Successful aquisition by the Blackhawks in Nashville: "The goalie of their future"
Photo credit: NHL.com
An acquisition made by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville is emerging as one of the best goalie prospects in the organization.
In the rebuild, Kyle Davidson proved that he understood just how important it is to draft well.
Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, Anton Frondell, Roman Kantserov, Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, and all the elite talent in the prospect pool are indicators of Davidson's trust in the process of developing players.
In 2023, the Hawks drafted a goaltender that they hope will be able to play a big role for the team in the future.
Hawks Prospect Emerges As Potential Great Long-Term Goalie Option In Chicago
Currently playing for the University of Minnesota-Duluth in the NCHC, the 21-year-old goaltender Adam Gajan, drafted 35th overall by the Hawks in 2023, is starting to get a lot of attention.
In 10 games so far this season, the six-foot-two Slovak goalie has a 1.85 GAA and a .917 SV%, with an 8-2-0 record.
He even earned the title of Player of the Month in the NCHC for his performances:
With Spencer Knight establishing himself as a true number one NHL goaltender, Arvid Soderblom as an interesting backup option, and Drew Commesso and Stanislav Berezhnoy holding the fort in the AHL, there are many options on the table for Davidson.
And now that Gajan is emerging as a potentially great asset, fans are eager to see what will be the next move in Chicago's goaltending department.
Here's what the goalie said when he opened up about his career:
"I know that when I'm ready to make the next step and play professional hockey, I will. So I'm trying to not think about it and just focus on this part of the system.
Like at dev camp, working with (goalie development coach) Matt Smith - he's into the details, and there are so many details that I can improve on. I'm at a pretty good level even without being great in all those details.
So there's so much room to still get better. Even technically, there's so much I can be better at. I've gotten calmer and am reading the game better, but I can be even better.
My positioning is a lot better, but it can be better. So just in those details, I've improved a lot in those areas, but there's so much more to improve. I know we can talk 10 years from now and I'll still be getting better in those parts."
Like at dev camp, working with (goalie development coach) Matt Smith - he's into the details, and there are so many details that I can improve on. I'm at a pretty good level even without being great in all those details.
So there's so much room to still get better. Even technically, there's so much I can be better at. I've gotten calmer and am reading the game better, but I can be even better.
My positioning is a lot better, but it can be better. So just in those details, I've improved a lot in those areas, but there's so much more to improve. I know we can talk 10 years from now and I'll still be getting better in those parts."
Updates on Gajan's development will follow.
Previously on Hawks Insider
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