SALT LAKE CITY — “Utah is ticking.”
Gary Bettman’s comments drew boos at the Sphere in Las Vegas, but back in Salt Lake City, fans roared as general manager Bill Armstrong stood up to turn in the team’s first draft pick.
“This is a historic choice,” Bettman said, leaving the choice to team owners Ryan Smith and Ashley Smith, who were also booed. Ryan Smith encouraged some booing, then said, “No booing. We haven’t done anything yet.”
A presumed Coyotes fan yelled back, “You took away our team!”
fair enough.
But when the team made its first pick, the boos turned to cheers.
Tizi Iginla is now a part of history.
The 17-year-old forward from British Columbia was selected sixth overall by Utah in the 2024 NHL Draft, becoming the first player drafted by the Utah Hockey Club.
“It would have been a surreal feeling to have my name called by any team, but it’s also really cool to be the first pick of a franchise,” he said.
But Iginla wasn’t Utah’s only first-round draft pick on Friday. The Utes traded the 38th and 71st picks, plus a 2025 second-round pick, to Colorado for the 24th pick in order to acquire forward Cole Beaudoin.
With these two selections, Utah will add two more promising forwards to a talented group of young players already playing in the NHL and in Utah’s farm system.
Iginla recorded 47 goals and 37 assists in the WHL last season, tying the franchise record for most points in a playoff series with eight goals in a first-round series against the Kelowna Rockets in the 2024 WHL Playoffs.
He’s a dynamic forward who can play on the wing or at center. He has good skate speed and fights hard for the puck. He’s proven to be a creative playmaker and natural goal scorer with a shoot-first mentality.
“My family tends to mature a little later, so hopefully I still have some room to grow height-wise,” Iginla said.
That family happens to include some hockey legends.
His father, Jarome Iginla, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020 after a 20-year career. Jarome Iginla is the Calgary Flames’ all-time leading scorer, but Iginla has one advantage over his father: Jarome was drafted 11th overall in 1995, while Iginla was drafted sixth.
“I get to brag a little bit, but he had a great career and I’ve got to beef up my resume a little bit,” Tizi Iginla said.
Part of that “incredible career” (to say the least) was actually built in Utah.
When asked if he’d ever been to the state, Tizi remembered his father winning a gold medal at the Salt Lake City Olympics, but then he started doing the math.
“2002? I didn’t go then,” he said with a smile, “so I haven’t been there yet.”
But he’s excited about his first visit.
“I think it’s great that the Jazz will be in the same facility and share it with the NBA teams and go to games,” he said, noting his goal is to make it to the NHL by 2025.
Some mock drafts projected him going to Calgary, where his father was a legend, but he’s not sad to get to write his own story.
“It’ll be nice to get away from my dad for a bit and carve out my own path,” he said. “I think it’s going to be great and I’m excited to get started.”
Beaudoin, meanwhile, had 28 goals and 34 assists with the Barrie Colts of the WHL. The big 18-year-old has good offensive instincts and puck skills, but his greatest asset may be his strength.
In an OHL coaches poll, he was named the Eastern Conference’s hardest worker, best penalty killer and second-best defensive forward.
“My game is based on tenacity and a commitment to always give it my all,” Beaudoin told The Athletic in May. “I’m a reliable, 200-foot centerman in the defensive zone who can both draw offense from my teammates and score for myself.”
Like Iginla, Beaudoin is the son of a former NHL player: His father, Eric, was a fourth-round pick by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1998 NHL Draft and played 53 games for the Florida Panthers before playing professionally for the Utah Grizzlies.
“My dad always told me at an early age to work hard, and that’s what I’ve always tried to do on and off the ice,” Cole Beaudoin said. “He definitely supported me.”
