The City of St. Albert rolls out the red carpet today to honour hometown hero Jarome Iginla.
The Olympic gold medallist will be acknowledged during a special ceremony at Seven Hills from 1 to 3 p.m. If the weather is unseasonable, the event will be moved to Servus Credit Union Place.
The program, hosted by Adam Cook of CTV, includes the singing of O Canada by members of the Iginla family and a formal presentation by Mayor Nolan Crouse to Iginla, who played his minor hockey and baseball in St. Albert. An autograph session for youths under 18 years of age starts at 2 p.m. One autograph per youth is the maximum.
Today’s celebration of excellence is another example of the city recognizing the Olympic athletes from St. Albert who competed at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.
Iginla, 33, led all scorers at the Olympics with five goals in seven games. His seventh point of the tournament was the memorable assist on Sidney Crosby’s golden goal as Canada beat the United States in the final 3-2 in overtime. The gold medal was Iginla’s second in three Olympic appearances.
The Calgary Flames’ captain and all-star right-winger has enjoyed a hall of fame career as the franchise leader in games played (1,024), goals (441) and points (920) in 13 NHL seasons.
Some of his major accomplishments are:
• Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL’s leading goal scorer in 2002 (52) and 2004 (shared with Rick Nash and Ilya Kovalchuk at 41 apiece).
• Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s top point producer in 2002 (96 in 82 games).
• Lester B. Pearson Trophy as the NHL’s most outstanding player in 2002, as voted on by the members of the NHL players’ association.
• King Clancy Award in 2004, which goes to the NHL player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice.
• Messier Leadership Award in 2009, which recognizes an individual as a superior leader within their sport and as a contributing member of society.
• Won gold with Canada at the 1996 World Junior Championship and the 1997 World Championship
• Won two Memorial Cups with the Kamloops Blazers in 1994 and 1995.
• Western Hockey League’s player of the year in 1996.
The fourth annual Edmonton Oil Kings Preseason Invitational gets under way today at Performance Arena.
At 3 p.m. the Prince George Cougars play the Medicine Hat Tigers, followed by the 7 p.m. game between the Oil Kings and Swift Current Broncos.
Sunday’s schedule starts with the Broncos against the Cougars at 3 p.m. and ends with Oil Kings versus the Tigers at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $10 per day (admission to both the 3 and 7 p.m. games), with no assigned seating. They are available at Ticketmaster or at the door.
