No Goaltenders Make Top 2025 NHL Draft Rankings

In a recent ranking of the top 2025 NHL Draft prospects, one position was left off of the list.

Jacob Punturi | Aug 12, 2024

Aug 3, 2024; Plymouth, MI, USA; Canada's goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen (31) makes a save on USA’s forward AJ Spellacy (8) during the second period of the 2024 World Junior Summer Showcase at USA Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports / David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports

The 2025 NHL Draft class is already well-regarded. With a group of highly talented players, scouts and talent evaluators are already salivating over the potential in this crop of prospects. The Athletic's Scott Wheeler recently released a preseason ranking of the top 32 draft-eligible players, and it was mostly as expected.

The biggest surprise of the list was the complete absence of one of the most important positions in the game of hockey: goaltender. While there are highly-touted netminders waiting to join the NHL, Wheeler opted to include a few goaltenders as honorable mentions on the list rather than ranking any of them in the top 32.

"There are also two high-end Canadian goalie prospects in this draft who I thought about ranking," Wheeler wrote. "Prince George's Joshua Ravensbergen (who many believe to be a first-rounder at the moment, though he didn't play well in Plymouth at the World Junior Summer Showcase) and Jack Ivankovic (who is smaller for a goalie but I believe is every bit as talented as Ravensbergen was phenomenal at Hlinka)."

Ravensbergen is an intriguing goaltending prospect. He has the coveted size NHL teams seek, standing at 6'4 and with plenty of room to add strength to his frame. He's also a right-catching goalie, putting him in rare company at the position.

This past season, he played 38 games with the Prince George Cougars of the WHL. He posted six shutouts en route to a 26-4-1 record and a goals against average of 2,46. He carried that strong play into the postseason, reducing his GAA to 1.98 over 12 postseason games.

Similarly, Ivankovic is sure to be ranked as a top 32 player in later lists. Coming off of one of the most impressive goaltending performances in the history of the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, there is buzz growing around the Canadian goaltender. He posted a 0.75 GAA over four starts with Team Canada, helping the team earn a gold medal. As Wheeler writes, he is on the smaller side of goaltenders, but his talent is undeniable.

In either of these prospects, Wheeler could have added a goaltender to the top 32 without argument. Both Ravensbergen and Ivankovic project as potential first-round picks in the next draft. With another strong season, it will only cement their statuses as top prospects in the 2025 NHL Draft class.

Make sure you bookmark Breakaway OnSI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!

Published Aug 12, 2024

JACOB PUNTURI