[News] Tij Iginla selected ninth overall by Seattle in WHL Draft

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I dunno. First, I said superstar. But as for elite, he sometimes hits PPG and sometimes he doesn't. PPG centres are not uncommon - are Reinhart, Larkin, Scheifele, Barzal "elite"? He's not ripping 100 point seasons, not even close.

Edit: what Supermatt said. In fact, until Lindholm lost his favorite wingers, his production resembled Eichels a bit.

I don't know. Eichel seems to have established himself as a #1 centre he was supposed to be since he got to Vegas. Also 26 points in 22 playoff games.

Isn't Reinhart a winger?

[Number 39]

I hope the Flames don’t pay attention to the last name. Pick the best player available when they are on the clock and if that player is a centre all the better. If the best available player is Iginla thats fine too. I just don't want to see the team doing anything unnatural to draft Iginla based on name/marketing.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

I don't know. Eichel seems to have established himself as a #1 centre he was supposed to be since he got to Vegas. Also 26 points in 22 playoff games.

Isn't Reinhart a winger?

Number one centre wasn't the term. I said "superstar centre" (and meant the Mackinnons of the league). Someone reduced that to "elite" and now it's "number 1"?

And yes, Reinhart is a centre. But recently he's been playing with Lundell, so who knows now. So leave him out: Is Rob Thomas elite, very good, a superstar or what?

[CSharp]

Originally Posted by fotze2

Its short for Tijuana Iginla.

Bahahaha! Is the "j" sound like an "h" or silent? I always pronounced that drunken Mexican city at the US border with the hard "j".

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Teams rarely win championships by building around elite wingers.
You need elite D and C.

I agree but if the choice is between a guy they think is a top line winger or a guy they project as a #2 center or second pairing dman then take the winger.

[CSharp]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Would be interesting inside the Iginla household and inside the Flames management group.

Will Tij have a worse career in Calgary with all the pressure? Better?
Will that mean the Flames get less of a player than they should?
Is he better off getting selected by say Jersey and forging his own history?

Everyone loses if it's more pressure in Calgary and with that he becomes less of a player.

Will be interesting to watch this play out.

Certainly looks like they will have the draft position to make the call themselves.

I don't think it matters as long as he doesn't turn out like a Bennett in a Flames uniform. Don't rush the player and let him develop properly. If the player can handle pressure, see what he can do and tame the expectations.

[AustinL_NHL]

Tij or nothing.

Preferably one of the big 8-10 with our 1st and Tij with NJ's pick.

Then Iggy era 2.0 finally completed in 2026 with the arrival of Joe, and then the Flames are off.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Number one centre wasn't the term. I said "superstar centre" (and meant the Mackinnons of the league). Someone reduced that to "elite" and now it's "number 1"?

And yes, Reinhart is a centre. But recently he's been playing with Lundell, so who knows now. So leave him out: Is Rob Thomas elite, very good, a superstar or what?

How many superstar #1 are in the league?

MacKinnon
Matthew
McDavid
Crosby

The next batch are top end elite #1 guys. I would have Eichel in that group. Elias Pettersson, Barkov, Point, Hughes, Zibenjad.

The next batch would be players like Barzal and Larkin guys who are good.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

How many superstar #1 are in the league?

MacKinnon
Matthew
McDavid
Crosby

The next batch are top end elite #1 guys. I would have Eichel in that group. Elias Pettersson, Barkov, Point, Hughes, Zibenjad.

The next batch would be players like Barzal and Larkin guys who are good.

Exactly. I get the impression some people expect a center drafted in that 8-12 spot to be an elite center, but after the top 3-5, you are kind of rolling the dice. When I look at past drafts, it stands out to me how many centers picked after the top 5 in the first round are not first line players compared to wingers. Part of it is I suppose a lot of centers from junior switch to the wing in the NHL.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Bonded

I agree but if the choice is between a guy they think is a top line winger or a guy they project as a #2 center or second pairing dman then take the winger.

Yes but I don't think that's the case here.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by AustinL_NHL

Tij or nothing.

Preferably one of the big 8-10 with our 1st and Tij with NJ's pick.

Then Iggy era 2.0 finally completed in 2026 with the arrival of Joe, and then the Flames are off.

When did we get NJ's pick? I don't think NJ will move their 1st this year. I think if a 1st is part of the Markstrom trade if that happens it will be next year's first where the Devils believe they will be a better team. I would love to be wrong though.

[GreenLantern2814]

Calgary will draft Iginla if he’s available unless there’s a glaringly superior player staring them in the face.

But, as I have been saying for several months - Tij looks like a slimmer, faster version of his old man.

His old man was a 1300 point player.

If Tij is even 70 percent as productive as Jarome, that’s still a 900 point career.

How many 900 point players do we think are in this supposedly weak draft?

How many guys are scoring 50 in the Dub at age 17?

I dunno. This is a decision that’s easily overthought, and I don’t believe they will.

[AustinL_NHL]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

When did we get NJ's pick? I don't think NJ will move their 1st this year. I think if a 1st is part of the Markstrom trade if that happens it will be next year's first where the Devils believe they will be a better team. I would love to be wrong though.

In my manifested dreams

[memphusk]

Originally Posted by CSharp

I don't think it matters as long as he doesn't turn out like a Bennett in a Flames uniform. Don't rush the player and let him develop properly. If the player can handle pressure, see what he can do and tame the expectations.

Bennett looked good under Sutter. Darryl might get the worst out of some sad guys but he can unlock machines.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

Calgary will draft Iginla if he’s available unless there’s a glaringly superior player staring them in the face.

But, as I have been saying for several months - Tij looks like a slimmer, faster version of his old man.

His old man was a 1300 point player.

If Tij is even 70 percent as productive as Jarome, that’s still a 900 point career.

How many 900 point players do we think are in this supposedly weak draft?

How many guys are scoring 50 in the Dub at age 17?

I dunno. This is a decision that’s easily overthought, and I don’t believe they will.

70% of the player doesn’t equate to 70% of the points.

[Rutuu]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I didn't see nearly as many Iginla jerseys or fans in the dome in the young guns days as I did post 2004. Fans fill the arena and buy more merchandise for a winner.

A lot of the scenarios core to your arguments have already played out in the WHL this season, where the Hitman passed on Joe Iginla for Noah Kosick, Jiggy being taken by the oil kings instead.

1. Attendance vs wins...the Oil Kings and Hitman have nearly identical records, with Edmonton out drawing Calgary 7404 to 4529.

2. Positional importance- a very small sample set of team BC WHL cup, but Jiggy is a RW and Kosick a C...Jiggy has more points and games played.

3. Legacy - imagine being the player taken instead of iggys kid. Big shoes to fill, especially if you've got an early result similar to Kosick vs Joe Iginla.

So I reiterate...don't overthink it at our draft position. This is an entertainment product, let me be happy wearing an iginla jersey with my son Flames.

Iggy scoring 52g and playing on team canada in 2002 was one of my greatest memories as a flames fan. He sold a lot of his jerseys that year and was one of our bright spots to cheer for during that season.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

70% of the player doesn’t equate to 70% of the points.

No, But 70% as productive does.

The kid is a damn good hockey player. If they have a chance to take him, they should.

So again, I ask. How many 900 point players do we think are in this draft?

Here are all the guys in NHL history within 10 points of 900, plus or minus.

Peter Bondra
Brad Park
Ray Ferraro
Jamie Benn
Tony Amonte
Corey Perry
Scott Stevens
Gary Roberts

How many of those careers are you passing on with a non-top-5 pick?

####, how many of those careers are you passing on with a top-5 pick?

[FlamesAddiction]

The appeal of Iginla to me is just how far he has come in one year. It suggests that he is still improving.

One scouting report I read suggests that his shot and instincts around the net should make him a safe bet as a future 2nd liner. It said that he is still weak in some areas, like board battles and while he tries defensively, he loses his man sometimes. Those weaknesses are not uncommon with offensive minded players in junior, but looking at how much he improved in one year so far, I think he could work on those other aspects. Adding some weight to his frame, which would be expected, would probably help his board battles as well. It's probably not something that another year in junior and a year in the AHL couldn't fix.

[mrdonkey]

I'm really wondering if Tij makes it past Ottawa and Montreal.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

No, But 70% as productive does.

The kid is a damn good hockey player. If they have a chance to take him, they should.

So again, I ask. How many 900 point players do we think are in this draft?

Here are all the guys in NHL history within 10 points of 900, plus or minus.

Peter Bondra
Brad Park
Ray Ferraro
Jamie Benn
Tony Amonte
Corey Perry
Scott Stevens
Gary Roberts

How many of those careers are you passing on with a non-top-5 pick?

####, how many of those careers are you passing on with a top-5 pick?

If it was that certain he was a 900 point player he would be ranked way higher.
Your premise starts with a very strong assumption.