Prospects Gardner of Blue Jackets, George of Kings, Ivankovic of Predators, Ravensbergen of Sharks vying for starting spot
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MINNEAPOLIS — Canada feels one of the keys to its gold-medal chances at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship will come from its strength in goal.
The external narrative might be that Canada has struggled to produce top-flight goalies in recent years. But its four goalies here at the World Junior Summer Showcase — Evan Gardner (Columbus Blue Jackets), Carter George (Los Angeles Kings), Jack Ivankovic (Nashville Predators) and Joshua Ravensbergen (San Jose Sharks) — see it a bit differently.
“I think the guys here are phenomenal,” George said. “We push each other. I think it’s just good for one another, because we’re right there with each other and we’re pushing each other to get better. We’re all fighting for that one spot. … You can see the other three are very talented guys, and it’s awesome to play with them.”
They’re competing this week at the WJSS, at Ridder Arena with practices and games against Finland, Sweden and the United States. It’s the first step toward Canada picking its roster for the 2026 WJC, which will be held in Minnesota from Dec. 26-Jan. 5, 2026.
George had a 1.76 goals-against average, .936 save percentage and two shutouts in four games at the 2025 WJC but allowed a goal to Adam Jecho with 40 seconds remaining in the third period of Canada’ 4-3 loss to Czechia in the quarterfinals. Ivankovic played one game, making 24 saves through overtime and seven saves on eight shootout attempts in a 3-2 loss to Latvia during the preliminary round.
“Obviously we all know what happened last year, and we all weren’t very happy with the results,” George said. “So even at the summer showcase it still gets brought up, and you kind of carry that motivation to here.”
Canada goaltending coach Dan De Palma has been impressed by what he’s seen from the four goalies in the short time they’ve been together. But one thing he’s stressed is that despite there being two returning players at the position, the No. 1 spot is wide open.
“Guys are motivated,” he said. “They understand the goal is to win gold. We haven’t won gold in a couple years and that’s the only objective for the group. So whatever it takes, whoever is going to give us the best chance, is going to get the opportunity.”
Gardner, a second-round pick (No. 60) in the 2024 NHL Draft, said that was made clear to him in his first conversation with De Palma.
The 19-year-old was 23-13-5 with a 2.82 GAA, .911 save percentage and three shutouts with Saskatoon of the Western Hockey League last season.
“When I got my first call with Dan, he said, ‘I really want you to push for that spot,'” he said. “‘Put your head down and go to work. If they like you, they like you.’ That’s what I was told coming into this. I’m going to try to put my best foot forward and try and come for this spot.”
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Ravensbergen, a first-round pick (No. 30) in the 2025 NHL Draft, is taking the same approach after attending the summer showcase last year.
He feels he’s made big strides in his game since last summer, including going 33-13-4 with a 3.00 GAA and .901 save percentage in 51 games with Prince George of the WHL.
“I feel like I’ve become a lot more calm,” he said. “I was aggressive and feel like I read the play a lot better, and I feel like position-wise I’m a little bit better, showing more of my body and taking way more of the net. … Things that worked in junior but need to change when I want to make that jump to pro.”
Ivankovic, a second-round pick (No. 58) in the 2025 draft, last year became the first 17-year-old goalie (he turned 18 on May 22) to start a WJC game for Canada since Jimmy Waite in 1987.
He was 25-12-5 with a 3.05 GAA, .903 save percentage and two shutouts in 43 games with Brampton of the Ontario Hockey League and will play at the University of Michigan this season.
“His skill is high, his footwork is really elite, his hands are great,” De Palma said. “When you have the talent, you have the chance to get to a spot to make saves. He’s very smart too in the crease. He understands where the play is going, he doesn’t try to overread things. He’s seeing things that are happening, so between talent and brains, he does a pretty good job.”
De Palma also said he’s been impressed with how George, a second-round pick (No. 57) in the 2024 draft, has grown his pro habits. He had a 3.35 GAA and .909 save percentage in 47 games with Owen Sound of the OHL and finished his season going 2-0-0 with a 0.50 GAA, .984 save percentage and one shutout in two games with Ontario of the American Hockey League.
The one bit of advice De Palma gives his goalies is to ignore the outside noise and focus on their habits and their details, and the rest will take care of itself.
“They’re good goalies,” he said. “They’ve all shown that. They’ve all at their time played their best hockey. For us, we’re going to try to encourage and teach here so they play their best here. They leave, they go play their best version of themselves and they make it an incredibly hard decision for us. The gold medal is the goal and that’s all that matters.”
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