For the third time in three years, a North Vancouver hockey player has been selected in the first round of the NHL draft.
On Friday goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen was picked 30th overall by the San Jose Sharks, becoming the second goalie off the board at the 2025 NHL entry draft at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles. He follows fellow North Vancouver star Macklin Celebrini, picked No. 1 overall last year, to San Jose. North Van's Connor Bedard was the top overall pick two years ago.
Ravensbergen's rise in the hockey world has been rapid. He was not drafted by a WHL team but was picked up by the Prince George Cougars and went on to have a stellar rookie season with the team, compiling a regular season record of 26-4-1 with a goals against average of 2.46 and a save percentage of .907. He racked up six shutouts, which tied a WHL record for shutouts in a season by a rookie.
Before the NHL draft Ravensbergen said that being passed over in the WHL draft helped motivate him to take his game to the next level.
“I’d say it kind of opened my eyes to how hard you have to work in the summer," he told WHL.ca. "After I wasn’t picked, I was pretty pissed off and then I had a couple really big summers. I was on the ice as much as I could be, learning how to work out and take care of my body. Those were a couple of really important lessons that I can rely on.”
This year he went 33-13-4 with the Cougars with a 3.00 goals against average and .901 save percentage. He was the highest rated North American goaltender heading into the draft.
Before heading to Prince George Ravensbergen played for the Vancouver NW Hawks of the BCEHL.
Some on the North Shore may also recognize Ravensbergen as a baseball umpire, his tall frame making him an unmistakable presence on the diamond in recent years. He also gained some fame as one of a group of seven who teamed up to catch an eight-year-old boy who first dangled and then fell from a chairlift at Grouse Mountain. The group of teens earned Civic Recognition Awards fron the mayor of the District of North Vancouver for their heroics.
