 2001 JAROME IGINLA AUTOGRAPHED AUTO CARD RC CGY FLAMES US $19.99 
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 Calgary Flames Jarome Iginla signed 8x10 photo US $29.99
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 JAROME IGINLA SIGNED CALGARY FLAMES CARD NICE US $12.99
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 JAROME IGINLA JERSEY EXCELLENT CARD US $10.00
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 Jarome Iginla Team Canada / Calgary Flames signed 8x10 photo US $34.99
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 Jarome Iginla signed Flames Heritage Classic F/S stick US $149.99
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 2006-07 Be A Player Signatures #JI Jarome Iginla Calgary Flames US $28.95
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 JAROME IGINLA SIGNED TEAM CANADA PRO GOLD MEDAL JERSEY US $599.00
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 Jarome Iginla Autographed Photo, 100% Authentic! Calgary Flames Superstar!!!! US $.99
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 Jarome Iginla Signed Team Canada Jersey Flames COA US $199.99
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 Jarome Iginla Calgary Flames Signed Hockey Puck AUTO US $65.00
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 JAROME IGINLA Signed CALGARY FLAMES 11X14 PHOTO - JSA G41188 US $119.95
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 JAROME IGINLA SIGNED CALGARY FLAMES 8X10 PHOTO THROWBACK US $39.99
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 Calgary Flames JAROME IGINLA Signed Red RBK Jersey US $255.00
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 Jarome Iginla SIGNED Calgary Flames 8X10 Photo -70507 US $67.15
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 Jarome Iginla SIGNED Calgary Flames 8X10 Photo -70506 "500th goal" US $84.15
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 JAROME IGINLA SIGNED Calgary 16X20 Photo - "500th Goal" US $127.49
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 JAROME IGINLA SIGNED Calgary 16X20 Photo US $84.99
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 CALGARY FLAMES JAROME IGINLA SIGNED AUTO 8X10 PHOTO US $36.00
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 JAROME IGINLA Signed Calgary Flames Puck US $67.15
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 Jarome Iginla Signed Dallas Stars Puck PSA COA Flames US $49.99
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 JAROME IGINLA CUSTOM FRAMED SIGNED FLAMES LOGO POSTER AND CARD DISPLAY COA US $69.95
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 Jarome Iginla Calgary Flames 8x10 AUTOGRAPH PHOTO US $24.99
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 JAROME IGINLA Signed CALGARY FLAMES NHL 8X10 PHOTO COA US $49.95
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 Jarome Iginla Signed 1995 Classic 5 Sport Kamloops US $14.99
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 Jarome IGINLA Signed 2010 Olympics 8x10 Photo CANADA #2 US $69.99
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 Jarome Iginla Calgary Flames Signed NHL Puck w/ COA US $40.00
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 JAROME IGINLA Signed CALGARY FLAMES 8x10 Photo US $24.99
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 Jarome Iginla Calgary Flame Signed Stick w/Proof US $99.99
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 JAROME IGINLA signed large ZENITH card FRAMED AUTOGRAPH US $58.99
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 Jarome IGINLA signed DON RUSS photo CANDID picAUTOGRAPH US $54.99
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 jarome iginla CALGARY FLAMES signed PSA/DNA 11x14 US $59.96
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 Jarome Iginla signed 2004 All-Star puck w/COA Flames US $35.00
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 JAROME IGINLA AUTO/SIGNED UD 8x10 PORTRAITS GAME USED STICK + MINI UD JERSEY US $149.99
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 Jarome Iginla SIGNED Flames 8X10 Photo -70115 US $63.75
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 Jarome Iginla signed card AUTOGRAPH Calgary Flames US $9.00
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 Calgary Flames JAROME IGINLA Signed White Reebok Jersey US $255.00
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 JAROME IGINLA signed TEAM CANADA HOCKEY card US $14.99
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 JAROME IGINLA signed CALGARY FLAMES HOCKEY card US $9.99
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 JAROME IGINLA signed hockey puck Stanley Cup Playoffs CALGRAY FLAMES autographed US $27.95
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 JAROME IGINLA 2007-08 UD SP AUTHENTIC SIGN OF THE TIMES AUTOGRAPH FLAMES MINT US $19.53
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 JAROME IGINLA 2002-03 STADIUM CLUB LONE STAR SIGNATURES BLUE AUTO FLAMES MINT US $19.53
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 JAROME IGINLA SIGNED CCM VECTOR 03 SKATE DPI SPORTS COA US $229.99
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 Jarome Iginla SIGNED Calgary Flames 8X10 Photo -70417 US $63.75
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 Jarome Iginla SIGNED Calgary Flames 2011 HERITAGE CLASSIC 8X10 Photo - 70157 US $76.50
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 Jarome Iginla SIGNED Calgary Flames 2011 HERITAGE CLASSIC 8X10 Photo - 70194 US $76.50
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 JAROME IGINLA SIGNED AUTOGRAPHED PSA DNA 2002T AUTO US $19.95
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 CALGARY FLAMES JAROME IGINLA SIGNED 8X10 US $19.99
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 Jarome Iginla Signed Calgary Flames Hockey Card US $5.00
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 Calgary Flames Jarome Iginla TEAM SIGNED 8x10 Photo COA US $14.99
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 JAROME IGINLA AUTOGRAPHED CALGARY JERSEY COA/HOLOGRAM US $349.00
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 Calgary Flames JAROME IGINLA Signed 8x10 US $19.99
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 THIS AUCTION IS FOR 2 RED PARALLEL ZÉNITH CARDS OF JAROME IGINLA FOR THE FLAMES US $15.00
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 Jarome Iginla Signed 8x10 Photo Calgary Flames PROOF US $39.99
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 Autographed Jarome Iginla Calgary Flames Jersey (red) US $636.19
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 Autographed Jarome Iginla Calgary Flames Jersey (white) US $636.19
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 JAROME IGINLA Signed CALGARY FLAMES 8x10 Photo COA US $44.99
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 JAROME IGINLA Signed Hockey Stick CALGARY FLAMES w/COA US $119.99
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 Jarome Iginla Signed 8x10 Photo w/COA Flames US $33.99
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 Jarome Iginla SIGNED 1997-98 UD Card JSA BECKETT SLAB US $33.25
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 Jarome Iginla Flames Signed Framed 11x17 Photo Display JSA US $63.99
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 JAROME IGINLA Signed CALGARY FLAMES PUCK w/COA US $49.95
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 JAROME IGINLA (Calgary Flames) signed Official Game Puck w/PSA COA US $59.95
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 JAROME IGINLA SIGNED 11X14 FIGHT PHOTO CALGARY FLAMES CANADA STAR US $24.99
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 JAROME IGINLA Signed CALGARY FLAMES CCM JERSEY w/COA US $299.95
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 Jarome Iginla Calgary Flames Autographed 8x10 US $87.11
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 Jarome Iginla SIGNED Flames 8X10 Photo -70280 US $63.75
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 Jarome Iginla SIGNED Flames 8X10 Photo -70340 US $51.00
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 JAROME IGINLA SIGNED 8x10 PHOTO PROOF COA AUTOGRAPHED CALGARY FLAMES US $44.99
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 02-03 IMPRESSIONS JAROME IGINLA AUTO FRAMED PHOTO PRINT US $60.00
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 Original 8"X10" Photo Team Canada's Jarome Iginla scoring vs Team USA US $7.99
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 JAROME IGINLA AUTO/SIGNED FALMES UD SOTT W/ GAME USED STICK MATTED FIGHT PHOTO US $129.99
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 Jarome Iginla Signed 8x10 Collage PSA/DNA Flames NHL #2 US $99.99
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 Jarome Iginla Signed 8x10 Collage PSA/DNA Flames NHL #1 US $99.99
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 JAROME IGINLA SIGNED Canada 2010 Olympic 8X10 Photo US $76.49
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 JAROME IGINLA SIGNED 2010 Olympic GOLD 8X10 Photo US $76.49
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Jarome Iginla
Jarome Iginla Hat Trick vs Kings 11/21/2009
I Dream of Hockey
I lived the same dream…the dream of working in the National Hockey League. As a young eleven-year-old girl, I fell in love with hockey the moment I saw Bobby Orr fly through the air after scoring the winning goal to capture the Stanley Cup for Boston in 1970. At that dramatic moment, I wanted to work in the higher echelon of hockey. I wanted to coach the Boston Bruins, be a public relations director, or take over Dave Hodge’s broadcasting job on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Hockey Night in Canada.
Over the years, I devoured everything I could find on hockey, clipped the daily statistics from the newspaper, while keeping files on every player from professional, junior to minor leagues. I watched Hockey Night in Canada religiously, listened to whatever radio broadcasts I could find, and trekked to as many minor hockey rinks in Edmonton as I could on any given week.
Like many youngsters growing up in Canada, I was consumed by hockey. I never wanted to actually play the game, but it’s all I ever thought about. Ten and even twenty years later, if you would have shaken me out of a deep sleep and quickly asked me what I wanted to do with my life, I would have shouted – work in the NHL.
It’s the common theme I discovered with everyone involved in the game. Whether it was a player, media scribe or administrator, everyone had the same dream. For Canadian players, it began as early as five and six years old – the time they began to play organized hockey.
In my hometown of Edmonton, there was an outdoor hockey rink on every street corner. If it didn’t hold an organized hockey game, the rink was used for unplanned pick-up games. Neighborhood kids and adults trekked to the rink with a stick in hand and their skates thrown over the shoulder. Stepping onto the ice, they’d meet up with friends and strangers, and as long as somebody remembered to bring a puck, there would be a scrimmage. No matter where you stood outside during Edmonton’s urban winters, you could hear the distant sounds of skates, sticks and pucks.
Hundreds of thousands of kids enroll in minor hockey throughout Canada every year. Many of them dream about playing in the NHL. Of those who made it, former minor league player and NHL star right wing Jarome Iginla, fondly remembers:
“It’s the most fun that hockey can be. You get up early for the 8:00 AM games and you can’t sleep the night before. In St. Albert, we had an outdoor rink in every neighborhood. My friends and I used to go there after school, skipping supper sometimes and staying out until after the lights were turned out. While we were practicing and working really hard, we were still having fun. Those are some of my best memories…just being amongst your peers, learning what you could do or couldn’t do and what you could get away with. It gave me a lot of confidence. Some of my best friends today are the guys I played minor hockey with. By the time I got to age 15, it was the time I had to decide if I was going to go away from home to take a more serious approach to hockey.”
Only a limited few get to have their NHL dream become a reality. For the players who do make it, most of them live on the bubble. That means at any given moment, they can be traded or sent down to the minor leagues, regardless of their personal commitment or skill level. This is a part of the game few ever get to see: what happens to players when transactions are made? What happens behind the dream?
The fan’s perception is somewhat limited to what they see during the two to three hours of a game or in the headlines of the media. Back in 1997, I sat down one-on-one with Trevor Kidd, who at the time, was 25 and played goal with Calgary. It’s true the local media had labeled him years prior and he recognized that. When I asked him what the biggest misconception was about him, he replied it was that he was cocky or that he didn’t want to talk to the media. In reality, he was shy. He had a difficult time adjusting to the attention and all the other aspects of the game. I spoke with him after he was traded to Carolina and he was much more relaxed. The media attention was far less and he wasn’t under a continuous microscope.
None of us can know what goes on in the mind of a player. Who knows if that particular day, he just learned his wife has cancer, or that he is playing with a severe muscle pull, has a headache or just learned his best friend has died?
People don’t see the sacrifice of time and family commitments, the physical sacrifices, how much of the day is involved in dry-land training or the fact that players are fresh meat for the taking, of which there’s no better example than the NHL Entry Draft or a trade.
And what about the guy who lives on the bubble? Imagine what it’s like for him to be sent up and down from the minors two or three times and get traded in the same year. How does that affect his family?
Few players will ever complain publicly because they realize how blessed they are to be living their childhood dreams. And yes, the money does compensate for it.
It’s when their playing career ends that they truly realize just how great the dream really was. Some players have a difficult time adjusting to retirement. All they ever knew since they were five and six years old was hockey, and it may have been the only job they ever had. Unless they are lucky enough to transcend into coaching, management, or the media, it’s a difficult process to discover who they are and what they want to do with the rest of their lives. How do you find another job that can even compare to playing out your childhood fantasy?
Everyone who lives the dream will tell you it didn’t come about without hard work and sacrifice. I’m fortunate to be able to identify with some of these individuals and use their stories as encouragement for others to follow their own dreams, regardless of what that might be. Perhaps the strongest message is that these athletes never gave up trying. That sends a signal to you and me that anyone can live their dream if they want it bad enough. Just never give up.
About the Author
Debbie Elicksen is a sports writer and Canada’s Publishing Expert, providing publishing support to self-publishers throughout North America. Her bestselling book, Self-Publishing 101 (Self-Counsel Press), is available in bookstores and Amazon. She also covers the National Hockey League and National Lacrosse League.
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