This year, they are performing superbly, leading the home competition with a huge lead of ten points.
We are talking about the HC Davos team, which in the first match at the home Spengler Cup 2025 played against a selection from American universities. The meeting produced a surprising result, the youngsters won 5:3.
Slovak goalkeeper Adam Gajan, for whom it was the first senior game in his career, played a significant role in the victory of the team of players from the NCAA.
As many as 32 shots were aimed at the Slovak, he made 29 successful saves.
Gajan already had his hands full in the opening third – the opponent created chances against him which, according to the data, corresponded to 1.72 expected goals. However, he never cashed in.
He kept his team several times with very high-quality saves, some of which were literally exhibition.
“He catches very well. It’s unbelievable what he can do with his body sometimes. I’m looking forward to his progress and I believe he will get better and better,” Ján Lašák, former goalkeeper and national team coach, said in the JOJ Šport studio.
After two periods, 23 shots from Davos players were aimed at Gajan, 21 of which he caught. The success rate of the procedures was more than 91 percent.
Although the young Slovak scored two goals in the second half, the university team was able to respond in the same way and won 3:2.
In the final part of the game, Gajan dropped only one puck behind his back and the US Collegiate Selects won 5-3. Striker Quinn Finley shone with three points (2+1).
Gajan was one of the best players on the ice, coach Guy Gadowsky came personally to congratulate him on his performance.
It is the first win in the tournament for the NCCA selection. In the opening match, they lost to Canada 2:3.
Adam Gajan is one of the brightest goalkeeping prospects in Slovak hockey. He became known to the general public especially at the 2023 Under-20 World Cup, where he was a key support of the national team and, thanks to the success rate of 93.6% of saves, he was declared the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
His potential was also confirmed by the 2023 NHL draft, in which he was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks from the 35th overall pick (2nd round), making him the highest-drafted goalkeeper of the entire year.
After working in overseas leagues NAHL (Chippewa Steel) and USHL (Green Bay Gamblers), he currently works in the university NCAA in the University of Minnesota-Duluth team.
In the ongoing 2025/26 season, he confirms his excellent form – in 20 matches, he maintains an excellent average of 1.92 conceded goals per match and a success rate of 91.9%.
With these numbers, he ranks among the best goalkeepers in the entire competition, for which he also earned participation in the Spengler Cup in the selection of the best players of the NCAA.
“I found the balance that people told me about for many years, but I had to figure it out myself at the right moment,” he said recently in an interview with Sportnet.
Spengler Cup 2025
Cattini Group:
HC Davos – U.S. Collegiate Selects 3:5 (0:1, 2:2, 1:2)
Goals: 23. Frehner, 37. Jung (Asplund, Gross), 46. Fora (Corvi, Lemieux) – 3. Finley (Fink), 22. DiMarsico (Fink), 38. DiMarsico (Cerrato), 42. Finley (T. Hughes, Plante), 58. Pohlkamp (Finley, Plante)
