Jack Ivankovic Draft Profile

Ivankovic’s on-ice production

Ivankovic’s strengths

Positioning and movement

Ivankovic clearly has a very strong understanding of where he needs to be at all times. He very rarely can be found caught off guard or in the wrong spot. He has very good lateral movement, which helps him follow the play quickly and get in proper position to make tough saves. If he can see the puck, he will make sure that he is in the exact right spot to make the save.

Mentally strong

Ivankovic is noticeably very good at staying calm under pressure, a good trait to have in goaltenders for a lot of obvious reasons. When he lets in an early goal, he is good at quickly resetting and not spiralling. He has had to play in plenty of big moments in his junior career, especially on the international stage, and he is usually more than up to rising to the pressure.

Ivankovic’s areas of improvement

Size

Time to talk about the elephant in the room. Ivankovic stands at just 5’11”, meaning he is four inches shorter than the average NHL goaltender. This is going to be a problem that will follow him throughout his entire career. While there are goaltenders who can make it work at the NHL level despite being undersized, most carry an impressive quickness and athleticism that puts them on the same level as the larger goaltenders.

Ivankovic doesn’t necessarily have that same elite athleticism that the Dustin Wolfs and Juuse Saros’ of the world have. So far in his junior career, his elite positioning has been able to overshadow his lack of elite quickness; time will tell whether it can do the same at the top level.

Ivankovic’s comparables

Jack Ivankovic has said that he models his game after Juuse Saros, and in a way, you can definitely see that in the way he plays. Both have very sound positioning and play with a strong sense of confidence. Saros could definitely be seen as a potential ceiling for Ivankovic. The main difference and biggest gap between the two is athleticism. Whether or not Ivankovic can develop that over time or make his game work without it will be interesting to watch.

Fit with the Flames

While the Calgary Flames do seem to have good luck with undersized goaltenders, the presence of Dustin Wolf makes drafting a goaltender as high as the first or second round fairly pointless and unrealistic. Ivankovic would not have a clear path to the NHL level in Calgary.

Summary

Jack Ivankovic is an undersized goaltender prospect with plenty of the right tools to succeed at the next level. With excellent positioning, lateral movement, vision, and mental fortitude, the only thing holding him back from succeeding will be the five at the beginning of his listed height. He will have to prove a lot of people wrong, but the same could be said for any of the undersized goaltenders who came before him.

Risk: 3/5

Reward: 4/5

Projection: NHL Starter

Check out all of The Win Column’s individual player profiles of selected 2025 NHL Draft prospects:

Matthew Schaefer | Michael Misa | James Hagens | Porter Martone | Anton Frondell | Victor Eklund | Roger McQueen | Caleb Desnoyers | Jackson Smith | Jake O’Brien | Carter Bear | Radim Mrtka | Lynden Lakovic | Brady Martin | Justin Carbonneau | Malcolm Spence | Cameron Reid | Logan Hensler | Cameron Schmidt | Ben Kindel | Kashawn Aitcheson | Cullen Potter | Braeden Cootes | Ivan Ryabkin | Blake Fiddler | Cole Reschny | Joshua Ravensbergen | Bill Zonnon | William Moore | Jack Nesbitt | Jack Murtagh | Milton Gastrin | Sascha Boumedienne | Henry Brzustewicz | Adam Benak | Shane Vansaghi | Cole McKinney | Jakob Ihs-Wozniak | Ryker Lee | Ben Kevan | Michal Svrcek | Arvid Drott | Conrad Fondrk | Charlie Trethewey | Luca Romano