Calgary Flames 12 days until the season starts: #12 Jarome Iginla
By Ramina Shlah
The season is rapidly approaching and preseason is underway. With 12 days left, let’s look at a former Calgary Flames player with that number.
Since the start of August, we’re counting down the number of days left until the regular season starts up again! Every day until the start of the season, we’ll be talking about a Calgary Flames player whose number correlates with how many days there are left.
Yesterday, we looked at a current player on the Flames roster who’s shaping up to be one of their best in franchise history. That was #13 Johnny Gaudreau.
With 12 days, I’m sure you all know who I’m going to talk about. With 12 days left until the regular season starts, let’s look at #12 Jarome Iginla.
Related Story: 13 days until the season starts - #13 Johnny Gaudreau
Who is Jarome Iginla?
Name: Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla (yes I know all that by memory)
Birthplace: Edmonton, AB, Canada
Position: RW
Shoots: Right
Birthdate: 1977-07-01
Height: 6’1” / 185 cm
Weight: 95 kg / 210 lbs
Drafted by: Dallas Stars, 11th overall 1995
Stats with all NHL teams, regular season:
I just want everyone to know that I am crying the entire time while writing this. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about Jarome Iginla.
Iginla was drafted in 1995 by the Dallas Stars at the 11th overall pick, but he never played a game with him. In December, while he was still playing with his junior team, the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL, he was traded to the Calgary Flames in the trade that sent Joe Nieuwendyk to Dallas.
That season with the Blazers, he put up 63 goals and 136 points in 63 regular season games. In the playoffs, he had 16 goals and 29 points in 16 games. That year in 1996, he also played for Team Canada at the World Juniors. He had five goals and 12 points in six games at the tournament to help Canada win a gold medal. He had the most goals and the most points out of all skaters at the tournament. Iginla was also voted as the best forward in the entire tournament. The Flames knew he was a special guy and he played with them for two games in the playoffs. He had a goal and an assist in those two games. He also became the first 18-year old to play with the team since 1983.
Calgary Flames
The following season, he had a full-time spot with the team. In his first NHL season, he put up 21 goals and 50 points in 82 games. He was a runner-up for the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year. Now, I’m not going to go into every single season individually because we’ll be here all day. So let’s just talk about different accomplishments.
At the end of that season, Iginla at just the young age of 19, played with Team Canada at the World Championship. He had two goals and five points in 11 games at the tournament. Canada won the Gold medal that year.
Iginla continued to improve as the years went on. And then one of the most memorable years of his career came around. 2001-2002.
That year, Iginla had a career high of 52 goals and 96 points in 82 regular season games. Because of this, he won the Rocket Richard Trophy (lead goal scorer), the Art Ross Trophy (lead point scorer), the Ted Lindsay Award (MVP), and he was a runner-up for the Hart Trophy.
But that’s not all. In the middle of the season, if you recall, 2002 had a winter Olympics. Iginla was invited to play for Team Canada. He had three goals and four points in six games at the tournament. Canada won their first gold medal in 50 years.
The next year, Iginla was voted to be on the cover of the EA Sports NHL 03. He became the first black NHL player in history to be on the cover of the EA Sports NHL game. Before the start of the following season, the 2003-04 season, Iginla was named as the 18th captain in Calgary Flames franchise history (14th since the relocation). He became the first black Canadian captain of any NHL team.
Related Story: Jarome Iginla Snubbed from NHL 100 List
In fact, I think his race plays a big part in his NHL career. In a league known as “the white man’s sport”, Iginla strived through seeing representation. He played baseball and hockey as a kid and basically had to choose which one he wanted to go for professionally. And in the 80s, when there were even fewer players of colour in the NHL, kids would come up to him all the time telling him he can’t be successful as a black man in the NHL, and he had representation there for him to help him out.
Via ESPN:
"Kids would say to me there are no black players in the NHL and I would say, “Are you kidding me? Look at Grant Fuhr winning those Stanley Cups.” I want kids, no matter what their nationality or background, to dream big and think it’s possible. Don’t think about race, just go out and follow their dream.I know what it meant to me when I was younger. It meant a lot for me to see other black players in the NHL and think it is possible for me to play in the league. I think if kids want to be NHL players, no matter what their background is, they should have that opportunity."
By the way, look at this photo of Iginla and Grant Fuhr on the same team, years after the fact that he was looking up to him.
Name a more iconic trio. I’ll wait.
That season, the Flames went to the playoffs since 1996. And this was known as somewhat of their “Cinderella Story” season. We all know how this story goes… but the Calgary Flames had their Cup stolen, I mean they lost in game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sorry, autocorrect. This was the furthest they made it since they won the cup in 1989.
That year, Iginla won the Rocket Richard trophy again with 41 goals, he won the King Clancy Trophy, and he was a runner-up again for the Hart.
Let’s fast-forward a little bi because we could be here all day. Iggy went on to play in the World Cup of Hockey in 2004 (Canada won), and he went on to two more Olympics. In 2006 and 2010. In 2006, Canada finished in seventh. But 2010 was definitely one to remember. He had five goals and seven points in seven games at the tournament. He had the most goals of all skaters.
But the most important assist of them all came in the infamous Gold Medal game against Team USA in overtime. Who is known as the “Golden Boy” is Sidney Crosby, for getting the gold medal game-winning goal in overtime. But who gave him the assist? It was none other than Jarome Iginla!
Then the tragic time of 2013 came. The Calgary Flames were in a rebuild and Iginla wasn’t getting any younger. He was a Stanley Cup away from being part of the Triple Gold Club. So he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Looks like the weather in Calgary was -12 degrees for the rest of the season.
The following year, he played with the Boston Bruins. And the first time he came back and played against Calgary was an emotional one.
Then he played with the Colorado Avalanche and finished last season off with the Los Angeles Kings. Iginla still remains unsigned as the season quickly approaches and I don’t think I’m emotionally prepared for what could potentially happen (him retiring).
In every NHL player in history, Iginla is currently 34th in points (third among active players) and he’s 15th in goals (second among active players).
Next: Should Iginla Be Back in a Flames Jersey?
He may be number 12 on the ice, but Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla, you will always be number 1 in my heart.