Jarome Iginla

Infobox Ice Hockey Player
position = Right Wing
shoots = Right
height_ft = 6
height_in = 2
weight_lb = 204
team = Calgary Flames
league = NHL
nationality = CAN
birth_date = birth date and age|1977|7|1
birth_place = Edmonton, Alberta| career_start = 1996
draft = 11th overall
draft_year = 1995
draft_team = Dallas Stars

---

image_size = 200px

Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla [cite news |last = LaPointe |first = Joe |title = Iginla's dream season heads into overtime |publisher = New York Times |date = 2002-06-18 |url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B00E4DA1F3CF93BA25755C0A9649C8B63 |accessdate = 2007-10-20] (born July 1, 1977, in Edmonton, Alberta), is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and team captain for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League. A first round draft pick of the Dallas Stars in 1995, Iginla was later traded to Calgary, and has played his entire professional career with the Flames. He is the Flames all-time leader in goals scored and games played. Iginla was named the Flames captain at the start of the 2003–04 season, the first black captain in NHL history. [cite web |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?id=1633595 |title=Iginla becomes first black captain in NHL history |accessdate=2008-04-17 |date=2003-10-08 |work=ESPN]

As a junior, Iginla was a member of two Memorial Cup winning teams as Canadian major-junior champions, and was named the Western Hockey League's Player of the Year in 1996. Iginla has led the NHL in goals twice, and has scored 50 goals in a season twice. In 2002, Iginla helped Team Canada win its first gold medal at the Winter Olympics in 50 years. Iginla also won the Lester B. Pearson Award as the league's Most Valuable Player as voted by the players, and finished second in voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy. In 2004, Iginla led the Flames to the Stanley Cup Finals, leading the league in playoff scoring.

Early life

His surname "Iginla" means "Big tree" in Yorùbá, his father's native language. His parents separated when he was a baby, and he was raised by his mother and grandparents in the Edmonton suburb of St. Albert. Jarome has a half-brother, Tyler, and a half-sister, Theresa, who was a standout forward for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies before being asked to leave the team due to off-ice issues during the 2007-2008 season. [ [http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/sports/story.html?id=1dc83fdd-c6ed-49d8-9ba2-ecae97cd718b Hockey Huskies playoff bound ] ] The youngster's first love was baseball (he was the catcher on the Canadian National Junior team), but also starred in the St. Albert Minor Hockey Association before graduating to juniors. He played goaltender in his first two years of organized hockey, then switched to the right wing, and developed a knack for scoring. Iginla played his entire minor hockey career in St. Albert, which included stints with the Bantam AAA Sabres and the Midget AAA Raiders. It was during the 1992-93 season with the Raiders that Iginla, then an under-age midget player, scored 87 points to lead the Alberta Midget AAA Hockey league (AMHL) in scoring. Following the 1992-93 season with the Raiders, Iginla joined the Kamloops Blazers as a 16 year old.

Iginla played 3 seasons in the Western Hockey League and won two Memorial Cups with the Kamloops Blazers.

NHL career

Iginla was picked in the first round (11th overall) by the Dallas Stars in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, but was traded shortly thereafter with Corey Millen to the Calgary Flames for Joe Nieuwendyk. Arguably, Iginla's best season was 2001-02 when he registered 52 goals and 96 points (he went on to better this total in 2007-08 with 50 goals and 98 points), becoming the first player of African descent in history to win the regular season goal and point scoring titles. He also won the Lester B. Pearson Award as the league's best player as voted by his peers, and was a nominee for both the Hart Memorial Trophy (narrowly beaten by then-Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jose Theodore) and the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. That same year, Iginla was also a key member of Team Canada's Olympic gold medal-winning hockey team in 2002. This season elevated him to superstar status and he became a fan favourite.

At the start of the 2003-04 season, Iginla was named Calgary's team captain, making him the second player of African descent to be named captain of an NHL team (Dirk Graham of the Chicago Blackhawks was the first). That season, he scored 41 goals, sharing the goal-scoring title with Ilya Kovalchuk and Rick Nash, picking up the second Rocket Richard Trophy of his career. Entering the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the sixth seed, Iginla led the Flames to their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 15 years. In a 3-0 victory in game three, he recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick by tallying a goal and an assist, as well as fightning Tampa Bay's Vincent Lecavalier. However, the Flames eventually lost to the Lightning in seven games. Iginla finished the playoffs first in goal scoring, with 13, and third in points, with 22.

In 2006, Iginla played for Team Canada as an alternate captain in the Winter Olympics. However, Canada suffered an early exit in the quarter-finals to Russia. On December 7, 2006 Iginla made a milestone mark in his career where he scored his 300th career goal and 600th career point. He would have been chosen to play in the 2007 NHL All-Star Game in Dallas along with teammates Dion Phaneuf and Miikka Kiprusoff, however his knee injury kept him from playing. The following season, he was voted to the starting line-up of the 2008 NHL All-Star Game, along with Dion Phaneuf, and was named captain of the Western All-Star Team.

On March 1, 2008, he scored two goals against the Phoenix Coyotes to tie Theoren Fleury's franchise goal-scoring record. He later scored a goal on March 10 in a game against the St. Louis Blues to become the Flames' all-time leading goal scorer. On the last game of the 2007-08 season, an away game against divisional rival, the Vancouver Canucks, the Flames won 7-1. This was speculated to be the last game of Canucks star Trevor Linden's career. When it was over, the classy Flames captain Iginla and defenceman Robyn Regehr led a procession of Calgary players to centre ice to shake Linden's hand. Showcasing each other's mutual respect, Linden declared afterwards that Iginla was "probably the best player in the game." [citeweb|title=Jarome Iginla scores 50th goal|url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/2008-04-06-1997566167_x.htm|publisher=USA Today|accessdate=2008-07-06|date=2008-04-06] On April 29, 2008, Iginla was announced as a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy along with Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin. [cite news |title = Iginla, Malkin, Ovechkin named Hart Trophy finalists |publisher = NHL.com |date = 2008-04-29 |url = http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=361987 |accessdate = 2008-05-01]

Iginla is known as an elite power forward. He possesses a fine set of hands with an impressive skill set, and has also proven skillful in setting up his linemates for chances. He has garnered in the past a reputation of someone who may require a playmaking centre to truly dominate, but he has established himself as the Flames' undeniable leader. He can use power or finesse to work his way around defenders and has one of the league's most powerful wrist shots. He is not afraid to compete in high-traffic areas. He often plays with a mean streak and is a proven leader, having helped lead Calgary within one win of a Stanley Cup victory in 2004.

Off the ice

Since becoming a proven NHL star, Iginla has entered into several endorsement contracts with various companies. [http://www.canada.com/components/printstory/printstory4.aspx?id=becb9b0f-ec9a-42b0-a327-0fbc07c14c46] One of his most prominent corporate relationships is with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Iginla also supports many charities, including Cure for Cancer and KidSport. In 2004 he was awarded the NHL Foundation Award for Community Service as well as the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in recognition of his humanitarian contributions. He also helps out children who are less fortunate by providing them with toys and clothes.

He is also known for an appreciation of his fans which is virtually unparalleled in professional sports. An example of this came during 2002 when Jarome was in Salt Lake City for the Winter Olympic Games. While having dinner with his family, he was told that there were four Calgarians sitting next to their table. Jarome went over and talked with the group and asked where they were staying. The four men told him they were sleeping in their car outside of the hotel. Iginla excused himself from the conversation and came back 15 minutes later and told them he had booked accommodations for the four at the same hotel his family was staying in and also took care of their tab. [ [http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Columnists/Francis/2007/11/30/4697730-sun.html Eric Francis, CANOE SLAM! Sports "Iggy's Salt of the Earth"] ] [ [http://www.answers.com/topic/jarome-iginla-1 Answers.com Jarome Iginla Biography] ]

Awards

Major Junior

Career statistics

International play

Played for Canada in:

*1996 World Junior Championships (gold medal)
*1997 World Championships (gold medal)
*2002 Winter Olympics (gold medal)
*2004 World Cup of Hockey (gold medal)
*2006 Winter Olympics

ee also

*Power forward (ice hockey)
*List of NHL seasons
*List of NHL players
*List of black NHL players

References

External links

*hockeydb|14470
*nhlprofile|8462042
* [http://live.orato.com/sports/2008/06/05/jarome-iginla-chasing-win Exclusive interview with Jarome Iginla June 4, 2008]

Navboxes|list1=