Chicago Blackhawks, IceHogs goaltenders on pace for rebuild

The Blackhawks selected the Minnesota Duluth Commit, Adam Gajan in the 2023 2nd round draft. While there has been plenty of talk around Gajan, his numbers thus far have been underwhelming. He presented himself on the World Juniors stage as one of the best goalies throughout the tournament.

With a .916 SV%, 2.50 GAA, and a 3-1 record, Gajan's name became tied to the line "goalie of the future". However, after his World Juniors, his numbers have been rather underwhelming. While he does have a great record of 23-12-4 through the regular season, he has a meager .893 SV% and 3.35 GAA in 43 games with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL.

So far in playoffs, a .791 SV% and 4.90 GAA in two games going 1-1. Although the USHL is certainly known for having a low save percentage average, if Gajan wants to have a seamless transition from the NCAA to the AHL, he will need to improve his starts next season at Minnesota Duluth. At just 19 years old, he has plenty of time to develop and there is no hurry to rush any goalie right now.

Dominic Basse was drafted in 2019 by the Blackhawks

The 6'6 goaltender is in his second season at St Cloud State and will be back with them next season. Before St Cloud, Base played two College seasons with Colorado College. He was drafted in the sixth round of the draft, so it's fair to say he is far down the line on the depth chart for the Blackhawks Basse went 12-10-2 with a .896 SV% and 2.75 GAA. After college, I believe we could end up seeing Base with the Indy Fuel of the ECHL. He is the closest we have gotten to Scott Darling at 6'6. 

Mitchell Weeks is in his second year of pro hockey in Indy. Weeks has appeared in 17 AHLs through the past two seasons. Weeks was a solid reliever when Stauber struggled, and was ill. He is 15-10-6 with a .898 SV& and 2.75 GAA. If the chain reaction happens and Stauber does indeed get sent to Chicago for next season, Weeks would be the frontrunner for Stauber's AHL spot. We will have to see what happens in the offseason.

(Statistics provided by Elite Prospects and theAHL.com)