<p>If you watched Dustin Wolf closely in his draft year, you knew he’d be one of the smaller goalies to figure it out.</p>



<p>He had one of the best seasons by a draft-eligible goaltender in more than a decade, going 41-15-4 with seven shutouts and a whopping .936 save percentage with the Everett Silvertips. Sure, the Tips were a good team, but Wolf had a season for the ages.</p>



<p>In the end, though, Wolf was one of the last players selected in the 2019 NHL Draft, going 214th overall to the <a href="http://flamesnation.ca">Calgary Flames</a>. Since then, he went on to become the top CHL goaltender in 2019-20, top WHL puckstopper in 2020 and 2021, a World Junior champion in 2021, the top goalie in the AHL in 2022 and 2023, and now he’s a finalist for the Calder Trophy.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="138"></div>



<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" max-length="2" placement-id="2052" context="web-content-promocard" property-id="309"></div>



<p>The one thing going against Wolf – his size. At six-foot, Wolf is one of the smallest goaltenders in the NHL. So far, it hasn’t bothered him too much, but teams are still searching for mobile goaltenders standing 6-foot-3 or taller.</p>



<p>So, how does that bode for <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2025-nhl-draft-rankings-top-80-steven-ellis-misa-hagens-schaefer-martone-desnoyers">Jack Ivankovic</a>, one of the top goaltenders for the 2025 NHL Draft?</p>



<p>NHL Central Scouting has Ivankoivc at 5-foot-11, tying him for the smallest goaltender ranked. One spot below him is Louis-Antoine Denault, who stands at a whopping 6-foot-8. Ivankovic’s father, Frank, was an OHL goalie himself and stood tall at 6-foot-4. So there’s hope Jack could follow in his footsteps – but that’s still some serious projecting. </p>



<p>Yet, despite the size disadvantage, Ivankovic has become a force. Internationally, he put up some of the best performances we’ve ever seen at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup en route to a gold. He then looked good in his World Junior debut – the ill-fated loss to Latvia – before posting a perfect record at the U-18 World Championship and taking home top goaltender honors. Ivankovic has been a starter in three international events and has won gold at all of them – truly remarkable stuff. </p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="202"></div>



<p>“That raw talent, it’s nearly impossible to find in a goalie these days,” a scout said last summer. “But smaller goalies don’t get passed over for no reason. You want someone who covers most of the net and doesn’t have to overcompensate with speed and athleticism because even the most agile keepers will struggle without having the extra mass to cover the net.”</p>



<p>Ivankovic’s OHL numbers fluctuated throughout the season on a Brampton Steelheads team that struggled in its own zone a bit too often. His season was also derailed <a href="https://www.hockeyfights.com/players/n38202">by a fight in October. </a>Many noticed that he struggled once he returned, hindering what had been an electric start to the season.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nice glove save from Jack Ivankovic. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/U18MensWorlds?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#U18MensWorlds</a> <a href="https://t.co/0mXF4ouO83">pic.twitter.com/0mXF4ouO83</a></p>— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/SEllisHockey/status/1918843244500103585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 4, 2025</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<p>So what makes Ivankovic so intriguing? He’s as calm as it gets, just like Wolf. Ivankovic doesn’t let a bad goal bother him, and he plays better if he gets a bunch of shots early to settle him in. Ivankovic doesn’t get to rely on size, but he’s got some incredible reflexes and a dominant glove hand. Side-to-side, few goalies can get where they need to be as quickly as Ivankovic.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="192"></div>



<p>Sounds like a certain goaltender over in Alberta.</p>



<p>Ivankovic often overcomes the lack of size by keeping his glove hand active and up high, making himself appear bigger. That’s precisely what makes Wolf so dangerous. It’s a simple technique, in practice, but one many smaller goalies struggle with. Even for a smaller goalie, some OHL shooters have said that Ivankovic is one of the hardest goalies to find an opening in. </p>



<p>“I could be biased, but I think he’s one of the best goalies that I’ve ever played against,” said defenseman Matthew Schaefer <a href="https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/2025-nhl-draft-rankings-top-80-steven-ellis-misa-hagens-schaefer-martone-desnoyers/">the 2025 NHL Draft’s top-ranked prospect</a>, who played alongside Ivankovic at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the CHL USA Prospects Challenge. “It’s awesome going up against him because it makes you better.”</p>



<p>NHL shooters might have a different story one day, but that’s a problem for a different day. Scouts want to see Ivankovic  work on his conditioning to handle heavier workloads – he looked tired at points to close out the OHL season. If Ivankovic goes to the NCAA like many believe will happen, it could be good for his physical development by spending extra time in the weight rooms.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="3" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="196"></div>



<p><a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/meet-2025-nhl-drafts-joshua-ravensbergen-hockeys-next-star-goaltender">Joshua Ravensbergen</a> might be the consensus No. 1 goalie, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s 6-foot-5. But Ivankovic has just about everything teams crave in a young goaltender – calmness, athleticism, and great positioning. The one thing he lacks is size, and that could be the downfall of his NHL career.</p>



<p>Unless, of course, he doesn’t let it happen. Just like Dustin Wolf.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity">



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Recent Articles from Steven Ellis</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2025-nhl-draft-rankings-top-80-steven-ellis-misa-hagens-schaefer-martone-desnoyers">2025 NHL Draft Rankings:&nbsp;Top 80 with one month to go</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/top-10-small-guy-prospects-2025-nhl-draft-schmidt-mooney-benak">Top 10 ‘small guy’ prospects for the 2025 NHL Draft</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/five-nhlers-boosted-olympic-stock-2025-iihf-world-championship-celebrini-thompson-tolvanen-carlsson-keller">Five NHLers who boosted Olympic stock at 2025 IIHF World Championship</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/top-10-nhl-prospects-2025-memorial-cup-dickinson-cowan-halttunen-lindstrom">Top 10 NHL prospects to watch at 2025 Memorial Cup</a></li>
</ul>
