Freshman Superstar

I've been pretty lucky to have seen some incredible players lace up the skates at the Female World Sport School Challenge over the years. I've mentioned the likes of Aerin Frankel, Jule Schiefer, Kennesha Miswaggon, Lauren Warkentin, and Kayla Friesen as players who have excelled at various levels after playing at the annual tournament, we may have to add another name to the list despite it being somewhat premature to do so as Jade Iginla, pictured with the Rink Kelowna team above at the 2022 Female World Sport School Challenge, is making a name for herself in the NCAA with Brown University in her first year with her on-ice abilities. Yes, the last name is very familiar to hockey fans, but Jade is writing her own story this season with her skills!

Before we get into why Jade Iginla will likely suit up for the Canadian National Team at various levels throughout her ongoing career, I need to make it clear that this has nothing to do with her last name and everything to do with her own skill set. Yes, she's the daughter of Jarome Iginla who had his own incredible hockey career, but the path that Jade chose is her own to walk. People will associate her skills to her dad's talents as if shooting accuracy is a genetic trait, but let me be transparently clear: Jade Iginla is good because she put in the time, the effort, and the repetitions at practice, at home, and in games to be as good as she is.

I have to say this because people will look at what she's doing at Brown University as a freshman with the Bears women's hockey program and just assume that she's good because of who her dad is. Dismiss that thought immediately, though, as you read the next few paragraphs because Jade's freshman season should have people clamouring to see her play the game for a once-prominent women's hockey program.

Iginla scored three goals tonight in a 4-1 victory over the RPI Engineers to push her season total to 14 tallies. That's ten goals better than anyone else on her team, and it accounts for 36.8% of the goals scored by Brown this year. Her 73 shots is the highest total on the team, and her shooting percentage of 19.2% is the highest on the team. She's tied for the lead in power-play goals, and she's the only Brown player to have recoreded a shorthanded goal - she has two shorties this season.

The 2022 U18 Women's World Championship gold medalist was named to the Hockey Commissioners Association Rookie of the Year watch list yesterday alongside 27 other women, but it's hard to argue that any of those freshmen players have had the same impact on their teams as Iginla has. While Brown doesn't get the same national attention as Wisconsin, Minnesota, Quinnipiac, Boston University, or Ohio State, Brown likely won't be the top-scoring rookie in the NCAA this season, but she should garner a number of votes thanks to her contributions in a rebuilding Brown Bears program. I may be biased, but I'd likely be voting for her if I had a ballot.

It's hard to believe, when you look at all she's accomplished, that hockey wasn't her main focus until she was named to her high school's varsity team as an eighth-grader. Iginla was far more focused on softball than hockey at the time, and an elbow injury in softball allowed her to rediscover the passion she had for the game.

"It's a known thing that the longer you are away from hockey the more you miss it," she told Marty Klinkenberg of The Globe & Mail in November. "After that I had a lot of gratitude and dedicated myself. I definitely have come a long way."

Watching her play with Rink Kelowna last season was an absolute treat for me as she showed off her incredible speed and skill at the 2022 Female World Sport School Challenge. She has incredible acceleration when she's skating and her shot is deceptively quick which makes her dangerous almost anywhere in the ice. She uses her 5'7" frame well to shield the puck from defenders who manage to stick with her, and her tenacity combined with that speed makes her a nightmare on the forecheck. It was hard not to picture her in Canadian red last season, but this season only confirms that she's destined to be a household name for Canadians for years to come.

What does dad think about Jade's progress?

"When she started I wanted her to be more aggressive," Jarome told Klinkenberg. "She was a good player but she was nice. Since she turned 16 she has gotten much more aggressive and her compete level has gone up. She is much more assertive."

2022 U18 Canadian head coach Howie Draper had a much more frank assessment of Jade's skills, saying, "She plays a gritty game. She likes handling the puck. She likes having it on her stick. She does good things with it. She plays the game like a hound dog."

"She was all over the ice", Draper continued. "She was playing the game at a very high tempo, playing a tough game, the kind of game that I think any hockey coach would really value. When she came into camp, she brought the same thing. I think that spoke not only to her skill set, but also to her ability and inner confidence to bring it at the next level when it's best on best and show that she can do it there too. So you pair that confidence with that kind of ability, good things are gonna happen."

Jade will likely tell you she still has lots to learn as she navigates the NCAA hockey schedule, but she's also doing some learning in the classroom. Attending an Ivy League school is nothing to scoff at, and her marks coming out of high school had to reflect the belief the hockey program had in her. Since arriving in Providence, Rhode Island, she's been enrolled in Brown's Open Curriculum as she figures out what path she wants to take with her education, but it's pretty clear she's taking her academic career as seriously as her hockey career with her enrollment at Brown University. She has lots of time to decide what she's wants to do, but attending a prestigious university like Brown is never a bad thing.

She's clearly impressed coaches throughout her career with her skill and demeanour as well.

"She is the most level-headed young lady that I think I've had the opportunity to work with," Draper said. "There's no tremendous highs and no tremendous lows, emotionally. She's just always there."

Iginla's also turned her skills into a way to make a little money while skating for Brown as she signed a name, image, and likeness deal with BioSteel, resulting in Iginla starring in one of the BioSteel commercials shown on air during this NHL season!
That well-spoken model for the next generation of athletes at the end of the commercial is the aforementioned Jade Iginla, and she could be a very marketable star for women's hockey moving forward. Perhaps she'll follow Jennifer Botterill and Cheryl Pounder in moving into broadcasting when she's done playing? Honestly, Iginla's options for whatever she wants to do may be limitless.

For now, she's Brown's leading goal-scorer and leading scorer. There will be national teams and accolades to come for someone as richly talented as Jade Iginla is, but she's a freshman hockey player at Brown University as she figures out her next steps. She's the daughter of Jarome and Kara, the sister of Tij and Joe, a 2022 U18 World Champion, and a 2022 CSSHL champion. Her last name doesn't have to define her and it shouldn't carry expectations.

Jade, flashing her smile, joked with Klinkenberg in November, "There was a stretch where my dad could beat us all single-handedly. Now he is probably the worst player among us."

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!