With their lone pick of the third round, the Vancouver Canucks have selected goaltender Dmitri Ivchenko with the 78th overall selection in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.

Ivchenko is a 6’3″ Russian goaltender who was a big riser on NHL Central Scouting’s EU Goalies rankings. Ivchenko was ranked 8th among European goaltenders in the midterm rankings, but in the final rankings, he was all the way up to 4th.

Ivchenko put up a .922 save percentage and an 11-5-1 record through 19 games played with Omsk of the MHL over in Russia.

Ivchenko fits the mould of the types of goaltenders the Canucks like. He’s got great length, competes hard, and has great athleticism. He plays a calm game, and is comfortable with his post play. The Canucks’ goaltending department ask their goaltenders to be in the RVH against their posts more than most teams, so it’s certainly worth noting how comfortable Ivchenko already seems to be on his posts. In my early viewings, Ivchenko seems to struggle to track pucks through traffic, and is susceptible to reacting a bit late to passes up high through traffic, which can lead to some not-so-great rebounds.

“If a team built their goaltending draft list with a focus on size and technique, Dmitri Ivchenko would be one of the first names on that board,” wrote Elite Prospects. Elite Prospects’ scouts poll ranked Ivchenko the second-most technical and fourth-smartest of all the netminders in the 2026 NHL Draft.

The third round of the draft saw a flurry of goaltenders selected. As is typically the case, once one goes, plenty go as teams don’t want to get left behind.

Ivchenko joins a Canucks goaltending pipeline featuring Aleksei Medvedev (second round pick last year), along with Ty Young and Aku Koskenvuo, both of whom should be in AHL Abbotsford next season.

The Canucks got the pick to select Ivchenko from the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Conor Garland trade ahead of the trade deadline.