Tij Iginla is becoming one of the most exciting prospects

While there are a number of NHL-affiliated prospects who are slowly growing into future stars, one player is starting to close in on becoming a full-time participant in the big leagues.

Kelowna Rockets forward Tij Iginla is having a career year in the Western Hockey League. The Utah Mammoth draft pick might have missed time this year due to injury and playing with Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship, but he has been on fire for the entire junior season. With 41 goals and 89 points in 46 games this season, he sits fifth in the WHL in overall scoring and fourth in goals. The 19-year-old also leads the WHL with an insane 1.93 points per game.

On Friday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Steven Ellis joined Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton to explain why Iginla is becoming one of the standout prospects in junior hockey.

Steven Ellis: The fact he put up those many points, if he played the whole season, 120 points was definitely one of the cards there. I thought he had a really good World Juniors. He was maybe the third-best player in his own line – that was a damn good line with him. Gavin McKenna and Michael Hage. I believe it’s Craig Button who had Tij Iginla aas the No. 1 prospect, right now, in the world. I think it’s hard to disagree. I think just his sheer ability to dominate every single shift, both from a physical and an offensive standpoint.

He brings so much energy to every shift. He’s not going to be a one-to-one of his dad, but he’s going to bring fans to their feet like his dad. You look at Utah, they’ve got some good young guys. They’ve got Dylan Guenther. They’ve got Logan Cooley, Clayton Keller. Tij Iginla could be the team’s first true drafted star player. So, I think this is something where Iginla’s going to be very popular. I love what he brings the table and continues to rise up the ranks…This is one of the most exciting prospects in hockey no question about it.

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…