Iginlas are used to the international spotlight.
Jarome, the longtime Calgary Flames favourite, has a handful of gold medals in his collection – including an Olympic one from 2010 in Vancouver.
It is his daughter, however, that is now stealing the show for the Under-18 women’s national team in the 2022 worlds in Wisconsin.
Jade Iginla returned from injury on June 10 to battle in the quarterfinals against Slovakia, a decisive 7-0 victory for the Canadians, though it was in the semifinal on June 12 that the 17-year-old really made her first mark on the international stage.
With the score tied at zero against Finland late in the first period, Iginla circled the opposing net with the puck before reaching the top of the far circle, sending a wrister past the Finnish goaltender to open the scoring.
It proved to be crucial to Canada advancing – Finland tied it up in the second period, though Canada put it away for a 2-1 win midway through the third.
Iginla was expected to miss the entire tournament after suffering an upper-body injury in the team’s final pre-tournament game against the United States.
“It feels great,” Iginla told Canadian Press. “I feel like we worked through our adversity and we’re all here now as a group to get a shot at the gold medal.”
Outside of the international stage, Iginla skates alongside defenseman Brooke Disher for Rink Hockey Academy in Kelowna. Disher has worn the ‘C’ for Canada throughout the tournament.
“It’s awesome to see your teammates from home have such success,” Iginla said about sharing the ice with Disher. “To come into this together and work through, it’s awesome to have the two of them.”
Canada will play the United States, who bested Sweden in their quarterfinal, Monday at 4:30p.m. Pacific.
READ MORE: Lake Country skaters joining Team Canada
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Jake.courtepatte@kelownacapnews.com
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