Tij Iginla (Jarome’s son!) becomes the 1st ever draft pick of Utah HC

Utah’s first NHL draft pick is trying to follow in Hall of Fame footsteps.

The Utah Hockey Club may not have an official mascot or even a permanent color scheme, but now, it has its first draft pick.

Utah, formerly the Arizona Coyotes, made 17-year-old Kelowna, Canada, forward Tij Iginla — son of Hockey Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla — the sixth pick in the 2024 draft and the first selection in franchise history after it relocated from Tempe ahead of the upcoming season.

The elder Iginla played for 21 seasons, leading the NHL in points once (2002) and goals twice (2002, 2004). The younger Iginla, who comes from the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL, was one of the draft’s top prospects and recently helped lead Canada to a gold medal at the 2024 IHHL U18 World Championships in Finland.

Many expected Iginla — who is believed to be the first second-generation Black player in NHL history — would land with the Calgary Flames, with whom his father played 17 seasons, almost the entirety of his career. However, the Flames chose not to trade up for Iginla despite having the opportunity to do so.

NHL fans were thrilled to see Tij follow in Jarome’s footsteps on Friday night.

How the fans reacted

 

 

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Utah’s NHL team officially now has a name and jerseys ahead of 2024-25 debut

Utah’s NHL team now has its name (and jerseys!) for Year 1 of the franchise.

Utah’s NHL team now officially has a name, jersey and color scheme for its inaugural season.

The franchise announced on Thursday that the team — formerly the Arizona Coyotes — will be called the Utah Hockey Club for the 2024-25 season. Fans will be able to vote on Utah’s final name that will debut for 2025-26 but for now, Utah Hockey Club it is!

Not only did Utah HC announce its name, we also got our first look at their jerseys and branding for the upcoming season, with rock black, mountain blue and salt white the three main colors in use. The rest of the branding is how you’d expect, with Utah’s name in a sans serif font on their jerseys.

It’s basic, to be sure, but serviceable for next season for sure. I’d have liked to have seen purple in Utah HC’s colors but as is, it’s still a nice looking kit to build off of going forward.

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