The San Jose Sharks surprised most of the fan base on Friday night when the team selected a goaltender with its second pick in the first round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. The Sharks selected Joshua Ravensbergen, a goaltender who played for the Prince George Cougars in the WHL last season. Ravensbergen was a WHL Goaltender of the Year finalist and was considered the top North American goaltender heading into the NHL draft. He was expected to go in the first-round of the draft, he just wasn’t expected to go to the Sharks.
Joshua Ravensbergen, G – Prince George Cougars (WHL)
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 192 pounds
Age/DOB: 18, Nov. 27, 2006
Catches: Right
Prince George Cougars (WHL): 33-13-3-1, 3.00 GAA, 0.901 SV%
Prince George Cougars (WHL Playoffs): 2-3-1-0, 3.60 GAA, 0.896 SV%
Goaltenders are difficult to evaluate at the age of 18, which is why very few of them get drafted in the first round of the NHL draft. It’s amazing that Ravensbergen was drafted in the first round. It’s even more amazing that he was the second goaltender selected in the first round, with goaltender Pyotr Andreyanov selected 20th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Obviously, the Sharks think the team was right to select Ravensbergen 30th overall. On the post-first-round call, Director of Amateur Scouting Chris Morehouse said, “I think when you saw what the potential of what could be there. I think you have a young kid that’s looking for guidance, he’s looking for coaching, he’s looking for help.
“I think in terms of the athletic and the raw ability, he has the right mindset to work on those tools and get better,” continued Morehouse. “So it’s really exciting with that wingspan, with that lateral mobility and that size to go along with a kid that really wants it. And I think he wasn’t drafted in the Western League, he’s kind of been always second-guessed and doubted. And that’s also another thing I think he has going in his favor.”
What scouts are saying about Ravensbergen
NHL.com says that Ravensbergen “checks every box” a scout looks for in a goaltending prospect.
Chris Peters of FloHockey was high on Ravensbergen going into the draft and feels like the Sharks got good value on the goaltender, considering the depth of this year’s draft:
“Ravensbergen is the consensus top goalie for this year’s draft and has all of the physical tools. In deeper draft years, we wouldn’t be talking about him as a first-round goalie, mainly because the track record is a bit inconsistent,” wrote Peters. “His numbers were not great this year and trended down from a season ago, which does concern me some. That said, Ravensbergen has a calm demeanor in net, shows good athleticism and is close to 6-foot-5, giving him the size teams covet. When you get to this range of the first round and you’re debating between a forward that might be middle- or bottom-six, or a defenseman who is a top-four longshot, why not take a chance on the player that may have a No. 1 goalie ceiling? That’s the argument teams will make, and I’d bet Ravensbergen is off the board even before this point in the draft.”
The Athletic’s Corey Pronman also had Ravensbergen listed as the top goaltending prospect in the draft.
“His numbers are average, but his toolkit is going to be highly desirable to NHL teams, and he was still one of the better goalies in the WHL. He’s 6-foot-5. He’s very athletic with the quick-twitch in his lower half of a 6-foot-1 goaltender,” wrote Pronman. “He anticipates the play well and is quite aggressive in challenging shooters with his big frame. He can be a bit over-aggressive and chaotic in net, bouncing/flopping around too much. His reads do concern me at times, but for the most part, he’s in the right place.”
What’s next for Ravensbergen?
Raw tools mean that Ravensbergen will need time to work on his game, but that’s not a bad thing.
Look for Ravensbergen to return to his WHL team and continue to take on the starting role in net. He’ll also be one of the odds-on favorites to play for Team Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship, which should give Sharks fans a good idea of how he stacks up against international competition.
It takes a lot of time for goaltending prospects to develop, so don’t worry, it’s Yaroslav Askarov’s net now and in the future; however, having a succession plan in place is never a bad idea.
