Hunter Brzustewicz, and Dustin Wolf, fans would have reason to feel quite content with where the future of this team is headed. Before we get ahead of ourselves, however, there are some reasons why drafting Iginla could have its drawbacks.
Mountain of pressure
It’s not every day that a Hall-of-Fame player has a son who is expected to become a star in the NHL. That alone results in a lot of pressure on the son right from the get-go. Joining the team where your dad is revered as the greatest player in franchise history? That is a whole different animal.
If Iginla were to be drafted by the Flames, the immediate reaction would be fantastic. Fans would immediately embrace him, as his dad remains the favourite player of many throughout the city.
There would be patience given to Iginla right away, as he will likely head back and play another season or two of junior hockey and go from there. Once he is ready to jump into the pro rankings, however, the pressure could soon pile on.
If Iginla were to struggle early on in the pro ranks, the comparisons to his father would really take off, and not in a good way. His dad would certainly be able to give him good advice on how to handle it, but things could wind up difficult for a player who at that point would still be very young.
Who knows if any of this will actually come to fruition? As we see year after year, anything can happen on draft day. That said, Iginla is currently projected to go 12th overall in Sportsnet’s latest rankings, making this scenario not too farfetched. If he is indeed on the board when the Flames’ time to pick comes, they will have to carefully assess the situation, as there are positives — but also plenty of negatives —with selecting Iginla.
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