https://www.nhl.com/utah/player/tij-iginla-8484795

He got 32 points in 21 games (14 goals) for the Kelowna Red Rockets. Not bad. His highlights show that he is great at the WHL level. He sure takes his time setting up shots sometimes in a way that probably won't work in the NHL. Hopefully he can adapt quickly.

5 comments

  1. New to hockey, but I would assume that it is similar to baseball (or any other sport really) where development at a young age is uber important. Him getting this level of playing time at having this amount of success at 18 is a huge deal. Give him another year or two to develop and receive coaching at that level, then I think he can be a legitimate piece of the team by the time he is 20 or 21.

  2. Those stats were before he had hip surgery which ended the season for him. I assume after another year in whl, he might start in the AHL for 26-27 depending on that season’s training camp goes

  4. Still needs time to develop, and he had recent hip surgery. I think he could certainly compete for a spot on the roster this upcoming year, but I imagine he will have a similar development like Guenther and Cooley: Juniors -> 1-2 yrs AHL -> NHL. I expect an NHL debut when he is 20 or 21.

  5. Could someone give a quick rundown of the minor leagues? Does it go WHL –> AHL –> NHL? (I think there are a couple leagues at each of the minor levels so just using these as placeholders).

    What’s the typical age of first round picks when they move to the NHL? Just looking at Utah’s roster, it looks like most top picks are around 19 when they start getting NHL games. Later round draft picks look like they are normally a little older when they start getting NHL experience.

    I have no way to evaluate Iginla and I suspect his injury could delay his NHL debut a bit.

Leave a Reply