(Image Credit: Steve Dunsmoor)

By Regan Bartel

Gettin' Iggy with it

Tij Iginla powers his team through a milestone weekend

Feb 23, 2026 | 6:01 AM

Tij Iginla has always heard the talk that follows his last name.

Being the son of Hockey Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla brings attention everywhere he plays. But when you compete and produce the way his father once did during his junior career, the discussion becomes impossible to avoid.

The 19-year-old forward added another chapter to his own story over the weekend, scoring four goals in back-to-back wins for the Kelowna Rockets against the Kamloops Blazers.

Friday night in Kamloops, Iginla scored twice, including his 100th career goal in the Western Hockey League. One night later on home ice, he found the net again in the second period to give the Rockets a 2-1 lead. That goal also pushed him to the 200-point mark for his WHL career.

It was another weekend filled with milestones for a player who continues to pile them up at a rapid pace.

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This season, Iginla has 35 goals in just 36 games. He is on pace to score 47 times, which would tie his career high from the 2023 2024 season. He is also one assist shy of reaching 100 assists in the WHL.

His recent run has been just as impressive. Iginla has scored eight goals in his last four games and already has 11 multi-goal games to his credit this season.

The numbers tell a powerful story, but the way Iginla is influencing games and teammates is what stands out most inside the Rockets dressing room.

Kelowna head coach Derrick Martin has watched that growth closely.

“He’s playing some fantastic hockey,” Martin told RocketFAN. “It’s one thing to score at the rate that he’s scoring at, but he’s driving his line. He’s pulling other guys in with him. We can put different players on his line, and they seem to find chemistry right away.”

Martin believes that the ability to lift the players around him is what makes Iginla stand out.

“That’s what makes him unique,” Martin said. “That’s what makes him special.”

“I’ve talked about the maturity of the player,” Martin added. “The maturity of him to be able to pull guys along now.”

The coach has also noticed how much Iginla’s daily habits have improved over the past season and a half.

“He’s worked for everything he’s getting,” Martin said. “He’s putting the time in. There’s been a real strong commitment from him, and it’s been fun to watch.”

“He’s had a really good rub off on a lot of players in our dressing room, and we’re a better team because of the way that he operates.”

That commitment showed clearly during the weekend against Kamloops.

On Friday, the Rockets picked up an overtime win in a building that has been difficult for them this season. Martin said the group stayed composed during three-on-three play and avoided cheating for offense, something that had hurt the team earlier in the year.

Twenty-four hours later in Kelowna, Iginla delivered one of the biggest moments of the night. His second-period goal gave the Rockets breathing room and shifted momentum back in their favour. It also quietly moved him into the 200-point club.

For Iginla, the individual achievements continue to arrive, but they do not seem to change how he approaches the game.

When asked what should be expected from a player of Iginla’s level, a first-round NHL draft pick of the Utah Mammoth, Martin pointed to the standard Iginla holds himself to.

“I don’t think it matters what we expect from him,” Martin said. “His expectations of himself are higher. He’s putting the work in at the gym, he’s putting the work in at practice, and he’s a driven player.”

There is also a strong family connection tied directly to the opponent Iginla just defeated.

Jarome Iginla played three seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Kamloops Blazers and finished his WHL career with 236 points.

Now, his son is closing in on that same total.

Tij sits just 35 points away from tying his father’s WHL career mark.

It is another reminder of how quickly his own legacy is taking shape.

The name on the back of the jersey will always be recognized around junior hockey rinks.

Tij Iginla is being defined less by where he comes from and more by how he leads, how he prepares and how consistently he delivers when the game is on the line.