because he suited up for a professional exhibition in his home country in 2020-21.<\/p>\n
Coach Scott Sandelin said that won\u2019t be the case this season. The preseason plan is to start Gajan at 10 p.m. CST on Friday <\/p>\n
when UMD opens the 2025-26 season against Alaska<\/a><\/p>\n at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks.<\/p>\n \u201cI know he\u2019ll be in Game 1,\u201d Sandelin said of Gajan on the team\u2019s media day in September. \u201cHe might be in Game 2. He might be in Game 3, 4, 10.\u201d<\/p>\n The 21-year-old sophomore is a 2023 second-round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks. <\/p>\n Gajan started 20 of UMD\u2019s 36 games last season,<\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Minnesota Duluth goaltender Adam Gajan (30) makes a save against Stonehill on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, at Amsoil Arena in Duluth. <\/p>\n Clint Austin \/ File \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n As a team, UMD finished with a .887 save percentage and 3.19 GAA with two shutouts. Sandelin said <\/p>\n UMD\u2019s goaltending has to be better this season.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAdam is in a much better spot right now,\u201d Sandelin said. \u201cHe\u2019s had a good summer. I feel like he\u2019s probably learned a lot from last year. The supporting group, the two new guys \u2014 Ethan and Cole \u2014 have been really, really good.\u201d<\/p>\n Sandelin brought in one freshman goaltender out of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League \u2014 Cole Sheffield \u2014 and a sophomore transfer from Miami \u2014 Lakeville, Minnesota native Ethan Dahlmeier \u2014 in the offseason to replace Klayton Knapp and Zach Sandy, who both left via the transfer portal.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Minnesota Duluth men\u2019s hockey head coach Scott Sandelin speaks to the media on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at Amsoil Arena in Duluth. <\/p>\n Clint Austin \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n Whether it was the team\u2019s media day, NCHC media day or a recent recording of the Bulldog Insider Podcast \u2014 <\/p>\n episode posts Thursday morning<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Sandelin emphasized that he didn\u2019t want to say anything bad about last year\u2019s team.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI like the vibe I get from the group,\u201d said Sandelin, whose teams have lost 20 games and missed the NCAA tournament each of the past three seasons. \u201cI think it\u2019s a little bit different feeling maybe than the last couple years. But we haven\u2019t played yet. \u2026 It\u2019s a group that\u2019s certainly hungry to do better.\u201d<\/p>\n More from Sandelin this preseason:<\/p>\n The Bulldogs brought in four freshmen forwards in the fall, and Sandelin said he\u2019s 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 \u201creally, really smart player\u201d who will be a really good player, in time, Sandelin said.Junior transfer defenseman <\/p>\n Brady Cleveland will bring size and a physical element<\/a><\/p>\n to the Bulldogs blue line that\u2019s been missing. \u201cI like Brady because he knows where he’s at and what he needs to work on,\u201d Sandelin said. \u201cI’m excited to see what he can do.\u201dSophomore 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.\u00a0Sandelin thinks Gaffney could have a big year for UMD thanks to his experience and great stick. <\/p>\n Gaffney played the previous three seasons for the Nanooks in Fairbanks.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"college](\"https:\/\/cdn.forumcomm.com\/dims4\/default\/c04fb42\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/5055x3370+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforum-communications-production-web.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F5e%2Fb1%2Fc870276e40829dd8b9524161a1f9%2F102524-s-dmg-satumdmpux-c14.jpg\")
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