Ivankovic to Represent Canada at the World U18 Championships

Later this month, twenty players from across the CHL will represent Canada at the U18 Men’s World Championship in Texas. In goal, the team will be led by Steelheads’ goaltender Jack Ivankovic, who has become a mainstay in goal for this age group of Canadians. Ivankovic previously won gold at last year’s U18s, Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and the 2023 World U17 Hockey Challenge. It will be Ivankovic’s third time representing Canada this season, after the World Junior Championships in Ottawa and the Kubota CHL/USA Prospects Challenge. 

Last season, Ivankovic held the highest save percentage and second-lowest goals against average in the OHL among goalies with twenty-five-plus games played, which led all rookie netminders. Jack followed it up with another strong season, finishing in the top ten for both save percentage and goals against average. His stellar season earned him a selection to Team Canada at the World Juniors, where he became the first seventeen-year-old goalie to start a game for the country since 1987. 

The young netminder has been stellar in the red and white, sporting a .923% save percentage at the U17s and World Juniors, and a whopping .967 at the Hilnka Gretzky. The NHL Draft-Eligible netminder will now look to close out a strong draft-year campaign by adding more hardware to his collection.