by Sean Dufresne | AHL On The Beat
In the final year of his entry-level contract, Dylan Garand it hasn’t been easy between the pipes this season for the Hartford Wolf Pack.
The 2020 fourth-round draft pick of the New York Rangers has shined in his third season, with stats showing his meteoric rise to become one of the top forwards in the American Hockey League.
To understand Garand’s strong start, we have to look back to the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs, a defining moment in the young goaltender’s career that saw him appear in nine of the Wolf Pack’s 10 postseason games.
“I think that the experience that I will enter this year has really helped me mature,” said Garand. “Playing those games, I was able to really find my game and what works for me.”
He played a key role in the Wolf Pack taking down the Charlotte Checkers on the road in a down-to-the-wire best-of-three series. Garand posted a .954 save percentage and a 1.61 goals-against average in the series.
The 22-year-old netminder prides herself on her preparation, and says that this contributes to her good all-around performance.
“I think my preparation has been the most important part of my development and I’ve finally done my job throughout my career,” said Garand. “If you put in the work and do everything you need to do to get ready to go to war, there’s no doubt in your mind and you can play free and go to work.”
And the work has paid off for Garand. He opened his 2024-25 campaign with a 4-0-1 record in his first five games and followed it up with even more impressive results as Hartford entered a four-game stretch in early December.
Garand recorded consecutive shutouts against the Rockford IceHogs and Hershey Bears, the first shutout by a Wolf Pack goaltender in more than a decade. The shutout came in enough time for Garand to allow just four goals in a five-game span from Dec. 4-20, putting him in the top 10 in the AHL in wins, GAA, save percentage and shutouts.
As the Wolf Pack prepares to celebrate 50 years of professional hockey in Hartford this month, Garand reflected on playing in front of a dedicated group of Hartford fans.
“I really liked my time here,” he said. “The fans here are great and they’ve shown a lot of support as a team, and for me individually.”
The balance in the Atlantic Division is as high as it’s ever been this season, and with consistent scoring on the backend, it’s given the Wolf Pack a fighting chance night in and night out.
