It’s been a few days since the draft, and while the Flames picking Carson Carels has got the headlines, another pick is being discussed. Joe Iginla, son of Flames legend Jarome, was selected at 65th overall by the Calgary Flames. This was met with excitement by a large contingent of the C of Red, but there are many doubters.
Many have speculated that his surname elevated his draft position to higher than its natural level. The argument has also been made that his pick by the Flames at 65th overall was down to nepotism, more than actually being justified.
Do the numbers justify the excitement of the Flames fans, or is it more of a case of being excited by the name more than the player?
The nepo-pick argument
Many speculate that he was only acquired at 65th overall because of his family name. Whilst his brother Tij, drafted by Utah in 2024, had elite numbers in his draft year, Joe did not.
In 2025–26, he played for the Edmonton Oil Kings and then the Vancouver Giants. At the former, he registered 21 points from 37 games, and 10 from 22 for the latter. This totals 31 points in 59 games, a modest return. This was, however, an improvement on his 2024–25 season, where he recorded 16 points in 61 games.
Joe’s numbers don’t stand out, even by comparison to those around him. Zachary Lansard was drafted at 68th, and is viewed as a higher-upside offensive player. Zach Olsen, at 73rd overall, produced more offence in the WHL. Beckett Hamilton, 74th, had a stronger statistical profile. Iginla’s numbers are more in line with a fourth or fifth-rounder.
All of this has led many to doubt where Joe’s ceiling is. So it begs the question: why did the Flames draft a “weaker” production player ahead of those who were better, on paper?
There are usually three options when taking into account a legacy player’s draft pick.
- Was he overdrafted because of his last name?
- They are drafted in roughly the correct round.
- The player gets a bump because teams feel comfortable projecting an NHL family name.
Joe almost certainly falls into the third option, and the excitement in Calgary seems to be purely because of his family name. There is, unfortunately, a strong argument that the Flames valued his long-term project more aggressively than his numbers warranted. Had a non-Iginla posted the aforementioned numbers, they wouldn’t be granted the same level of excitement.
A case for the opposition
Joe’s biggest argument in his favour is that he is still young and won’t even turn 18 until August. He has time on his side and is showing a general year-on-year improvement in his numbers. This isn’t something to be overlooked, but he will have a lot of eyes on him when/if he plays for the Wranglers.
Just because he was arguably drafted higher than he should have been, that’s not to say that he’s not a promising young player. He certainly wasn’t undraftable by any stretch.
Scouts noted that he has intelligent defensive play and a strong skating base. Being an Iginla, he naturally has a strong competitive nature, and he’s also been well noted for being coachable.
In many sports, carrying a family last name can also drive you forward. For example, in football (or soccer, as the Americans call it), Erling Haaland is arguably the best forward in the world right now. He is the son of Alf-Inge Haaland, who had a respectable, if understated, career himself in the Premier League. Max Verstappen, son of Jos, has surpassed his father in every aspect of Formula One. Former Flame Matthew Tkachuk, son of Keith, is a two-time Stanley Cup winner.
And finally, for this section, let’s not forget that the Flames will have done their scouting. The players that Craig Conroy has drafted that have made it into the Flames lineup have, generally speaking, done well.
Summary
There is definitely an argument to be had either way.
Joe Iginla certainly wasn’t undraftable by any stretch. He was an NHL Central Scouting-ranked forward who has shown year-on-year improvement and possesses a reasonable toolkit.
On the flip side, however, his stats simply don’t stack up to those in a similar draft position. His numbers were more in line with a fourth-rounder, at best.
The question really is, if his last name wasn’t Iginla, would fans be as excited about him based on his numbers? Whilst it wasn’t necessarily a nepo-pick, his last name certainly seems to have bolstered his profile beyond where it should have been.
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