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SALT LAKE CITY — "Utah is on the clock."
That statement from Gary Bettman drew boos at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Back in Salt Lake City, though, the fans roared as they watched their general manager Bill Armstrong stand up to turn in the team's first-ever draft selection.
"This is a historic pick," Bettman said before giving way to team owners Ryan and Ashley Smith to make the pick. That pair was also booed. Ryan Smith encouraged it a bit before saying "You can't boo us. We haven't done anything yet."
An apparent Coyote fan yelled back: "You took our team!"
Fair enough.
The boos turned to cheers though when that team made its first-ever pick.
Tij Iginla is now part of history.
The 17-year-old forward from British Columbia became the first-ever draft pick by the Utah Hockey Club when Utah took him with the No. 6 pick in the 2024 NHL draft.
"It would have been a surreal feeling to hear my name called by any team, but to be the first pick of a franchise is really cool as well," he said.
Iginla, though, didn't end up being Utah's only first-round pick on Friday. Utah traded its No. 38 and 71 picks, plus a 2025 second-rounder to Colorado for the No. 24 pick to take forward Cole Beaudoin.
The two picks give Utah two more promising forwards to add to an already talented group of youngsters already playing in the NHL or in Utah's farm system.
Iginla had 47 goals and 37 assists last season in the WHL. He scored eight goals during the Kelowna Rockets first-round series in the 2024 WHL Playoffs, tying a franchise record for most in a playoff series.
He's a dynamic forward who can play both on the wing and at center. he has great skating speed and fights hard for the puck. He's shown he's a creative playmaker and natural goal-scorer with a shoot-first mentality.
"My family tends to mature a little later, so hopefully I have some growth in terms of height left," Iginla said.
That family so happens to include a hockey legend.
His father, Jarome, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020 following a 20-year career. Jarome Iginla is the Calgary Flames' all-time franchise leader in goals and points. The younger Iginla, though, has one thing already on his old man: Jarome was taken No. 11 overall in 1995; his son went No. 6.
"A little bit of bragging rights, but he had a good career so I've got to build my resume a little bit," Tij Iginla
Part of that "good career" (to put it lightly) actually came in Utah.
When Tij was asked if he had been to the state, he remembered his father had won an Olympic Gold medal at the Salt Lake City games. But then he started doing the math.
"2002? I wouldn't have been to that one," he said with a grin. "So I guess I haven't been there."
He's excited for his first visit, though.
"I think it'll be cool with the Jazz being in the same facility, share that with the NBA team and go to games," he said before he mentioned his goal was to reach the NHL by 2025.
Several mock drafts predicted he would end up in Calgary where his dad was a legend, but he's not sad to be able to write his own story.
"I think it'll be good for me to carve my own path away from my dad a little bit," he said. "I think it's going to be great and I'm excited to get going."
Beaudoin, meanwhile, recorded 28 goals and 34 assists with the Barrie Colts of the WHL. The large-bodied 18-year-old has good offensive instincts and puck skills, but his biggest strength may be, well, his strength.
In the OHL's coaches poll, he was named the Eastern Conference's hardest worker, top penalty killer and second-best defensive forward.
"My game's about the relentlessness and the go-go-go work ethic," Beaudoin told The Athletic in May. "I'm that up-and-down 200-foot centerman who is reliable in the D-zone but then can create offense from his teammates, for himself, and can score goals."
Like Iginla, Beaudoin is also the son of a former NHL player. His father, Eric, was a fourth-round pick by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1998 NHL draft and appeared in 53 games with the Florida Panthers. Eric even played for the Utah Grizzlies during his pro career.
"He's been telling me since a young age to work hard. That's what I've tried to do in the rink and outside the rink," Cole Beaudoin said. "He's definitely been there for me."
