Jarome Iginla hosts minor hockey team practice, talks Calgary Flames

A local hockey hero was in Chestermere Saturday to recognize the community work of a minor hockey team.

Jarome Iginla hosted an afternoon practice for the Bow Valley U-15 Flames, who have been on a volunteering-tear.

The team regularly pitches in at seniors centres and shovels snow, and their hard work was recognized through a contest win. The first edition of the Dr. Oetker Giuseppe 'Practice with a Pro' event brought Iginla to the rink to run the team through some drills.

"It was a lot of fun," Iginla told CTV News. "It's a special group of guys that did a lot of work in their community and (Saturday) we just wanted to have fun, reward them and acknowledge it."

"It's definitely something when you're older it's a good story to tell," player Cohen Lapp added. "And it was awesome."

The reward wasn't just on the ice. The Flames received new, signed jerseys, and won Chestermere a free community pizza party.

ARENA DEAL, COMING HOME

CTV News asked Iginla about the Flames' new arena deal, which has been drawing controversy all week.

The former player -- perhaps predictably -- says he loves the agreement, and believes it'll make Calgary a more attractive place for NHL free agents.

And Number 12 also knows who should be steering the ship when the Flames next take the ice: former teammate Craig Conroy.

"He's a good friend of mine but he's also a good hockey guy," Iginla said. "He's passionate about it and he's passionate about Calgary."

So: we asked if Conroy's captain would eventually be willing to step into a front office role.

Iginla laughed: "one step at a time here, eh?"