Photo credit: RocketFAN

By Regan Bartel

Tij Iginla is having an MVP type season

Iggy-wiggy-wiggy-woo-woo

Mar 22, 2024 | 8:00 AM

What a difference a year makes.

Last season, Andrew Cristall was the only choice as the Kelowna Rockets’ MVP. No teammate was able to challenge the draft-eligible forward at the team’s annual awards banquet. It was a one-horse race.

The 2023-2024 season was a different story when a young gun with a famous hockey last name was acquired from the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Enter Tij Iginla, who everyone thought would be a perfect fit with Cristall as a one-two-punch as line-mates. Rockets Head Coach Kris Mallette had other ideas though, splitting them up to provide the team with a more diversified attack.

The result is an MVP season for the 17-year-old Iginla, the son of NHL hall of famer Jarome Iginla.

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“There is goal scoring. There is play-making, skating, compete, and work ethic,” Iginla said when asked by the media after receiving the award about the maturity in his game over the last six months with the Rockets. “All those areas like that make a difference in your game, and I think I’ve gotten better in all those areas and want to keep getting better.”

Iginla’s 47 goals in his rookie season aren’t normal. It is a new club record for goals by a first-year draft-eligible player, first set by Brett McLean, who found the back of the net 37 times before being chosen by the Dallas Stars in the 1997 NHL Draft, the same organization that Iginla’s father, Jarome, was chosen by.

“A little bit,” Iginla admitted about thinking head to the 2024 NHL Draft this summer, where many project him to be chosen in the opening round, the first time that would happen with a Kelowna Rockets player since Nolan Foote and Lassi Thomson were taken by Tampa Bay and Ottawa in 2019. “With it being my draft year, I want to put forth the best campaign I can. I am just trying to show NHL teams why they should take me over another guy. At this point of the year, it is all about the team, and we have huge games coming up, so I am focused on that.”

While Iginla didn’t out-score Cristall, who has 23 more points with two games left in the regular season (tonight and tomorrow), only Berkly Catton of the Spokane Chiefs (52) has found the back of the net more times this season among draft-eligibles.

“He is so dynamic,” Cristall added about Iginla’s unbelievable season. “Everybody sees his shot. He is almost at 50 goals, so hopefully we can get it for him this weekend. He is such a good player and is so big for us getting timely goals. He is dynamic all around.”

Iginla and Cristall are both difference-makers on the ice, but that is where the similarities end. Iginla is calculated in his comments and doesn’t show much emotion on the ice whether the team is winning or losing. Cristall wears his heart on his sleeve, is arguably one of the most well-spoken players in media interviews, and is vocal amongst his teammates. Iginla, who is also well-liked, goes about his business and lets his actions do the talking.

“It is a huge honour,” Iginla said after picking up the MVP award, becoming the youngest player to win it. “I thought AC [Andrew Cristall] could have gotten it,” he said modestly.

When you score the 6^th most goals in the WHL, with a team-high 20 coming on the road, choosing Iginla over Cristall for the MVP honour was the right choice.

It matched the astute move the franchise made when trading for him last June, making it the best transaction since acquiring Leon Draisaitl from the Prince Albert Raiders in 2015.