Utah signs 1st draft pick Tij Iginla to entry-level deal

The Utah Hockey Club signed forward Tij Iginla to a three-year, entry-level deal, the team announced Thursday.

His contract carries a cap hit of $975,000 with an additional $1 million in performance bonuses, per PuckPedia.

The first pick in Utah's history, Iginla was selected sixth overall at the 2024 NHL Draft in June.

Iginla posted 47 goals and 84 points in 64 games as a member of the WHL's Kelowna Rockets this past season.

He also starred at the World U18 Championship in the spring, totaling six tallies and six assists while helping Canada capture its first gold medal at the event since 2021.

Utah general manager Bill Armstrong is a fan of Iginla's knack for finding the back of the net.

"I said to him, 'We have a lot of 20-goal scorers. We need a 50-goal scorer,'" the executive recounted, according to NHL.com's Matthew Komma. "He's got a chance to kind of push the pace and score some goals for us. I love his mindset."

Iginla spent the 2022-23 campaign with the Seattle Thunderbirds, where he was teammates with current Utah forward Dylan Guenther.

The 17-year-old is the son of Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla. Tij was drafted higher than his father, who was selected 11th overall by the Dallas Stars in 1995.

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