Mammoth prospect Iginla healthy ahead of 2025-26 campaign
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Utah Mammoth prospect Tij Iginla told reporters on Wednesday that he is fully healthy after having surgery on both hips last season.
The 19-year-old forward only appeared in 21 games with the Western Hockey League's Kelowna Rockets last season before undergoing surgery in December.
Iginla was the Mammoth's first-ever draft pick, sixth overall, in 2024 after the team relocated from Arizona after recording 47 goals and 84 points in 64 games with the Rockets during the 2023-24 campaign.
He registered 14 goals and 32 points in 21 games before the injury.
The 6-foot-5 forward will make a push to make the Mammoth squad this season but if he doesn't, he will be expected to be a huge factor for a Rockets squad that is hosting the Memorial Cup in 2026.
"Just through the summer, [I was] just keeping getting stronger, more powerful, all that stuff from a weight-room side of things," Iginla told NHL.com in July. "I keep honing my skills on the ice and then just go into camp as read as I can and try to give myself the best chance that I can to make the team."
Utah finished sixth in the Central Division with a 38-31-13 record and were seven points behind the St. Louis Blues for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference last season.
Kelowna finished last in the WHL last season with an 18-44-6 record last season while missing Iginla for most of the season.