Some things never change for Calgary’s Iginla

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2007

By Lucas Aykroyd

The Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks must feel like they’re playing each other all the time this season. That’s close to the truth, considering they’d already met five times by early January. But that sort of thing doesn’t concern Jarome Iginla.

The 29-year-old Calgary captain is producing in all situations, regardless of opponents, and is on pace to crack the 100-point mark for the first time ever. So even when his team’s British Columbia rival pits shut-down defenseman Willie Mitchell against him instead of his usual nemesis, Mattias Ohlund, Iginla isn’t taken aback: “In the past I was always up against Ohlund, but there are still some similarities. Mitchell is a very solid guy, and he plays physical in the corners and in front of the net. I see a lot of him on my wing.”

Iginla slimmed down to 92 kilograms in the off-season, and his reduced weight has improved his quickness, enabling him to zoom past all sorts of opposing defensemen. The winner of the 2002 Art Ross Trophy and the 2002 and 2004 Rocket Richard Trophies could be up for some more hardware. After posting solid seasons of 67, 73, and 67 points respectively, this powerful right winger has taken another step forward in the post-lockout NHL.

“I just go into the games wanting to score every night,” said Iginla. “I want to get points, and I’m out there on the power play trying to make something happen. This year, I’ve played mostly with Alex Tanguay and Daymond Langkow, and I’ve enjoyed it. They’re skilled guys. ‘Langs’ works extremely hard and with ‘Tangs,’ you just try to get him the puck and get open. We’ve had good chemistry. Hopefully we all have career seasons.”

The downside for Calgary’s gritty roster has been its failure to perform on the road. It’s bewildering when you consider that the Flames won ten straight games on home ice at the Saddledome from November 7 to December 12. Iginla makes no excuses: “We haven’t been good emotionally and physically on a consistent basis on the road this year, compared to our play at home. That’s our fault, especially with the veterans. To get some momentum, we have to start playing better than ever. We don’t look at it as if we’ve had bad luck. We just haven’t been good.”

During the rough times, Iginla can revitalize his spirits with fond memories of his participation in the IIHF World Junior Championships. His last appearance at the tournament came in 1996, as he topped the scoring race with 12 points and was named MVP in Canada’s gold medal victory. Interestingly, he enjoyed a successful partnership there in Boston with none other than Daymond Langkow.

Iginla wasn’t surprised when Germany, newly promoted from Division I, opened this year’s World Juniors with wins over the USA and Slovakia: “Compared to when I played, I don’t think it’s changed in terms of the potential for upsets. I remember in the past how the Swiss were on the rise. In our game against them in 1996, we only beat them 2-1. Germany’s been coming on for a while. We’ve seen them at the Olympics, and they have good players in the NHL. Overall, it’s fair to say that teams like that are improving as the years go by. That’s great. It makes the World Juniors more fun to watch and surely more fun to play in.”

Life would truly be fun for Jarome Iginla if he could lead the Flames back to the Stanley Cup finals and achieve a different result from 2004, where his club lost Game Seven to the Tampa Bay Lightning. And it’s not wise to bet against the man who scored two goals for the victorious Canadians against the USA in the 2002 Olympic final.