Can 2025 NHL Draft’s Jack Ivankovic become the future of Canadian goaltending?

Steven Ellis
Steven Ellis
Jack Ivankovic (Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff)
Credit: Jack Ivankovic (Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff)

EDMONTON – One big save. And then another.

One of the most defining moments of Canada’s 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup run in Edmonton was an outstanding second-period sequence against Sweden in the final game of the preliminary round. Canada was holding a 1-0 lead against a Swedish team that was pressuring Canada all period long, but those two big stops might have helped secure the victory and an easier route to the final.

“He’s oustanding, we wouldn’t want anyone else,” said Canadian forward and OHL rival Brady Martin. “He’s definitely the best goalie in the country, if not the world at our age group.”

After three fantastic starts and three big wins, Ivankovic and Canada are off to the gold medal game on Saturday against Czechia. Ivankovic has been the top goaltender in the tournament, boasting a .973 save percentage, 0.67 goals against average, and a shutout against Switzerland. His record internationally is quite impressive, too, having won gold at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge last fall with a handful of other Hlinka players, such as Matthew Schaefer, Emile Guite, and Cameron Schmidt.

None of this is surprising if you’ve followed Ivankovic’s career. After making his mark with the GTHL’s Mississauga Senators, and serving as the Ontario’s 2022 Canadian Winter Games squad – which they won – Ivankovic was selected seventh overall by the Mississauga Steelheads (now in Brampton). The Steelheads already had a top young goalie in the system in Buffalo Sabres prospect Ryerson Leenders, but Ivankovic was being hailed as one of the best young keepers to come out of the OHL Draft in quite some time.

“He’s special,” one scout said leading up to the draft. “He’s going to be a superstar, the future of Canada’s goaltending.”

So far, so good. Ivankovic instantly made an impact as one of the top young goaltenders in the OHL. He registered a 14-5-4 record with a .915 save percentage – the best in the league. Leenders was second in that category, but Ivankovic’s numbers at his age were incredible.

Having a good goalie partner to lean on helps, too.

“Ryerson’s a great goalie,” Ivankovic said. “He’s one of my close friends on the team too. It was pretty cool being able to play that much in my rookie season, and being on a great team that gave me that opportunity to show what I can do.”

Goaltenders are hard to project, but there’s so much to love about his game. Ivankovic is incredibly athletic, moving as well as any goalie scouts have seen in recent years. Ivankovic’s reaction time is unbelievable, and he’s got an outstanding glove hand. Ivankovic’s ability to anticipate plays so quickly makes it hard to beat him, even for skilled forwards. Technically, he’s as close to perfect as it gets, and his positioning is tremendous and he never gives up on a play.

“I could be biased, but I think he’s one of the best goalies that I’ve ever played against,” said Schaefer, Canada’s captain. “It’s awesome going up against him because it makes you better, and having him on our side is great.”

So, what’s the catch? Why are more people not talking about someone who has almost no flaws from a style perspective?

Well, unfortunately, he’s small. And that will matter at the next level.

How much? There’s a real argument that he could be one of the few goaltenders to make it work, but it’s still tough to tell. The Steelheads’ website lists him at 5-foot-11, with talks about him being a bit bigger now. Still, The reality is, it’s hard to be a smaller goalie in the NHL. Juuse Saros was the only true No. 1 goaltender 6-foot or smaller, and Dustin Wolf – the two-time AHL goaltender of the year – struggled with his angles in his short NHL stint. Coaches, scouts, and general managers need to see some truly heroic efforts to feel confident in taking a smaller goalie in the draft, even if the skill is evident.

Fortunately, Ivankovic’s father, Frank, is 6-foot-5. He’s a former goaltender himself, having been drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995. So we’ll see if that ends up being his future. If he grows even 2-3 inches, it’ll be hard to ignore him as a first-round talent.

“I’m not the biggest guy right now, but I still have some growing to do to help me fight through pucks,” Ivankovic said. “I learned that pretty fast.”

So, if he can laterally improve, there won’t be much to knock about his game. Hoping a goaltender will grow quite a bit is asking a lot, though. The good news is it likely won’t impact his ability to be a top goaltender in the OHL next year. But teams might be willing to pass on his potential based on his size alone. It’s one thing to dominate against your own age group. It’s another when you’re dealing with the McDavid’s and the Matthews’ of the world.

That’s not for Ivankovic to worry about right now. Instead, it’s about being the best goaltender he possibly can be. And if he ends up getting drafted early, it’ll be proof of his hard work. Right now, the two most prominent goaltending prospects for 2025 are Ivankovic and fellow Canadian and 6-foot-4 monster Joshua Ravensbergen. Most scouts will point to Ravensbergen having the edge due to his frame, while admitting that the raw, natural talent favors the Steelheads goalkeeper.

Together, they’re being tagged as the future of Canadian goaltending in an era where getting quality talent has become hard to come by. The last Canadian goalkeeper to get selected in the first round was Detroit’s Sebastian Cossa in 2021. The second countryman taken that year, San Jose’s Benjamin Gaudreau, wasn’t even signed to an entry-level contract and has since been stapled to the AHL. Carter Hart (48th overall in 2016) was the last Canadian goaltender to be taken before anyone of any other nationality, and his NHL career is essentially over. The last first-rounder was Chet Pickard in 2008. He never played an NHL game after going 18th overall to Nashville.

While it’s not out of the realm of possibility that both Ivankovic and Ravensbergen can go in the first round in 2025, the former is going to need to prove he can truly overcome the size concerns if he’s going to get a fair shot at the NHL. Many believe he will.

“That raw talent, it’s nearly impossible to find in a goalie these days,” a scout said. “But smaller goalies don’t get passed over for no reason. You want someone who covers most of the net and doesn’t have to overcompensate with speed and athleticism because even the most agile keepers will struggle without having the extra mass to cover the net.”

Ivankovic is playing some incredible hockey right now, and he hopes to carry that over into his OHL sophomore year. A gold medal at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup would be an excellent start. If Brampton goes out early, he’ll be Canada’s No. 1 in Texas for the 2025 U-18 World Championship. And, who knows? Maybe he’ll be World Junior-bound in 2026 or 2027. And if all goes well, maybe he’ll be one of Canada’s three goaltenders at the Olympics in Salt Lake City in a decade.

That’s projecting hard, especially for a 17-year-old, but many people believe Ivankovic is the real deal. Some of those include big-time NHL decision-makers. It’s up to him to prove them right.

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