With only four days before the 2024 NHL Draft, there are mock drafts and prospect scouting reports left, right, and center. On the Reseau des Sports’ (RDS) Instagram, Quebec’s prime sports channel, the network quotes its journalist who has been covering junior hockey since 1990; Stephane Leroux.
Here’s a translated version of what he said: In 1995, the Canadiens chose Terry Ryan instead of Jarome Iginla…30 years later, maybe they shouldn’t leave Iginla’s son on the board.” I do not believe they should follow that advice. Drafting Tij Iginla based solely on the fact he’s Iginla’s son would be ill-advised, as bloodlines do not guarantee success.
The Apple Sometimes Falls Far From the Tree
Being raised by a former NHL player doesn’t guarantee success in professional hockey. There are plenty of players who tried to follow in their dad’s footsteps but couldn’t pull it off. Claude Lemieux was a royal pest and a good hockey player back in his heyday, but his son Brendan Lemieux is now 28 years old and on his fifth team. His best season so far was playing 59 games with the New York Rangers and raking in 111 penalty minutes. That season he put up 18 points and had a minus-14 rating at the end of the regular season.
Donald Audette was a pretty successful hockey player, especially when he played with the Buffalo Sabres and he racked up 509 points in the NHL throughout his 735-game career. He had a son named Daniel Audette whom the Montreal Canadiens took a chance drafting in the fifth round. Today he’s 28 years old and plying his trade in Europe. He played in Finland, Russia, Sweden, and Switzerland but never played a single game in the NHL.
Related: Do the Canadiens Need to Draft a Kirby Dach Replacement?
Raymond Bourque’s son Chris Bourque was taken 33rd overall by the Washington Capitals at the 2004 NHL Draft, played a total of 51 games and amassed eight points in the NHL. In the end, he spent most of his career in the American Hockey League (AHL), but also spent significant time in Europe playing in Russia, Switzerland, and Germany.
Other Times it Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree
For every player who played nothing like his dad, you can probably find just as many who went on to find success in the NHL just like their dad. You only have to look as far as Keith Tkachuk whose two sons are dominant players in today’s NHL. Dad Keith played 1,201 games in the league and put up 1,065 points. So far, eldest son Matthew Tkachuk is 26, has played 590 games, and scored 579 points in the process with 636 penalty minutes. Meanwhile, his youngest son Brady is 24 and has already played 440 games in the NHL. He’s also got 349 points and 667 penalty minutes. Safe to say, both sons are well on their way to being remembered in the NHL.
We can also refer to the Golden Jet and the Golden Brett. Bobby and Brett Hull both put up amazing numbers in the NHL. Dad Bobby was a left winger who played 1,063 games in the NHL and put up 1,170 points. Furthermore, he also played in 411 games in the World Hockey Association and gathered 638 points there. As for son Brett, he spent his whole career in the NHL as a right winger, playing 1,269 games and picking up 1,391 points. Father Bobby had a 1.10 points per game (P/G) in the NHL while son Brett had…exactly the same P/G total which is almost scary.
I still don’t really buy that bloodlines have that much to do with making it in the NHL. If it made that much of a difference, we’d have a league full of sons following the path traveled by Dad. I’m not saying the Canadiens should forget about drafting Iginla’s son, but what I am saying is reaching for a positional need was not a good idea (see Kotkaniemi, Jesperi) and I do not believe that reaching for the family name would be either. When it’s about drafting, it comes down to this one thing: taking the best player available when it’s your turn to speak.
The Athletic’s Stan Wheeler has got Iginla at number nine going with the storybook ending of his dad’s team, the Calgary Flames, picking him, TSN’s Craig Button places him at six, NHL.com deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman sees him being picked at 12 and NHL.com senior draft writer Mike G. Morreale has him being picked at number nine, by his dad’s team the Flames, another storybook fan, then. The bottom line is, after Macklin Celebrini, nobody agrees on anything or anyone.
Will the Canadiens pick Iginla? They could, but if they do, a lot more than the fact his father is Hockey Hall of Fame 2021 inductee Iginla will go into the decision. I’m no expert in draft prospects, but with what I’ve heard and read, I believe the Canadiens will end up with Cayden Lindstrom or perhaps Ivan Demidov. We only have four days to wait until we find out if I’m right. Until then, you can take a gander at the THW 2024 Draft Guide.
