Forty-eight hours after being called to the Hockey Hall of Fame, Jarome Iginla thanked Kamloops and the Blazers organization on Radio NL for shaping him for his Hall of Fame career.
“It’s such a great organization and hockey town. The way they help you grow as a hockey player and as a teenager it was truly amazing,” he said.
“To get a chance to play with so many good young players and coaches, I don’t think I could have asked for anything more.”
Iginla is a part-owner of the junior franchise and also thanked his former billet families in Kamloops for taking him in – realizing now what an adjustment that must have been.
“They were so nice to bring me into their homes. Its such a unique experience when you’re 16 and moving away from home and all of a sudden [you find yourself] in a new home,” Iginla said. “And you realize as you get older what an adjustment that must be for the families that bring those kinds in and how important that is.”
Iggy, as he’s nicknamed, Iginla played three seasons in Kamloops from 1993 to 1996, and won two Memorial Cups in 1994 and 1995, before going on to an NHL career where he played 1,554 games while collecting 1,300 points.
He also won two Olympic Gold medals for Canada in 2002 and 2010, along with the IIHF World Championship in 1997, the World Juniors in 1996, and the World Cup of Hockey in 2004.
In 183 games with the Kamloops Blazers, Iginla put up 236 points – 102 goals and 134 assists – and won the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the league’s most outstanding player in his final season, 1995-96.
Iginla and his family live in Boston but they spend their summers in Lake Country. He will turn 43 on Canada Day, and says for now he’s enjoying being at the rink helping to coach his three kids.
Listen to the full interview with Jarome Iginla below:
Jarome Iginla talks about how being a Blazer and playing hockey in #Kamloops shaped his Hall of Fame hockey career. He was on @RadioNLNews today: https://t.co/SZYQH5d9oh pic.twitter.com/Ep4r9lROmy
— Kamloops Blazers (@blazerhockey) June 26, 2020
