The 2024-25 season is approaching fast, and soon enough teams will begin turning some of their attention to scouting for the upcoming 2025 NHL Entry Draft. With the 2024 NHL Entry Draft being a massive success in the Las Vegas Sphere, fans are excited to see what the NHL can develop next year to bring eyes back to the event that sees the next generation of stars added to the NHL. While the venue and everything surrounding the draft has yet to be decided, some players have begun making a case for themselves as the 2024 Hlinka Greztky Cup continues in Edmonton, Alberta. One goaltender who caught my eye was Canadian Jack Ivankovic.
Related: 2025 NHL Draft: Which Defenseman Gets Picked First?
Ivankovic, who plays for the Brampton Steelheads in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), is a 17-year-old goaltender from Mississauga, Ontario. The 2023-24 season was Ivankovic’s rookie season in the OHL and he impressed in a big way, posting a 2.72 goals-against average (GAA) and a .915 save percentage (SV%) through 25 games played while having a solid record of 14-5-4. Representing Canada at the U17 World Hockey Championship, Ivankovic posted a 2.51 GAA and a .923 SV% through eight games with a 5-3-0 record. What has impressed me more though, is his insane performance at the ongoing Hlinka Gretzky Cup so far.
Ivankovic Could Be Drafted in the First Round of 2025 NHL Draft
While selecting goaltenders in the first round has been a rare sight in recent drafts, Ivankovic is making it hard to pass over him next year. His movement is strong, he is calm between the pipes, and he can help take over a game and give his team momentum as seen in his performance in Canada’s win over Sweden on Wednesday (Aug. 7). In the 2-1 victory, he stopped 23 of 24 shots and helped backstop his team to help them finish at the top of the standings heading into the semi-finals.
Through two games at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, Ivankovic has posted a .977 SV% with just one goal allowed. He has been one of, if not the best player for Canada at the tournament and has been making a case for himself as the best goaltender headlining the next draft class. While we are still months away from the 2025 Draft and there won’t be any guarantees as to whether or not Ivankovic can continue playing at an elite level like this, he looks like the real deal. If he can have a solid season in the OHL and help backstop the Steelheads to a strong playoff run, he might be a first-round pick, and even the first goaltender who hears his name called.
Which Teams Could Take a Chance on Ivankovic in Round 1?
Goalies have always been viewed as unpredictable coming out of the draft and have been seen as wild cards when they get drafted early. When it comes to which teams could be willing to take a chance on a goaltender in the first round, it’s hard to say. We saw the Detroit Red Wings take Sebastian Cossa 15th overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, and Jesper Wallstedt was taken 20th overall by the Minnesota Wild in the same year. While neither of those two have cracked an NHL roster yet and some fans have begun to worry about their development, goaltenders take more time to develop, so there isn’t a reason to panic yet, hence why taking a chance on Ivankovic could be a low-risk, high-reward selection in the first round.
We have also seen goalies get taken earlier in the draft, even first overall like Marc-Andre Fleury in 2003, that have panned out and become cornerstones for their franchises. While Ivankovic may not be able to make the jump to the NHL right away, any team that takes him in the first round would be happy with him. A team like the Edmonton Oilers or Ottawa Senators who have weak goaltending depth looking into the future would make sense to select him, but with how promising he looks now, every team in the NHL could consider selecting him that early.
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