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Jarome Iginla Arena ceremony good to go Aug. 25

Akinsdale Arena will be renamed in honour of the future Hockey Hall of Famer from St. Albert in a ceremony Aug. 25.
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IGINLA HONOURED – Akinsdale Arena will be renamed Jarome Iginla Arena during a ceremony Aug. 25 as the City of St. Albert honours its hometown hero. Iginla will also have his No. 12 jersey retired by the Calgary Flames prior to Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Wild at the Saddledome. The two-time Olympic gold medallist announced his retirement on July 30, 2018, after 20 seasons in the NHL. His first year of eligibility for the Hockey of Hall of Fame is 2020.

Akinsdale Arena will be renamed in honour of the future Hockey Hall of Famer from St. Albert in a ceremony Aug. 25.

Jarome Iginla Arena will be christened with the two-time Olympic gold medallist in attendance with family, friends and fans of the retired National Hockey League star.

“It’s very appropriate that Jarome has something named after him where his roots were and especially in an arena that he spent so much time playing in,” said Coun. Jacquie Hansen.

Her motion on Sept. 17 that council support the renaming of Akinsdale Arena to Jarome Iginla Arena and it occurs with the timelines for the capital refurbishment of the arena and up to $35,000 be committed from the stabilization fund to support the initiative was passed unanimously in one sitting.

“It means a great deal to me that we're doing this,” Hansen said. “What I have learned through this process is people don’t care at all that he played for the Calgary Flames, they are just so proud he is our boy. He is our guy. You know, Mark Messier was our guy and so was Troy Murray. We have to hold on strong to the people who have made these contributions and this is a big hockey town.”

Iginla, 41, announced his retirement on July 30, 2018, after a storied 20 seasons and 1,554 regular-season games as a right-winger with the Calgary Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings.

Iginla’s last game was with the Kings on April 9, 2017, and he recorded one assist for the 1,300th point (625 goals, 675 points) of his career in the 4-3-overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks.

Iginla’s first year of eligibility for the Hockey Hall of Fame is 2020.

The Flames are retiring Iginla’s No. 12 jersey prior to Saturday’s 8 p.m. game against the Minnesota Wild at the Saddledome.

“His retirement might be in Calgary, but his roots are here and we need to celebrate that,” said Hansen of the St. Albert minor hockey product who played his last season in Akinsdale Arena with the 1992-93 St. Albert Eagle Raiders as the second-year bantam led the Alberta Midget AAA Hockey League in scoring (34-53-87 in 36 games).

Iginla also spent his summers playing baseball with the St. Albert Cardinals.

The feedback from Iginla is typical of his profound greatness on and off the ice.

“He is very, very humbled for this honour. He’s not saying too much. He’s got a lot of humility in him,” Hansen said. “He is a very, very nice man. He comes from a great family and people who contribute a lot to our city.”

Jarome Iginla Arena is another example of the city’s pro-active approach of naming parks, roads and buildings after noteworthy individuals or organizations that reflect the city’s heritage.

Established in 2014, St. Albert’s Municipal Naming Policy includes a Significant Name List to assist with the process of recognizing those who helped make the city what it is today.

“That’s not a public document, but I can say it’s a pretty rich document with a lot of pretty awesome people in our city,” Hansen said. “Whenever we’re building something, we’re thinking about how we can honour people who have made contributions and actually a big part of the culture of this city is ensuring that we don’t forget who are our founders are and who our contributors are and these are the people that make St. Albert what it is. Pretty soon we’re going to be thinking about naming the park and ride infrastructure that’s up and running and that’s probably going to be a tough decision because we’ve got a few incredible people in the community,” Hansen said. “The most important thing that we can do is honour the legacy of important people and Jarome is definitely one of those people.”

Hansen, who describes herself as hockey mom with four kids and has logged lots of hours inside Akinsdale Arena, described the rebranding process “as an exciting project” that has been ongoing since the motion was passed in September as the ceremonial details continue to be finalized.

“We are working with Jarome and his family to ensure that we get it right and it’s going to be a day of celebration. I believe the ice is going to be in so there might be some free skating that day. There might also be some activities outside because it’s still August,” Hansen said.

“There is a little bit of repair and maintenance that was actually due to happen to Akinsdale anyway and that is going to happen in 2019 and 2020 so we’re going to try and get as much of that done as we can before August.

“We’ve also dedicated in the motion $35,000 to ways of finding it (with signage) so coming up St. Albert Trail you will see Jarome Iginla Arena and you will know which way to go, so all of that is in the works.”

The Aug. 25 tribute that will be bestowed upon the Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Lorne Akins and Paul Kane alumnus promises to be a day to remember.

“I know Jarome’s excited about it and I hope the sun shines and we’re able to get people that are important to him out to celebrate,” Hansen said. “It’s going to be a great day.”

Jersey ceremony

Saturday’s jersey retirement ceremony starts at 6:30 p.m. The Flames will be wearing commemorative Jarome Iginla jerseys during warm-ups and a few will be auctioned off on the Saddledome concourse throughout the game against the Wild. The remainder of the jerseys will be up for auction online.

The 18th captain in franchise history compiled 525 goals as one of 21 players in NHL history to score 500-plus goals with a single franchise, 570 assists and 1,095 points in 1,219 games in 16 seasons with the Flames while establishing himself as one of the premier power forwards of his generation.

Iginla is the Flames’ all-time career leader in games played, goals, points, even-strength goals (351), power-play goals (161) and game-winning-goals (83).

The 2002 Art Ross Trophy winner as the NHL’s top point producer with 96 in 82 games is also a two-time recipient of the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the NHL’s leading goal scorer.

The three-time NHL First All-Star Team selection (2002, 2008, 2009) reached the 30-goal mark 11 times while surpassing 40 goals four times and 50 goals twice.

In 2004, Iginla led the Flames to game seven of the Stanley Cup final in his first year as team captain and posted 22 points in 26 games while leading all playoff scorers in goals with 13.

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