Goaltender Jack Ivankovic of the OHL’s Brampton Steelhead will wear the block “M” in Ann Arbor this fall. Between commitments by Ivankovic (4th ranked NA goaltender per central scouting) and forward Malcolm Spence of Erie in the OHL (17th ranked NA skater per central scouting), this has been a great spring / early summer for the Wolverines. Among other excellent players, Ivankovic and Spence will join draft prospect Will Horcoff (24th ranked NA skater) for the 2025-26 season.
While Ivankovic is rated as “only” the 4th best goalie in North America for the upcoming draft, these rankings came out prior to his performance at the U18 World Junior Championship. Ivankovic was absolutely lights-out in Texas, going 6-0 with a .961 save percentage, including pitching a shutout against the high-powered Swedes in the gold-medal game. For his efforts, Ivankovic was named the best goaltender of the tournament.
Height is the single biggest factor compromising Ivankovic’s draft standing. At 6′ tall, Ivankovic is the lone goaltender within central scouting’s top ten listings shorter than 6’2″. However, a mere “eye-ball” test, and the results that go with it, highlight just how good he is. With that, it is easy to envision the showdowns to take place this coming season between two exceptional young goaltenders: Michigan’s Ivankovic and Michigan State’s Trey Augustine (DET 2023 2nd round, 41st overall). Both players represented their respective countries this season at the U20 World Junior Championship. While American Augustine has aged out of the tournament, presumably Ivankovic will be with Team Canada this December.