TORONTO – Jarome Iginla still hesitates between the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002 and the Vancouver Olympics in 2010 as his favorite Olympic memory.
Iginla relived those memories on Friday after receiving her induction ring in a Hockey Hall of Fame ceremony.
Iginla, Marian Hossa, Kevin Lowe, Kim St-Pierre and Doug Wilson will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Players category and Ken Holland in the Builders category on Monday.
In a career full of memories, Olympic achievements are among Iginla’s most cherished.
Canada won the gold medal in every tournament. He scored four points (three goals, one assist) in six games in 2002 and scored seven points (five goals, two assists) in seven games in 2010.
“The path [it went in] 2010 the way the country was [into] that was as if they were watching and [there was] so much pressure, ”Iginla said on Friday after receiving her Hockey Hall of Fame ring. “I was on the bench, I was literally nervous watching… and go, go, go, and it’s almost your nervous breakdown. It’s all those cool emotions. “
Iginla said he cherished the dream finish for Canada in 2010, winning the gold medal game 3-2 against the United States, and only in part because he assisted on the iconic goal in overtime for Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“Obviously Crosby took it and did a quick shot,” Iginla said. “It wasn’t such a good pass or anything, but that was the point. But the way it ended, there are certain times in my career where that’s what you envision when you are younger, when you dream of what it could be like and that was one of those times when it ends the right way and it ends with so much suspense in Canada, on our soil. is something I will never forget. “
The 44-year-old Edmonton native has 1,300 points (625 goals, 675 assists) in 1,554 NHL games in 20 seasons with the Calgary Flames, Penguins, Boston Bruins, Colorado and the Los Angeles Kings.
He said that one of the things that helped him carve out a career was the leadership skills he learned as a young player in a Canadian roster filled with 2002 Olympics veterans. Canada was looking to wipe out a 50-year race without winning Olympic gold.
At 24, he was in his sixth season in the NHL and competing in his first Olympics with some of his hockey heroes.
“Salt Lake was so special because it was 50 years old and it was such a tough start,” said Iginla, of Canada’s 5-2 loss to Sweden in Game 1. “Honestly, I played with guys that I admired for so long. I was a fan, but I also played as a teammate.”
For the first game, Iginla said he remembers that one of the best lines in Canada was Mario Lemieux, Paul Kariya and Joe Sakic. But the day after the loss to Sweden, the lines were changed and Iginla saw her name on the board in the locker room with Simon Gagné and Sakic, who at 32 was one of the roster’s veterans.
“I think right away, it’s awesome,” said Iginla. “The first day I was with [Brendan] Shanahan and [Steve] Yzerman and now I’m with Sakic. It’s awesome. But then I say to myself: “It’s not really the same for him, with Lemieux and Kariya and now with the two younger ones.
“So he comes right after the reunion and I remember it, and he said,” Nice to play with you two young bucks. We will fly. It’s going to be awesome. “So I wonder if he’s not happy but he just disarmed him, made us feel more confident because you want to play with someone who wants to play with you. It makes you feel better. You’re not trying to live up to anything, so I got to see that, and he continued to have such a good tournament. “
Iginla and Sakic each scored two goals and Sakic had four points in Canada’s 5-2 win over the United States in the gold medal game. Sakic has scored seven points (four goals, three assists) in six games of the tournament.
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