The Utah Hockey Club are officially sending Tij Iginla down to the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League.
The Hockey Club selected Iginla with the sixth overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
Despite being sidelined with a lower-body injury for the start of training camp, the young prospect quickly started to turn heads.
“All the sudden he’s on the ice and it comes to you pretty quick why we drafted him so high,” Armstrong said via KSL Sports. “You could see that in how he played yesterday and just his ability to finish and the high level of skill level that he has.”
“We’re really excited about getting him back on the ice and hopefully, if he keeps progressing, he’ll get a chance to play in an exhibition game. We’re not sure yet but let’s see how the injury goes,”
The 18-year-old is coming off of an impressive season with the Rockets where he recorded 47 goals, 37 assists and 84 points in 64 games.
Utah coach André Tourigny was happy with Iginla’s play while he also felt the injury held him back from really reaching his highest potential.
“I really like his skill set. He has good execution, he’s creative offensively. I think he was in a tough spot. He missed an important part of the camp where we were talking structure and all of it,” Utah head coach Andre Touringy told KSL Sports. “So, he had to jump in the action without having a lot of reps… for an 18-year-old guy who did not have a lot of reps in our structure, I liked his game.”
All Utah fans should keep tabs on Iginla in Kelowna as this is just the start of his journey with the Hockey Club.
