F Tij Iginla - Kelowna Rockets, WHL (2024 NHL Draft)

[McMozesmadness]

Tij has been great for Canada through two games. I’d put him right up there with McKenna and Mortone in terms of early impact

He leads Canada in shots with 11, second in the tournament overall. He’s had countless grade A looks. He can create for himself and play off teammates equally well

Adding to that, he’s an absolute puck hound out there. A menace for the other teams D. He looks stronger than everyone else. Really owns the ice when he’s out there. This Canada team has looked great so far and Tij has been a big part of it

 

[Riggins]

Calling Iginla out for 3 pts in 2 games in the U-18 is pretty funny. He looked really good in the last game against Czechia, I didn't watch the Sweden game but it seems he didn't do much. Could be jet lag, he was the last guy added to the team. They also played the two stronger teams in their pool already. No Norways, Latvias or Kazakhstans on the schedule yet.

Iginla is a major riser this year and one of the younger players in the draft. I'm sure who his dad is will play a small part for NHL teams, but it obviously does get him more attention amongst fans. It's pretty easy to see why he will be picked top 10. He's going to go ahead of Catton despite the gaudy numbers, Catton's scrawny frame will scare teams off.

 

[ZYXWVUT]

I don’t see how the flames pass on him at 9, assuming they don’t move up via the lottery. Because he is kinda justifying being right in the mix around there even without the connection.

 

[Hale The Villain]

Did I miss a Team Canada game or something? Because I could have sworn Iginla had 2 goals and almost a dozen scoring chances in the last game of theirs.

Weird time to criticize him, especially on something as trivial as production through only 2 games.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Game 1 Iginla had literally just flown across the Atlantic Ocean after a tough CHL playoff series. Game 2 Iginla was one of if not the best player on the ice.

Really, really don’t get this criticism here. Tij is incredible and I would rank him top-10 no matter what his name was. It’s true that there people who don’t watch prospects all that closely that assume he’s just a clone of his father (when that’s certainly not the case) but a lot of folks actually have seen him play and have differing opinions. I hate how every prospect evaluation disagreement turns into “durr hurr you haven’t watched him play”. It’s possible for two people to draw different conclusions from the same games.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Gonna declare him 1st overall after he puts up 5 points on a weak Swiss team.

 

[FLAMESFAN]

He sucks. No way Mont/Sea/Ott/Ari should take him

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

Game 1 Iginla had literally just flown across the Atlantic Ocean after a tough CHL playoff series. Game 2 Iginla was one of if not the best player on the ice.

Really, really don’t get this criticism here. Tij is incredible and I would rank him top-10 no matter what his name was. It’s true that there people who don’t watch prospects all that closely that assume he’s just a clone of his father (when that’s certainly not the case) but a lot of folks actually have seen him play and have differing opinions. I hate how every prospect evaluation disagreement turns into “durr hurr you haven’t watched him play”. It’s possible for two people to draw different conclusions from the same games.

McKenna, Martone and Iginla were the 3 standouts.

 

[wetcoast]

Can we not talk about what’s happening during the tournament? We’re talking about a level playing field. He’s played the same amount of games as the other players.

Slow start.

He also flew over late so let's not get too excited about a 2 game sample size and scoring stats.

Also draft picks are more about skill sets and projections for NHL style if play than stats and while stats do matter it's more longer term trends than smaller samples that matter more.

I also don't think that he is a sure fire top 10 pick more like top 15 range.

 

[McMozesmadness]

NHL release on display today

The entire team took the 1st off but they’re destroying the Swiss after 2

Tij has shown great chemistry with Jett Luchenko

 

[McMozesmadness]

I hate how every prospect evaluation disagreement turns into “durr hurr you haven’t watched him play”.

Gate keeping when it comes to prospects is my biggest scouting pet peeve by far

These prospects are more accessible than they ever have been. It’s not hard to watch them

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Gonna declare him 1st overall after he puts up 5 points on a weak Swiss team.

One point.

 

[Castle8130]

One point.

Tij had a goal and has looked great. Why don’t you give it to Greentree for only having 1 assist so far? He was ranked high on Mckenzies list and is the obvious outlier so far.

I’m American and a huge fan of the USNTDP kids, but I take no bias in player evaluation. Stiga, Connelly, and Esierman all look good, but it’s not bold at all to like Tij better than all of them. All four are very talented

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Tij had a goal and has looked great. Why don’t you give it to Greentree for only having 1 assist so far? He was ranked high on Mckenzies list and is the obvious outlier so far.

I’m American and a huge fan of the USNTDP kids, but I take no bias in player evaluation. Stiga, Connelly, and Esierman all look good, but it’s not bold at all to like Tij better than all of them. All four are very talented

Greentree also is hurting his stock this tournament.

Iginla is getting outplayed badly by 2025 and 2026 draft eligibles on his own team. There's a reason he's on the second line and they're on the first.

When you compare him to other potential top 10-15 picks at this tournament like Helenius, Connelly, Eiserman, I think he's been the worst so far of them.

 

[McMozesmadness]

Greentree also is hurting his stock this tournament.

Iginla is getting outplayed badly by 2025 and 2026 draft eligibles on his own team. There's a reason he's on the second line and they're on the first.

When you compare him to other potential top 10-15 picks at this tournament like Helenius, Connelly, Eiserman, I think he's been the worst so far of them.

This is a silly argument. Martone is two months younger than Tij and a more advanced prospect. Higher calibre prospect overall. And McKenna is a generational talent. Tij has been the most impactful Canadian player outside of those two. He’s been very good. As for Connelly, Eiserman and Helenius they’ve played Norway, Latvia and a brutal Slovak team. I like all three, but that’s not really murderers row

Tij is a better prospect in my mind, beyond this two week tournament. He has so much more room for growth compared to the others. He’s already good, but still quite raw

Don’t base your rankings off U18 production

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

This is a silly argument. Martone is two months younger than Tij and a more advanced prospect. Higher calibre prospect overall. And McKenna is a generational talent. Tij has been the most impactful Canadian player outside of those two. He’s been very good. As for Connelly, Eiserman and Helenius they’ve played Norway, Latvia and a brutal Slovak team. I like all three, but that’s not really murderers row up

Tij is a better prospect in my mind, beyond this two week tournament. He has so much more room for growth compared to the others. He’s already good, but still quite raw

Don’t base your rankings off U18 production

What about McQueen? I know he’s now done, but I thought he was also better through two games. Luchanko is another I think has done arguably as well as Iginla. If we want to go by points, Spence leads him with 5 to 4.

 

[scoutman1]

Greentree also is hurting his stock this tournament.

Iginla is getting outplayed badly by 2025 and 2026 draft eligibles on his own team. There's a reason he's on the second line and they're on the first.

When you compare him to other potential top 10-15 picks at this tournament like Helenius, Connelly, Eiserman, I think he's been the worst so far of them.

watched the games and Iginla is playing very well.

 

[McMozesmadness]

What about McQueen? I know he’s now done, but I thought he was also better through two games. Luchanko is another I think has done arguably as well as Iginla. If we want to go by points, Spence leads him with 5 to 4.

McQueen has barely played. Got ejected from game one midway through the second for a high hit, then got hurt early in game two. I like him a lot, but it’s not fair to include him

You mentioned Luchenko, that’s a good call. He’s been impressive. Probably the biggest riser for me so far, based on my personal opinions/rankings

If I was ranking the Canadian forwards in terms of impact so far:

McKenna
Martone
…
Iginla
Luchenko
Spence
…
Beaudoin
Josephson
Ritchie
…
Wetsch
Masse
Vanacker
Greentree
Desnoyers

Hard to rank. Nobody’s really been outwardly bad. Even that bottom group has had plenty of positives. As for D I’d put Mews just below Spence, but in that tier. Clear best D so far. Nobody else on the backend has really blown me away. Although, I’d say Gill has taken a big step in my personal ranking. Similar to Luchenko

 

[Castle8130]

Greentree also is hurting his stock this tournament.

Iginla is getting outplayed badly by 2025 and 2026 draft eligibles on his own team. There's a reason he's on the second line and they're on the first.

When you compare him to other potential top 10-15 picks at this tournament like Helenius, Connelly, Eiserman, I think he's been the worst so far of them.

Can’t argue with Martone and Mckenna looking better. Both absolute beauties. Helenius is another really good player id maybe take over Iggy too. Connelly and Esierman have some pretty glaring issues. Not a huge fan of either. I’ve said my part about Eiserman in his thread already and im not going to reiterate it. Connelly is a different animal completely. He has the kent johnson/Trevor zegras style and we havent seen either of those two excel in the NHL yet. They are good point producers, but they haven’t developed a complete game yet

 

[bert]

If he’s a potential top 10 pick, shouldn’t he be doing better than tied 14th best in scoring at the U18’s?

I know it’s only two games, but he should be dominating this tournament if he’s as good as some think he is. There might not be another top 10 pick in 2024 at this tournament.

Lol exactly...