When the Chicago Blackhawks went up to the stage for the 35th pick in the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville, many names were mentioned and predicted by scouts, analysts, and NHL writers. Could Chicago draft a winger to supplement Connor Bedard? Perhaps. Maybe they find their way to a defenseman who could follow in the footsteps of Duncan Keith or Brent Seabrook. But a goaltender? What, Chicago drafted a goaltender? Not just any puck-stopper, but one who was playing tier-two junior hockey in the NAHL that past season? We're going to cover the surprising rise of Blackhawks prospect Adam Gajan.
Adam Gajan knew he wanted to get out of Slovakia, crediting a run for the NHL. However, two summers ago, the problem was that he was on virtually no one's radar. Playing in Slovakia's 18U and 20U junior leagues, he went undrafted in his first year of draft eligibility. However, his persistent work to get to the States eventually paid off as the Chippewa Steel of the NAHL and Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL were some of the first to recognize Gajan's talent. Along with playing in the two junior leagues, Gajan got his big break on the world stage at the U20 World Juniors shutting down guys like his eventual draft mate, Connor Bedard. Posting a staggering .936 SV% on the world stage. That next summer? Yeah, he was drafted; The highest goaltender was selected in the 2023 NHL draft.
A partial interview was conducted by Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff with Gajan, where he quotes "“I don’t think I’m a different goalie from a year ago, I just don’t think I ever really got a chance,” he said, adding, “I never played with the national team or anything. My first chance was at the world juniors, and everything changed.” Crediting the fact that his chance on the world stage could be one of the reasons he was selected by the original six franchise. Even still with the sheer amount of goalies in the world, how did he do it? There were plenty of guys that scouts thought the year before could man any net in the NHL over Gajan. What did he do? Nothing, differently. He played his game, until he got noticed. When he did, he set up a future chapter waiting to be written about what could be a very exciting NHL career for the once-undrafted, Slovakian.
The now twenty-year-old goaltender will be in the blue paint for the University of Minnesota-Duluth next season. In a perfect world Gajan continues to excel at the current rate he's at and put up good numbers at the NCAA level. His .893 SV% was one of the top in the USHL this past season. While that number does seem under-whelming for a"future star", the USHL is focused heavily on offense. To put it in perspective, twelve out of the 59 goaltenders to suit up in the league had a SV% over .900. Gajan, was in a three-way-tie for 13th. Following the season in college, he could follow what current IceHogs goaltenders Jaxson Stauber and Drew Commesso did, and spend a season in the AHL before a run in the NHL. By that time, the Blackhawks should have a championship-caliber team eager for the underdog, to be Chicago's number one goaltender.
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