Canadian Goalie Jack Ivankovic Makes History For the First Time Since 1987 at the WJC

Yesterday the World Junior Championships kicked off with controversy in a game between Germany and Team USA.

This evening the World Juniors are in the spotlight again but this time for a much more exciting reason.

As Team Canada is set to take on Latvia tonight they will do so with a 17-year-old goalie for the first time since 1987.

According to multiple reports Brampton Steelheads goalie and 2025 NHL Draft hopeful Jack Ivankovic will start in goal for Canada.

In the past few World Junior Championships Team Canada has featured draft-eligible players such as Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli, Macklin Celebrini, and even this year with Gavin McKenna.

But Ivankovic becomes the first Canadian goaltender to start a World Juniors game for Canada as a draft-eligible since 1987 when Jimmy Waite did so.

Now Ivankovic will look to continue his strong draft campaign as a member of Team Canada as he looks to push forward and become the latest goaltender to become a first-round pick.

This season with the Brampton Steelheads Ivankovic has played 21 games and has a 3.49 goals against average and a 0.898 save percentage in the OHL.

He will now look to dominate against Latvia and earn himself more ice-time going forward in the World Junior tournament as he looks to cement his status as the top goalie in the 2025 NHL Draft class.

Puck drop is set for 7:40 between Canada and Latvia where we will get our first look at Ivankovic on the world stage at the U20 level.