Dylan Garand
Born (2002-06-07) June 7, 2002 (age 21)
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 181 lb (82 kg; 12 st 13 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team		 New York Rangers
Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL)
NHL Draft 103rd overall, 2020
New York Rangers
Playing career 2021–present

Dylan Garand (born June 7, 2002) is a Canadian ice hockey goaltender who plays for the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect for the New York Rangers. He was drafted by the Rangers in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Entering the Western Hockey League, the 2018–19 season was Garand's first full season with the Kamloops Blazers. Although only 16 years old, he became the team's starting goaltender when Dylan Ferguson was injured and led the team to the WHL playoffs.[1]

In the 2018–19 season, Garand played in 42 games and had a 2.21 goals against average and a .921 save percentage.[2] He won the Daryl K. Seaman Trophy as WHL's Scholastic Player of the Year.[2][1] After the season he was drafted by the New York Rangers in the 4th round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft with the 103rd overall selection.[3][4]

For the 2020–21 WHL season, Garand played in only 18 games, posting a 2.15 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. Garand also played two games for the Rangers' American Hockey League affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. In two games for Hartford he had a 3.68 goals against average and an .839 save percentage.[2]

In the 2021–22 season, Garand posted a 2.16 goals against average and a .935 save percentage for Kamloops. As a result, he won the Del Wilson Trophy as the top WHL goaltender and was named a First Team All-Star in the WHL B.C. Division.[5][3][6] His goals against average and saves percentage were each second in the WHL. His 34 wins was tied for first in the league among goaltenders, and he also tied for fourth in the league in shutouts, with 4.[7] Garand was considered by some writers to be the best goalie in the entire Canadian Hockey League, and he won the 2021–22 CHL Goaltender of the Year award.[8][9][10] Midway through the season Garand signed his first professional contract with the Rangers.[11]

He started the 2022–23 pre-season with the Rangers but was assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack before the season began.[12] He played in 32 games with a .894 save percentage and 3.01 goals against average in the regular season.[13] He was better in the playoffs, with a .935 save percentage, 1.76 goals against average and 2 shutouts in 8 games.[13] Rangers' Director of Player Personnel and Amateur Scouting John Lilley said of his 2022–23 season “He had a good season. He grew as a 20-year-old goaltender. It’s very, very tough to establish yourself and he had a good year. He got better as it went along. He’s on the right path. We’re excited about his upcoming year."[13]

Prior to the 2023–24 NHL season, USA Today' writer Vincent Z. Mercogliano rated Garand as the Rangers 6th best prospect.[14]

Garand started the 2023-24 season at Hartford but was recalled to the Rangers to serve as their backup goalie for a game on November 9 against the Minnesota Wild.[15][16] He was returned to Hartford after the game.[17]

International play

Medal record
Representing  Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Canada
Silver medal – second place 2021 Canada
Hlinka Gretzky Cup
Silver medal – second place 2019 Slovakia/Czech Republic

Garand was named to Team Canada for the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[4][18] He served as the backup goaltender to Devon Levi, playing one game during the tournament as Canada won a silver medal.[18][2] He rejoined the team for the 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, initially scheduled to be played in December 2021 and January 2022. The tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic after Garand had played only one game.[19][11] However, the tournament resumed in August, with Garand returning as starting goaltender.[20] He played in six of Team Canada's seven games, winning all of them with a 1.98 goals against average as Canada won the gold medal.[2][21]

Playing style

Garand is considered relatively small for a goaltender at 6 feet, 1 inch.[1][22] However, according to Kamloops' goaltender coach Dan De Palma "he moves really well (and) he's an elite tracker of the puck. His head trajectory on the puck is outstanding ... and then from there, when the stress and the chaos ensues, his movement is exceptional, as well."[1] Team Canada goaltender coach Jason LaBarbera similarly said that he's able to make saves with his with his hands really well, and some guys don't have that ability. Sometimes, even if you’re a 6-foot-5 guy and you don’t have good hands, you can be exposed."[1] LaBarbera also said that Garand has "got a lot of different aspects to his game. He's very talented in that sense. He’s very good at tracking the puck. He stays down on the puck; he doesn't chase it. He gives himself opportunities to make saves with his positioning and his skating ability."[1] Garand has said of his height "at end of the day, you've got to stop the puck. If you can do that, then doesn't matter what your height is."[1] Fellow Ranger prospect and Team Canada teammate Will Cuylle said of Garand "I’ve never seen someone so like focused and dialed in before."[23]

Asked before the 2022–23 season what it would take to become a great goaltender for the Rangers, Garand said "I feel like just sticking to my game — I know what works for me, so kind of continue to build that foundation and that stuff at the next level."[24]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2017–18 Kamloops Blazers WHL 3 1 2 0 153 8 0 3.14 .905 — — — — — — — —
2018–19 Kamloops Blazers WHL 27 11 7 3 1,408 69 1 2.94 .902 3 0 2 123 7 0 3.42 .879
2019–20 Kamloops Blazers WHL 42 28 10 3 2,443 90 4 2.21 .921 — — — — — — — —
2020–21 Kamloops Blazers WHL 18 15 3 0 1,086 39 3 2.15 .921 — — — — — — — —
2020–21 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 2 0 1 0 81 5 0 3.68 .839 — — — — — — — —
2021–22 Kamloops Blazers WHL 45 34 9 1 2,689 97 4 2.16 .925 17 11 5 1,029 33 3 1.92 .933
2022–23 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 32 13 14 3 1,717 86 3 3.01 .894 8 5 3 477 14 2 1.76 .935
AHL totals 34 13 15 3 1,798 91 3 3.04 .892 8 5 3 477 14 2 1.76 .935

International

Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2019 Canada HG18 2 1 1 0 120 3 1 1.51 .857
2021 Canada WJC 1 0 0 0 20 1 0 3.00 .800
2022 Canada WJC 6 6 0 0 364 12 0 1.98 .925
Junior totals 9 7 2 0 504 16 1 1.90 .914

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Mercogliano, Vincent Z. (November 20, 2020). "An inside look at why the NY Rangers took a chance on fourth-round goalie Dylan Garand". Lohud. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Dylan Garand". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  3. ^ a b Mercogliano, Vincent Z. (June 23, 2022). "NY Rangers prospect report: Brennan Othmann, Will Cuylle knocking on the door". Lohud. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  4. ^ a b Mercogliano, Vincent Z. (December 25, 2020). "Four prospects to watch in World Junior tourney". The Journal News. p. 8B. Retrieved 2022-06-25 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "WHL names B.C. Division All-Star Teams". WHL. April 21, 2022. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  6. ^ Schulze, Aaron (June 2, 2022). "Stankoven named Player of the Year, Garand Goaltender of the Year in WHL Awards". CFJC Today. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  7. ^ Walker, Mollie (July 17, 2022). "Rangers build depth at goalie with new Igor Shesterkin backups". New York Post. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  8. ^ Staple, Arthur (February 7, 2022). "Rangers prospect pipeline check-in: Dylan Garand continues his rise – arguably the best goalie in the CHL". The Athletic.
  9. ^ "CHL announces 2021-22 Award winners". Canadian Hockey League. June 28, 2022. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  10. ^ "Blazers' Stankoven wins Player of the Year as CHL announces award winners". TSN. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  11. ^ a b Masters, Mark (December 26, 2021). "'Freshly-inked' Garand caps dream week with first World Junior start". TSN. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  12. ^ "Rangers Assign 19 Players to Hartford". nhl.com. September 29, 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  13. ^ a b c Walker, Mollie (September 15, 2023). "Rangers believe Wolf Pack goalie Dylan Garand is on 'right path' for larger workload". New York Post. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  14. ^ Mercogliano, Vincent Z. (1 September 2023). "Dylan Garand: NY Rangers prospect No. 6 in system rankings". Lohud. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  15. ^ Brooks, Larry (8 November 2023). "Rangers call up AHL goalies after Jonathan Quick joins Igor Shesterkin on 'day-to-day list'". New York Post. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  16. ^ Walker, Mollie (10 November 2023). "Louis Domingue has big night in Rangers' win: 'It felt amazing'". New York Post. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  17. ^ Walker, Mollie (11 November 2023). "There are plenty of reasons for Rangers' run of success". New York Post. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  18. ^ a b Ellis, Steven (December 17, 2021). "Dylan Garand hopes strong season translates to World Junior success with Canada". The Hockey News. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  19. ^ Van Diest, Derek (December 16, 2021). "Juniors try to ease pressure for goalies". The Province. p. 41. Retrieved 2022-06-25 – via newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Masters, Mark (August 11, 2022). "Garand brings 'extreme focus' to Team Canada's net". TSN. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  21. ^ Sandor, Steven (August 20, 2022). "Canada defeats Finland in OT thriller for gold at world juniors in Edmonton". CBC Sports. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  22. ^ Reimer, Dayton (July 12, 2020). "Dylan Garand – 2020 Draft Prospect Profile". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  23. ^ Walker, Mollie (September 16, 2022). "Rangers rookies plan on showing off summer 'grind' in regular season". New York Post. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  24. ^ Stephenson, Colin (September 20, 2022). "Rangers goalie Dylan Garand looking to make big step up". Newsday. Retrieved 2022-09-29.

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