Jarome Iginla

Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tij Junior Elvis Iginla (born July 1, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger.

He played his entire minor hockey career in St. Albert, leading the Alberta Midget Hockey League in scoring as a 15-year-old with 87 points for the St. Albert Midget Raiders in 1992–93.

Iginla played three years with the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League (WHL).

As a 16-year-old in 1993–94, he recorded six goals and 29 points in 48 regular season games before playing an additional 19 in the playoffs.

The Blazers captured both the league title and the 1994 Memorial Cup, Canada's national junior championship.

In reference to the Blazers' dominance of the league at the time (they had won their third WHL title in five seasons), Iginla described the expectations of success as being similar to those placed on the Montreal Canadiens, the NHL's most successful franchise: "When you put on a Blazers jersey, it's like putting on the Canadiens'. You've got to perform."

Iginla scored 33 goals and 71 points in 1994–95, his first full WHL season.

He was selected 11th overall by the Dallas Stars in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft but was traded to Calgary before making his NHL debut.

The Blazers repeated as league champions, earning a trip to the 1995 Memorial Cup.

Iginla scored five goals in the tournament to lead the Blazers to a second consecutive national championship.

He received the George Parsons Trophy as the most sportsmanlike player of the tournament.

The Dallas Stars selected Iginla with their first pick, 11th overall, in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft; however, on December 20, 1995, they traded him to the Calgary Flames, along with Corey Millen, for the rights to forward Joe Nieuwendyk, who was then in a contract dispute with the Flames.

In his final season in Kamloops in 1995–96, Iginla finished fourth in the league scoring 136 points, including 63 goals in 63 games played, and was awarded the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the league's most outstanding player.

The Blazers were upset in the Western Conference Final by the Spokane Chiefs, but Iginla still finished fourth in playoff scoring, recording 29 points in 16 games.

He played over 1,500 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, and Los Angeles Kings between 1996 and 2017.

He is widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation.

In junior, Iginla was a member of two Memorial Cup winning teams with the Kamloops Blazers and was named the Western Hockey League (WHL) Player of the Year in 1996.

He was a member of championship teams at the 1996 World Junior and 1997 World Championships as well as the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.

Nicknamed "Iggy", he led the NHL in goals and points in 2001–02, and won the Lester B. Pearson Award as its most valuable player as voted by the players.

He is a three-time Olympian and two-time gold medal winner, including at the 2002 Winter Olympics where he helped lead Canada to its first Olympic hockey championship in 50 years.

In 2003–04, Iginla led the league in goals for the second time and captained the Flames to the Stanley Cup Finals, leading the playoffs in goals.

A six-time NHL All-Star, Iginla is the Flames' all-time leader in goals, points, and games played, and is second in assists to Al MacInnis.

Iginla scored 50 goals in a season on two occasions and is one of seven players in NHL history to score 30 goals in 11 consecutive seasons.

He is one of 20 players in NHL history to score over 600 goals and is one of 34 players to record 1,300 points in his career.

He is a past winner of the Mark Messier Leadership Award and has been recognized by both the Flames and the league for his community work; while a member of the Flames, Iginla donated $2,000 to the children's charity Kidsport for every goal he scored.

His number 12 was retired by the Flames during a pre-game ceremony on March 2, 2019.

Internationally, Iginla has represented Canada on numerous occasions.

Iginla was selected for the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020, during his first year of eligibility.

Iginla is the fourth Black player inducted after Grant Fuhr, women's hockey pioneer Angela James, and Willie O'Ree.

Iginla was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and raised in the adjoining city of St. Albert.

His father, a lawyer, was originally from Nigeria and changed his first name from Adekunle to Elvis when he arrived in Canada.

His surname means "big tree" in Yoruba, his father's native language.

Iginla's mother, Susan Schuchard, is originally from Oregon, and has worked as a massage therapist and music teacher.

Iginla grew up with his mother and grandparents after his parents divorced when he was two years old.

In addition to hockey, Iginla played baseball as a young man and was the catcher on the Canadian national junior team.

Before hockey, baseball was Iginla's favourite sport and his earliest sports memories were of attending amateur baseball tournaments in Western Canada.

He played baseball until he was about 17 years old and later in life told Sports Illustrated that he had hoped to become a two-sport professional athlete like Bo Jackson.

Iginla credits his grandfather for his hockey career, as with his mother working and father attending law school, he would not have had the opportunity to play sports at a high level if not for his grandfather's support.

Iginla grew up admiring other Black hockey players, including Edmonton Oilers goaltender Grant Fuhr.

Emulating Fuhr, Iginla played goaltender in his first two years of organized hockey before switching to the right wing.