Calgary Kids - Kadon McCann

It’s not every day a hockey great comes calling.

For NHL Draft prospect Kadon McCann, he was left stunned when Jarome Iginla rang him up for a chat a few years back in recruiting the forward to join the RINK Hockey Academy in Kelowna.

“When Jarome Iginla phones and asks if you want to play on his team, you say yes, - it’s a no brainer,” McCann recalled. “It was like a 30, 40-minute phone call and I was in shock the whole time. I don’t think I said many words because I was in so much shock. He’s a legend, Hockey Hall of Famer, it was unbelievable.

“He's a great person, a leader that I really looked up to. I didn’t take it for granted playing for him. How he treats people is something I won’t forget. He takes the time out of the day to do anything for people; I have so much respect for him.”

While playing under the watchful eye of the Flames legend, McCann saw his game take off not just on the ice, but off it as well.

To this day, the experience was unlike any other and something he credits for shaping him into who he is.

“He opened my eyes and showed me how hard it is to take the next step,” McCann said “His leadership on and off the ice shaped my abilities, going out in the community and helping. I was super happy to play with him. It was a great group up there.

“I think I’m a big 200-foot power forward and model my game after Adam Lowry. I think I’m a pretty good leader to rally the troops and get them going, a good guy on the bench to have and on the ice. I'm always there for my teammates, a big presence in front of the net, not scared to get to the dirty areas.”

It’s been quite the journey to this point for the 18-year-old, who is fresh off ending the 2024-25 campaign in Medicine Hat by winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champs.

The big centre was crucial in their run to the title, playing a checking role and hunting down pucks with his high motor, and took pride in making life difficult for the opposition's top lines.

“It’s something you always dream about,” he said on winning the WHL crown. “Around Christmas time is when we really realized what we had and were like, ‘We’re going to do anything we can to bring this championship back home. We’re going to do this, there’s no other option.’

“The talent we had and that brotherhood we had in that dressing room was pretty special. The city of Medicine Hat has been super great to us, the send off they gave us (headed to the Memorial Cup) meant so much to our group. That was surreal and something we’ll never forget.”

And although the Tigers came up just short winning the Memorial Cup in Rimouski to the London Knights, a lot of memories were made for the group.

“We were in the same hotel as London, we had our own rooms and they had theirs and everyone was playing mini sticks; it was like a kid tournament again,” he recalled. “Flying there was something we weren’t used to, driving to Calgary, getting the send off from Med Hat, hopping on the plane, it was like we were in the big leagues.”

As McCann went through the ebbs and flows of his NHL Draft season, there wasn’t a lack of support in the locker-room with a Tigers squad loaded with future NHL talent.

The goal, first and foremost, was team success - and his team-first style generated plenty of buzz, earning him a final ranking of 116 among North American skaters.

“You always dream of playing in the NHL and getting picked,” he said. “I didn’t focus on it too much on the season, but you see the guys who have gone through it and lean on them. That’s what made our group special."

One of those many teammates that helped McCann just so happens to also be a local kid, picked by the Flames at last year’s NHL Draft in Vegas – Andrew Basha.

“I was super pumped for him,” McCann said on his teammate. “He went through that lower-body injury this year and ended up playing in the finals and Mem Cup. Shows how hard he works and dedication to the team.

“Such a good guy that you can go up to, ask any question and he’s there for you. It was awesome to see him get drafted and he deserves it, he’s a special player.”