DULUTH — Minnesota Duluth’s Slovakian goaltender
Adam Gajan wasn’t allowed to suit up for the Bulldogs season-opener last season as a freshman
because he suited up for a professional exhibition in his home country in 2020-21.
Coach Scott Sandelin said that won’t be the case this season. The preseason plan is to start Gajan at 10 p.m. CST on Friday
when UMD opens the 2025-26 season against Alaska
at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks.
“I know he’ll be in Game 1,” Sandelin said of Gajan on the team’s media day in September. “He might be in Game 2. He might be in Game 3, 4, 10.”
The 21-year-old sophomore is a 2023 second-round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Gajan started 20 of UMD’s 36 games last season,
missing a chunk in December and January due to a lower body injury. He finished with an .885 save percentage and 3.33 goals against average, going 7-12-1 with one shutout.
Minnesota Duluth goaltender Adam Gajan (30) makes a save against Stonehill on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.
Clint Austin / File / Duluth Media Group
As a team, UMD finished with a .887 save percentage and 3.19 GAA with two shutouts. Sandelin said
UMD’s goaltending has to be better this season.
“Adam is in a much better spot right now,” Sandelin said. “He’s had a good summer. I feel like he’s probably learned a lot from last year. The supporting group, the two new guys — Ethan and Cole — have been really, really good.”
Sandelin brought in one freshman goaltender out of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League — Cole Sheffield — and a sophomore transfer from Miami — Lakeville, Minnesota native Ethan Dahlmeier — in the offseason to replace Klayton Knapp and Zach Sandy, who both left via the transfer portal.
Dahlmeier made 13 starts as a freshman at Miami, posting an .870 save percentage and 4.04 GAA to lead the team. Sheffield finished with a combined .921 save percentage and 2.43 GAA playing 123 games of Junior A hockey the last three seasons in Manitoba.
Minnesota Duluth men’s hockey head coach Scott Sandelin speaks to the media on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Whether it was the team’s media day, NCHC media day or a recent recording of the Bulldog Insider Podcast —
episode posts Thursday morning
— Sandelin emphasized that he didn’t want to say anything bad about last year’s team.
But the coach did say the 2025-26 Bulldogs have a different feel. He said it felt like everyone had different agendas the previous few seasons. Now everyone is pulling on the same chain, he said.
“I like the vibe I get from the group,” said Sandelin, whose teams have lost 20 games and missed the NCAA tournament each of the past three seasons. “I think it’s a little bit different feeling maybe than the last couple years. But we haven’t played yet. … It’s a group that’s certainly hungry to do better.”
More from Sandelin this preseason:
The Bulldogs brought in four freshmen forwards in the fall, and Sandelin said he’s a fan of all of them. They all have skill and all bring different assets, he said. Ryan Zaremba is small but skilled and shifty. Hunter Anderson has a great release. Luke Bibby is bigger, always talking and always going hard to the net. Daniel Shlaine is a “really, really smart player” who will be a really good player, in time, Sandelin said.Junior transfer defenseman
Brady Cleveland will bring size and a physical element
to the Bulldogs blue line that’s been missing. “I like Brady because he knows where he’s at and what he needs to work on,” Sandelin said. “I’m excited to see what he can do.”Sophomore Zam Plante, senior transfers Kyle Gaffney and Kyler Kovich, Shlaine and junior Braden Fischer will start the season at center, while sophomore Callum Arnott moves to the wing. This lineup gives UMD more size in the middle, Sandelin said. Sandelin thinks Gaffney could have a big year for UMD thanks to his experience and great stick.
Gaffney played the previous three seasons for the Nanooks in Fairbanks.
Co-host of the Bulldog Insider Podcast and college hockey reporter for the Duluth News Tribune covering the Minnesota Duluth men’s and women’s hockey programs.