Mammoth’s Tij Iginla Invited to 2025 NHLPA Rookie Showcase

On Tuesday, the NHLPA announced the roster for the upcoming 2025 NHLPA Rookie Showcase in Arlington, Virginia. The showcase serves as a chance for Upper Deck to take photos and videos of some of the top prospects coming into the NHL for hockey cards and other memorabilia. The event will be held on Sept. 3 at Medstar Capitals Iceplex Arena, which is the practice facility of the Washington Capitals. However, it will be closed to the public.

The Utah Mammoth’s representative for the event this season will be Tij Iginla, who was drafted sixth overall by the team in 2024 and is the son of NHL legend Jarome Iginla. With the Mammoth having a plethora of top prospects in their system, like Dmitriy Simashev, Caleb Desnoyers, Daniil But, and Cole Beaudoin, it provides a spotlight to be shone upon Iginla after an injury-shortened season and a bright future ahead of him.

Iginla Joining an Elite Class of Rookies

Last season, Utah’s representative at the event was Josh Doan, who went on to split the season between the NHL and the American Hockey League before being packaged with Michael Kesselring in the J.J. Peterka trade. Now, it will be Iginla’s turn to spend time with the top rookies in the NHL. Some notable names include Jimmy Snuggerud, Matthew Schaefer, and Ryan Leonard, among others.

Iginla spent some time with the Utah organization prior to the 2024-25 season, appearing in some preseason games and the rookie tournament. However, Iginla was returned to the Western Hockey League’s Kelowna Rockets for his second season with the team, where he had produced 84 points in 2023-24. 

After tallying 32 points in his first 21 games, it was announced that Iginla would undergo hip surgery. While it was initially believed that it would only be one surgery to the right side of his hip, he actually received a second one after going under the knife for the left side of his hip in January. Iginla missed the rest of the 2024-25 season, including the World Juniors.

During his time away, Iginla watched a lot of hockey and was in the weight room a lot, regaining his strength. He finally returned to the ice during the Mammoth’s 2025 development camp, where he looked great after spending nearly half a year not playing hockey. Even though he was skating around, he wore a non-contact jersey and didn’t play in the camp scrimmage. However, he is expected to be ready for the 2025-26 season.