Rexall Place – The pride of St. Albert is walking on sunshine during a glorious Hall of Fame career spanning 19 seasons, 606 goals and 1,262 points in the National Hockey League.
“I’ve been extremely, extremely blessed,” said a grateful Jarome Iginla, reflecting on his longevity of playing 1,454 games with four teams, after the Colorado Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 Saturday.
“Each spot has been fun. Each year has been fun. Even the years you miss the playoffs, it’s still fun. It’s the NHL and it’s a heck of a job and I’ve been very fortunate to get to do it a long time. It’s been awesome.”
The kid from Braeside is one of the NHL’s most respected elder statesmen and the right-winger shows no signs of slowing down with the finish line in the distance.
“Time just goes by. It’s hard to believe. It comes fast. Everyone says it always does, like the older guys I’ve played with, and it does but it’s been a great time and I hope to play for a little bit longer,” said Iginla, who turns 39 on Canada Day.
“When I started you want to make the NHL and then you want to stay in the NHL then you want to earn more ice time and you want to win,” said the former bantam AAA Sabre and midget AAA Raider. “I’ve had a lot of neat experiences and now I’m really enjoying Colorado with the young crew and a young team that’s on the way up with some young superstars.”
Iginla ranks 18th all-time in goals (two behind Dino Ciccarelli and four back of Bobby Hull), 37th all-time in points (five behind Jean Ratelle and 12 back of Al McInnis) and 22nd all-time in games played (three behind Glen Wesley and 20 back of Doug Gilmour).
The 2002 Art Ross Trophy winner as the NHL’s top point producer (96 in 82 games) has recorded 30 or more goals 12 times, 20 or more goals 16 times and registered at least 50 points in 16 seasons.
Iginla was also the recipient of the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL’s leading goal scorer in 2002 (52), and 2004 (co-winner with Rick Nash and Ilya Kovalchuk at 41 apiece).
The Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Lorne Akins and Paul Kane alumnus celebrated his 600th career goal Jan. 4 against the Los Angeles Kings at the Pepsi Centre in Denver and is the 19th player in NHL history to reach the milestone and the first since Teemu Selanne in 2010.
Iginla and the 44-year old Jaromir Jagr (742 goals, 1,845 points in 1,606 games) are the only active NHLers with more than 600 goals.
The Oilers saluted Iginla’s 600-goal accomplishment with a video presentation during the first television timeout in Saturday’s game. Fans saluted the former Calgary Flames’ captain with a rousing ovation as players from both teams banged their sticks against the boards and on the ice in admiration of Iggy.
“It was very nice of the Oilers and the fans. I never really expected that,” said the Colorado assistant captain, who acknowledged the tribute by raising his stick several times while on the ice. “You kind of want to watch it but you feel funny watching just a little bit but I really appreciate it. My mom and my dad and relatives are here and hopefully they enjoyed it. I thought it was pretty neat.”
Iginla’s 89th point in 96 games against the Oilers was a second-period assist on Tyson Barrie’s goal to make it 2-1.
“I’ve always enjoyed coming back here. It’s a great atmosphere and it’s especially fun to play on the weekends here. It gets pretty rowdy,” said the all-time Flames’ franchise leader in goals (525), points (1,095) and games played (1,219). “This has always been one of my favourite places to play because of the rivalry with Calgary but also this is the only place where I got to grow up and watch a few games of the Oilers when I was younger. I also played here when I was younger in minor hockey. It was always fun to get a big game in the Coliseum.”
Iginla was delighted to hear a new rink will be built in St. Albert, but was reluctant to comment that it will be named after him, according to Gazette sources. Construction is to start next year at a location near Servus Credit Union Place.
“That’s great they’re getting another rink. That’s awesome,” said the Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League’s leading scorer (34 goals, 87 points in 36 games) as a second-year bantam in 1992/93.
“My buddy I played with was telling me his son is in peewee and they have three AA peewee teams now. That would be fun. It would be a good rivalry in town.
“My kids play minor hockey now too so that’s pretty cool. Hockey is fun now but it’s tough to beat those years and all the road trips and the hotels and the coaches. I had some great coaches, some were dads and some were just volunteering their time, and I still see and talk to some today,” added the two-time Memorial Cup champion with the Kamloops Blazers and Western Hockey League player of the year in 1996.
“I have nothing but great memories. I used to get to skate at the Braeside rink all the time. I started at seven so I was a little late but the only reason I was able to catch up was power skating in St. Albert and the outdoor rink, just to be able to go there after school every day. I always loved that. Every little community had that so I think that’s pretty special for the kids there and nice that they put the money and time into that stuff.”
Home is where the heart is for Iginla and the three-time Olympian and two-time gold medallist for Canada continues to embrace St. Albert with open arms.
“I really enjoyed growing up there. A lot of my friends still live there. My wife, Kara (they were junior high sweethearts at Lorne Akins), is from there too and we enjoy coming back and have a lot of friends that are still there,” said the gold medallist for Canada with the U18 national team in 1994 and at the 1996 IIHF World Junior Championship, 1997 IIHF World Championship and 2004 World Cup of Hockey.
“I have such great memories. It’s a great place to grow up, from the schooling to the minor hockey, which was a blast. My best friends are still guys I played minor hockey with and minor baseball too. I loved it. They have such good facilities and they’re into their sports and into their music and all the extra curricular stuff. It’s just a really neat community.”
