Kelowna Rockets standout Tij Iginla has put pen to paper on a three-year, entry-level deal with the Utah Hockey Club, the team announced Thursday.
Iginla made history in June as the first draft pick in Utah franchise history when the club selected him sixth overall in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.
He’s also the highest-drafted forward in Kelowna Rockets history.
https://twitter.com/utahhockeyclub/status/1807800204734738461
The 6-foot, 192-pound forward put up 47 goals and 37 assists for 84 points and a +17 rating in 64 games in his sophomore WHL season.
His 47 goals ranked sixth among all WHL skaters and his 84 points were the second-most on the Rockets.
He will not be eligible to play in the AHL until his 20-year-old season, he must make the NHL for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons of be returned to the Rockets.
Iginla’s production increased in the 2024 WHL Playoffs, where he netted nine goals and six assists for 15 points in 11 games, highlighted by a hat trick against the Wenatchee Wild in Game 1 of their first-round series.
The Lake Country, B.C. product suited up for 48 games (6-12-18) in his rookie season with the Seattle Thunderbirds in 2022-23, helping Seattle clinch the WHL Championship alongside current Utah forward Dylan Guenther.
On the international stage, Iginla recently powered Canada to a gold medal at the 2024 IIHF Under-18 World Championship in Finland, where he added another six goals and six assists in seven games- including the championship-clinching goal.
