Rockford IceHogs Sign Blackhawks Prospect Goaltender Adam Gajan to ATO

Slovakia trusted Adam Gajan in net at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano-Cortina. The Rockford IceHogs are now betting he's ready to handle AHL shooters.

Rockford signed Gajan, 21, to an Amateur Tryout Agreement on April 1, the move coming directly on the heels of the Chicago Blackhawks agreeing to terms on a two-year entry-level contract running through the 2027-28 season. The ATO gets him into professional games immediately while the ELC's cap considerations are managed separately, a structure that works for everyone at this stage of his development.

Gajan closed out his collegiate career at the University of Minnesota Duluth with career-best numbers across every major category: 33 games, 19 wins, a .908 save percentage and a 2.25 goals-against average. Those figures represent a measurable improvement over his full UMD body of work, where he finished 26-25-2 with a .899 SV% and a 2.65 GAA across 54 games. Before Duluth, he went 28-13-4 with the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL.

Chicago selected him 35th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft, and his resume has grown considerably since. He was named Best Goaltender at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, an accolade that carries real weight in prospect circles, and his appearance for Slovakia at the Milano-Cortina Games this year adds international pedigree that most AHL arrivals don't walk in with.

At 6-foot-3, Gajan fits the modern prototype for a high-ceiling NHL goaltending prospect. The jump from NCAA to AHL is rarely frictionless; pro shooters find seams faster, and rebound control habits that work in college get tested hard in the American League. That's exactly what the next handful of starts will reveal.

For Chicago, the two-year ELC buys evaluation time without forcing a rushed NHL workload. For Rockford, whether Gajan slots into heavier rotation or receives a graduated ramp-up into the IceHogs' playoff stretch will depend on what the coaching staff sees in the early going. Either way, Rockford just added the most decorated collegiate goaltending prospect to enter the AHL from the NCAA this cycle.