(Image Credit: Steve Dunsmoor)

By Regan Bartel

Tij Iginla deserves player of the year consideration

The Iginla argument

Mar 12, 2026 | 12:45 PM

If the Western Hockey League’s Player of the Year award was decided purely on impact, Tij Iginla would be difficult to overlook.

But awards rarely follow a straight line.

The Kelowna Rockets’ 19-year-old forward is in the middle of the most productive stretch of his WHL career, riding a career-high 14-game point streak and climbing to fifth in league scoring with 85 points.

Those numbers are impressive on their own. They become even more compelling when context is added.

Iginla has played fewer games, in some cases 20 fewer, than the players ahead of him on the scoring chart, and he has accumulated fewer power-play points than those same players. In other words, he hasn’t relied on the man advantage the way many of the league’s elite scorers have. There are 40 players ahead of him in power-play points. 40!

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He produces when the game is played the hardest way.

Five-on-five. Mano a mano.

That’s where much of Iginla’s offence has been generated this season, a sign of a player who can create scoring chances when there is little time or space available. It’s also a skill set that tends to translate best to playoff hockey.

His statistical profile adds another layer to the argument.

Iginla carries a +47 rating this season, one of the best marks among forwards in the WHL. It’s a number that reflects far more than individual scoring. Plus-minus measures what happens when a player is on the ice at even strength, and in Iginla’s case, it means the Rockets are scoring far more often than they are being scored on when he is out there.

That is not always the easiest number for forwards to build.

Defencemen traditionally end up with stronger plus-minus ratings for a few reasons. They are typically paired with other top players and may not be caught deep in the offensive zone when plays break the other way.

Forwards, meanwhile, often take more risks offensively. They forecheck aggressively, attack deep in the offensive zone, and sometimes get caught during quick counterattacks. Those factors can lead to more goals against while they are on the ice.

For a forward to maintain a plus-47 rating while also driving offence the way Iginla has is a sign that he’s influencing the game at both ends.

Kelowna head coach Derek Martin sees that impact every day.

“I think what makes Tij Iginla such a dominant player is that he loves the game of hockey,” Martin said. “I think he’s really showing that here in the second half. His enthusiasm… he’s not upset when he has to practice. He wants to practice. He’s excited to go on the ice.”

That love of the game has translated into steady growth.

If Iginla isn’t at the rink, Martin says he’s often working somewhere else.

“If he’s not here on the ice or here in the gym, he’s at home in the gym or at home shooting pucks,” Martin said. “He’s a young guy who is looking to get better all the time.”

It’s the kind of work ethic coaches notice immediately.

Martin compared that enthusiasm to the energy seen in some of the NHL’s most exciting young players.

“You watch players like Lane Hutson and the exuberance with which they play the game,” Martin said. “Those are players that are going to just continue to get better because they love it.”

Iginla’s rise up the scoring ladder has come despite a season that began with interruptions. Early in the year he missed games, and later he stepped away to represent Canada at the World Junior Championship.

Those absences limited his early statistical pace.

Still, he has surged into the league’s top five scorers with just weeks remaining in the regular season.

Martin admits he didn’t place heavy expectations on the numbers when the season began.

“I didn’t have a ton of expectations in terms of numerical value, what he would bring to our group,” Martin said. “But our record in the second half has been really good, and his point total has been really good, and those two obviously interlock in a lot of ways.”

Part of the reason is Iginla’s ability to elevate whichever line he plays on.

Unlike many elite scorers who spend most of the season beside the same linemates, Iginla has often moved around the lineup. That can disrupt chemistry for some players.

Instead, he has embraced the responsibility.

“He hasn’t rolled out with the same line very often,” Martin said. “But I think he’s taken it upon himself to be the best player on his line and to drive a line.”

That responsibility has turned him into the Rockets’ offensive engine. He has been in on a staggering 49.6 percent of the team’s goals this season. As Iginla goes, so does his team.

Martin says the forward has shown major improvement away from the puck, an area that can determine how quickly a junior star transitions to professional hockey.

“He’s growth-minded, and he wants feedback,” Martin said. “There have been times when I’ve really got on him, and he’s instantly shown growth in his game.”

That willingness to absorb coaching, combined with his offensive skill, has convinced Martin that Iginla has the tools to take the next step soon.

“Ultimately, we’re trying to make him the best version of Tij that we can,” Martin said. “He’s got a long career ahead of him.”

Awards will ultimately be decided by league voters.

If Player of the Year is meant to honour the skater who drives winning, produces under the toughest conditions, and elevates the players around him, the Rockets’ star forward belongs squarely in that conversation.