By Earl Seitz

Iginla remembers his roots, trade to Calgary, and Craig Conroy

Mar 5, 2019 | 3:41 PM

KAMLOOPS — Last weekend Jerome Iginla became the third former Blazers player in less than a month to have his number retired by an NHL team.

Following Scott Niedermayer by Anaheim and Shane Doan in Arizona.

Iginla played three seasons with the Kamloops Blazers before going directly to the NHL and the Calgary Flames in the 1996 playoffs.

He played for five NHL teams in a 21-season NHL career —- over 15 seasons with the Flames.

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While most of the celebration for Jarome Iginla last Saturday night centered around his fifteen-and-a-half seasons with the Calgary Flames, Iginla never forgot his roots.

“I won all the days in minor hockey growing up in St. Albert.” says Iginla.   “Then playing junior in a great hockey place like Kamloops, where I learned and grew so much.”

When he arrived in Kamloops as a 16-year old in the summer of 1993, it was almost like an after thought.   The Blazers held a media conference to introduce mostly their bantam draft picks —- and Jarome Iginla.   Passed on by all teams in the bantam draft — too small said some scouts — and a very good baseball player.   Some thought that would be his path in sports.   He was listed by the Blazers, chose hockey and put on a growth spurt.  But at the time no one really knew who this kid was, or how to pronounce his name.

(Bob Brown, Blazers General Manager)  “Jerome Ingala is probaby the most intelligent player of the group.”

Bob Brown did eventually learn how to say his name, and so did Blazers fans, and they never forgot it.    
Drafted in round one, the 11th pick overall in 1995 by the Dallas Stars, Iginla never played a game with Dallas.
Calgary Flames fans were shocked and angry later that year when the Flames traded fan favourite Joe Nieuwendyk to Dallas for 18 year old Iginla.
Iginla made his debut with  the Flames the following spring in the playoffs — it was the beginning of a love affair between the Flames fans and the player some now refer to as the greatest Flame ever.

A few years later the Flames made another unpopular trade when they gave up scoring leader Cory Stillman to Los Angeles to get checking centre Craig Conroy.

“The Flames just traded our leading goal scorer, points leader to get him.” says Iginla.  ” I just looked behind him — who’s comin’ in the door.   Who else.!” (laughter}

Opinion of the deal shifted considerably as Conroy, a two time Selke winner as top defensive forward in the NHL, established himself as the Flames’ first line center alongside Jarome Iginla.

“As a winger when you play with him he’d be like ‘aw don’t worry about our zone, I got it Iggy.’  says Iginla.  ‘You just take off, I get it, you go.’  ” I thought hey, this is awesome.”

Memorial Cup winner, World Champion, Olympic gold medal winner —- the only thing missing from Iginla’s resume is winning the biggest prize of all —- the Stanley Cup.

“To me, at the end of the day, to me a big part of life is about memories, friendships, challenges and giving your all.  I got to do all that here in Calgary with the Flames, with the fans and my teammates.   I did win — God has been very good to me and my family.   We have been truely blessed.”