Schaefer, other top prospects enjoy ‘pretty cool’ NHLPA Rookie Showcase

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Tij Iginla looked down at the Utah Mammoth logo on his jersey and couldn’t help smiling.

The 19-year-old forward was wearing the jersey for the first time at the NHLPA Rookie Showcase at MedStar Capitals Iceplex on Wednesday after Utah selected Mammoth as its permanent brand identity on May 7.

“It’s got a fierce logo,” Iginla said. “I think it’s one of the coolest ones in the League, so super cool to be wearing it for the first time.”

Iginla was among 31 NHL prospects at the Rookie Showcase, where players were photographed for their first Upper Deck trading cards and participated in video shoots on the ice for EA Sports and other promotional materials for the upcoming season and beyond.

For the players who collected hockey cards when they were younger -- and some who still do -- it was a milestone moment to know they will soon be on a card of their own wearing their NHL uniforms.

“It's pretty cool,” said defenseman Matthew Schaefer, who was selected by the New York Islanders with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. “Me and my buddies would always trade cards and do all that stuff. I mean, I know a lot of guys were really into it. I was definitely into it, and I'd trade. But it's pretty cool to see you on a first card. I mean, so surreal.

“And you know, you would never think that maybe one day you'd be there, when you're a young kid, and then it becomes real.”

Being on a hockey card or having your likeness in EA Sports’ NHL video game are only tangential parts of the dream of playing in the NHL, but ones many of the players at the rookie showcase appreciated. Iginla, the son of Hockey Hall of Fame forward Jarome Iginla, said he played, “a little bit of ‘Chel’ (EA Sports NHL game), for sure,” and had some hockey cards but wasn’t a big collector when he was younger.

“My dad had a collection of his (cards) over the years,” Iginla said. “I collected a couple. I’m more into autographs than cards.”

Still, being on his own card and part of the NHL 26 video game had significance to Iginla, the No. 6 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

“Super cool,” he said. “That stuff is timeless, right?”

Iginla was the first player drafted by Utah, which played its inaugural season in 2024-25 as the Utah Hockey Club before choosing the Mammoth brand identity at the end of a 13-month process that included four rounds of fan surveys. Wearing the Mammoth’s black-based home jersey with the franchise’s primary logo, called the “Mountain Mammoth,” on the chest and light blue and white striping, Iginla wondered what it would be like to wear it in his NHL debut.

After recovering from surgery on both of his hips last season, he’s healthy and heading into training camp with the goal of that first NHL game coming this season.

“I hope it’s soon,” he said. “Great jersey. Can’t wait to wear it.”

Capitals forward Ryan Leonard agreed the Mammoth jersey is “pretty cool,” and enjoyed seeing the other teams’ jerseys as well while interacting with his fellow rookies on and off the ice Wednesday.

“It was pretty fun,” Leonard said. “We were just talking about it, just being out there and seeing all the different jerseys, seeing the colors pop, it was pretty cool.”

Although Leonard, who was the No. 8 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, wasn’t a card collector when he was growing up, being on a card had meaning to him, too.

“Yesterday we did a couple things, and we opened packs, and just seeing my card from last year it just puts a new and different perspective that it’s kind of here now,” said Leonard, who played nine regular-season games and eight Stanley Cup Playoff games with Washington last season after turning pro at the end of his sophomore year at Boston College. “It’s a lot different than growing up and you’re collecting or seeing people’s cards. But now you’re kind of a part of it, which is really cool and honoring.”

Nashville Predators rookie forward Matthew Wood still collects hockey cards and looks forward to maybe finding his in a pack eventually.

“I loved hockey cards growing up and it was an exciting experience,” said Wood, the No. 15 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft who played six games for the Predators at the end of last season following the completion of his junior year at the University of Minnesota. “I took one of the boxes that was here and I’m going to save it for Christmas. I just love opening cards.”

San Jose Sharks rookie defenseman Sam Dickinson said he and his brother would keep “booklets of cards” they collected. He was also excited about his likeness being captured for EA Sports.

“That one's pretty cool,” said Dickinson, the No. 11 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. “Hopefully, my face looks good in it.”

NHL.com Deputy Managing Editor Adam Kimelman contributed to this report