G Adam Gajan - Green Bay Gamblers, USHL (2023, 35th, CHI)

[Hockeyville USA]

For a guy who was playing in the Slovak Juniors system a couple years ago, I think Gajan has come a long way, still has a ways to go of course but he's got time to get where he needs to be.

Again, Augustine and Fowler have been better for a longer period time, and we know it's not usually very wise to overvalue short sample size international tournaments, especially for an older player. Gajan isn't dominating the USHL like most would have expected, and he's older for the league. Just some red flags that lead me to skepticism.

 

[Hockey Know it all]

No it wasn't. 1993 born, season starts in 2011, thus 18 year old season.

2011-2012 would be his D+1 year. Unfortunately, he wasn’t drafted during his age 18 season playing for WLN(2010-2011)

While his age is technically 18 for majority of 2011-2012, it’s still his d+1 year meaning his age 19 season.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

2011-2012 would be his D+1 year. Unfortunately, he wasn’t drafted during his age 18 season playing for WLN(2010-2011)

While his age is technically 18 for majority of 2011-2012, it’s still his d+1 year meaning his age 19 season.

2010-1993 = 17, 2010-11 is Hellebuyck's 17 year old season.

 

[Hockey Know it all]

2010-1993 = 17, 2010-11 is Hellebuyck's 17 year old season.

That’s not how anyone views it in terms of scouts or most people with knowledge in that department my guy.

You are in the minority here but I digress.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

That’s not how anyone views it in terms of scouts or most people with knowledge in that department my guy.

You are in the minority here but I digress.

18-Year Old NAHL Goalies - Regular Season Stats

18-year old NAHL goalie stats. NAHL goalie statistics segmented by age group.

www.quanthockey.com

18 year old season for Hellebuyck, 2011-12

 

[WarriorofTime]

Again, Augustine and Fowler have been better for a longer period time, and we know it's not usually very wise to overvalue short sample size international tournaments, especially for an older player. Gajan isn't dominating the USHL like most would have expected, and he's older for the league. Just some red flags that lead me to skepticism.

Why would they expect him to be "dominating" to a greater degree? He was in the NAHL last year.

Regardless of who has been better for a long time, the Hawks goaltender scout really liked Gajan, really really liked him. Ultimately convinced the head scout and GM to draft him. No idea if he still feels that way today, but that's why they picked him and not the other two. It may take seven years to determine who was 'right' at the end of the day. Perhaps all are good, perhaps none are. Who knows.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

That’s not how anyone views it in terms of scouts or most people with knowledge in that department my guy.

You are in the minority here but I digress.

You are completely wrong about this. These terms are used all the time.

 

[Namejs]

Why would they expect him to be "dominating" to a greater degree? He was in the NAHL last year.

Regardless of who has been better for a long time, the Hawks goaltender scout really liked Gajan, really really liked him. Ultimately convinced the head scout and GM to draft him. No idea if he still feels that way today, but that's why they picked him and not the other two. It may take seven years to determine who was 'right' at the end of the day. Perhaps all are good, perhaps none are. Who knows.

Not only he was in the NAHL last year, he was the 20th best goalie in NAHL. And a year before that, he was the 8th best goalie in the Slovakian junior league.

A couple of good games at the World Juniors can turn you into an NHL prospect. At least for a few years.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I think he’s not doing that bad, all things considered. USHL is awful for goaltenders. If you have a .900 SV%, that’s probably like above-average for that league. Above average might even be like .890 or .895. There’s one guy in the USHL that hits the minimum qualifier threshold and has higher than a .905. Gajan is fifth of all those that qualify. You’d like a goaltender with his pedigree to be first, but are you really going to complain someone is ONLY fifth in the league as opposed to first?

I think Gajan shouldn’t be compared to Augustine and Fowler. Players should be compared to those in the first draft they were eligible for. When you look at it like that, 2022 was the worst goaltender draft in recent memory (2024 says hold my beer), and there are like 2 first year eligibles from that draft I think are doing well (Ivanov and Murashov). I seriously might take Gajan over every goaltender drafted from that draft.

I think he’s doing well overall. He’s probably the best from his crop right now (early birthday 2004’s and late birthday 2003’s). He’s not as advanced as Augustine and Fowler. They are probably better prospects overall, so you could criticize the selection by his team, but I don’t think overall he’s doing bad. Very few NCAA goalies get real playing time at his age. He probably could’ve got some time, but preferred to get a full season of being the #1. Next year the hope would be he steps in and is putting up a SV% in the .910 or above range, or at the very least not in the 8’s. He’s a big goaltender with good athleticism. He’s more of a project than most others. It could take him longer. He wasn’t even known by most at the time of the first draft he was eligible for.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

I think he’s not doing that bad, all things considered. USHL is awful for goaltenders. If you have a .900 SV%, that’s probably like above-average for that league. Above average might even be like .890 or .895. There’s one guy in the USHL that hits the minimum qualifier threshold and has higher than a .905. Gajan is fifth of all those that qualify. You’d like a goaltender with his pedigree to be first, but are you really going to complain someone is ONLY fifth in the league as opposed to first?

I think Gajan shouldn’t be compared to Augustine and Fowler. Players should be compared to those in the first draft they were eligible for. When you look at it like that, 2022 was the worst goaltender draft in recent memory (2024 says hold my beer), and there are like 2 first year eligibles from that draft I think are doing well (Ivanov and Murashov). I seriously might take Gajan over every goaltender drafted from that draft.

I think he’s doing well overall. He’s probably the best from his crop right now (early birthday 2004’s and late birthday 2003’s). He’s not as advanced as Augustine and Fowler. They are probably better prospects overall, so you could criticize the selection by his team, but I don’t think overall he’s doing bad. Very few NCAA goalies get real playing time at his age. He probably could’ve got some time, but preferred to get a full season of being the #1. Next year the hope would be he steps in and is putting up a SV% in the .910 or above range, or at the very least not in the 8’s. He’s a big goaltender with good athleticism. He’s more of a project than most others. It could take him longer. He wasn’t even known by most at the time of the first draft he was eligible for.

My point is that because he was drafted ahead of Augustine and Fowler, he has to be compared to them, considering they were better then & now and the Blackhawks used a valuable draft pick slot on a riskier player IMHO.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

My point is that because he was drafted ahead of Augustine and Fowler, he has to be compared to them, considering they were better then & now and the Blackhawks used a valuable draft pick slot on a riskier player IMHO.

The other thing to consider is the Hawks picked a lower upside, higher floor goaltender in Commesso in the second round in 2020. Commesso was a very safe bet to play NHL games, yet not be a true 1A goaltender. That’s probably still what he’ll be four years later.

Gajan is the opposite. Unconventional progression year to year, but has high upside if it all comes together and he’s really not performing that bad, although he still has a higher level he can reach.

I’m not saying either Augustine or Fowler are safe, low upside, but the steady profile is something that Chicago has in Commesso, and they might’ve wanted something different.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Down to 0.898 SV%

 

[Mrfenn92]

He’s fine bud

 

[Hockeyville USA]

He’s fine bud

He's not. 0.893 SV% now. Statistics/production aren't destiny, but they are usually solid indicators of what is happening from a macro perspective. Of course, if Green Bay is just horrible defensively or the head coach is playing him too much, those are micro issues leading to worse performances.

 

[Bonin21]

HF Boards: Home of fans panicking about 19 year olds and saying their pro prospects are toast.

 

[Mrfenn92]

He's not. 0.893 SV% now. Statistics/production aren't destiny, but they are usually solid indicators of what is happening from a macro perspective. Of course, if Green Bay is just horrible defensively or the head coach is playing him too much, those are micro issues leading to worse performances.

He’s fine once again

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

He’s 12th of 38 qualifying goaltenders in the USHL. He’s not having the year you’d want of a player drafted where he was, but he’s not playing bad hockey for the leagues he’s playing in. He’s been above average for the league.

 

[Antiillafire]

Down to 0.898 SV%

Yup his season is very very concerning. Looks like several goalies have passed him in the 2023 draft class and Gajan was taken first. Slovakia produce a good goalie challenge = impossible.

 

[Bonin21]

HF Boards: Home of fans panicking about 19 year olds and saying their pro prospects are toast.

Breathe, people.

 

[Coaches Coroner]

This guy a big fan of Japan?

 

[alko]

Goalie Statistics in USHL this season is interesting. Only 1 golaie had a % higher that 92 %. And then there is bunch of goalies, where the difference between Nr.2 and Nr.15 is 0,013 %.

He sees his season quite good:

"She was pretty good. It might not look the best on paper, but I learned a lot and had some very good moments. I improved the things I wanted to work on. So overall I think it was a good season and it prepared me well for the next ones."

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Yeah, goaltenders didn’t stop the puck in the USHL this year and not because all the goalies in that league suck. The defending isn’t good.

His stats were better when I last defended him. He fell even more since then, so it’s a little harder to defend his season. But a .893 in the USHL is really like a .903.

 

[montreal]

There's a lot of him in this vid, some big saves including a game saver in OT, 17:35 mark

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Interested to see if he can get it together and put UMD on his back after an up & down season in junior. Duluth has been down the past couple years, will be notable to see what happens

 

[Hockeyville USA]

.880 SV% for UMD. Pulled in back to back games versus North Dakota.