Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
Dylan Garand just wanted his chance.
It’s here now.
Garand is the New York Rangers’ new starting goaltender, an unlikely turn of events considering the 24-year-old was on waivers just two weeks ago.
But life in hockey can change quickly.
Assigned to Hartford after being waived after training camp, Garand landed a starring role on Broadway following a season-ending injury. Igor Shesterkin. Finally, the 2020 fourth-round draft pick who spent four full seasons with the Wolf Pack could be settling in for an extended NHL stay.
“He means a lot to the guys in this room and to me personally,” Garand said Saturday. “It’s the next person. That’s my approach here.”
As much as circumstances created this situation, it is Garand’s play that put him, and no one else, in position to take over. Those years in the AHL are starting to pay off, even if at various points it looked like they might not. Fairly confident but not cocky, Garand doesn’t shy away from asserting his belief that he’s ready and willing to play in New York.
“Very ready,” said Garand. “I think I have a little bit on my shoulder. I’m really excited for this opportunity to fight for the boys and I definitely feel ready.”
Garand’s professional journey began during the Covid-affected 2020-21 season, when he made two appearances for the Wolf Pack as an 18-year-old. As a rookie in 2022-23, he helped lead Hartford to the Calder Cup playoffs for the first time in eight years, then returned in 2024. In 17 postseason appearances for Hartford, he has a 2.21 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage to go along with two shutouts.
He posted career highs with 20 wins and a .913 save percentage in 2024-25, earning a selection to the AHL All-Star Classic. But still, he remained in Hartford, third on the depth chart, as the Rangers decided to go with a veteran backup. Yaroslav Halak and: Jonathan Quick.
But as last season wound down in both New York and Hartford, Garand remained steady, keeping the Wolf Pack in games most nights. He was over .500 (16-15-2) on a team that finished dead last in the 32-team AHL. And finally, he got a chance to show that he can play in the NHL, making 35 saves in his debut on March 22, 2026.
Garand signed a two-year extension with the organization in the offseason. But 10 days later, New York took over Joonas Korpisalo From Boston. That set up a training camp battle for the Rangers’ backup role. Corpisalo, who played 334 NHL games, won it and Garand was ticketed back to Hartford.
Giving up Garand was a risky move for the Rangers. goalkeepers Levi Merilanen, Remy Poirier and: Clay Stevenson all claimed in recent days.
But he cleaned up. And it was back to Hartford… until it wasn’t.
Korpisalo went down with a lower-body injury before his first game of the season. Garand was recalled to back up Shesterkin in the Rangers’ home opener on Oct. 1, then got the start and earned his first NHL start a night later in Detroit.
Then there was last Friday in Washington, when Shesterkin went down awkwardly with an apparent right leg injury. The forecast dropped the next day to be out for the season.
And with Korpisalo also out, it’s Garandin in net.
Starting goalie for the New York Rangers is not a role that comes up very often. For more than 40 years, it has mostly been the case John Vanbisbrooke, Mike Richter, Henrik Lundqvist and Shesterkin.
“I’m excited for this opportunity,” Garand said. “I’m going to put my heart and soul into these guys and this city every night.”
With more than two decades in the American Hockey League, TheAHL.com feature writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was awarded the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for outstanding coverage of the league in 2015-16.