Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
Dylan Garand just wanted his chance.
Now it’s here.
Garand is the new starting goaltender for the New York Rangers, an improbable turn of events considering the 24-year-old was on waivers just two weeks ago.
But hockey life can change quickly.
Assigned to Hartford after clearing waivers following training camp, Garand has been thrust into a starring role on Broadway following a season-ending injury to Igor Shesterkin. At long last, the 2020 fourth-round draft pick who put in four full seasons with the Wolf Pack could be settling in for a long NHL stay.
“He means a lot to the guys in this room, and a lot to me personally,” Garand said Saturday. “It’s next-man-up. That’s kind of my approach here.”
As much as circumstance may have created this situation, Garand’s play is what put him – and not someone else – in position to take over. Those years in the AHL are starting to pay off, even if at different points they seemed like they may not. Quite confident but not cocky, Garand does not shy away from asserting his belief that he is – and has been – ready to play in New York.
“Very ready,” Garand said. “I think I have a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I’m really excited for this opportunity to go battle for the guys, and I feel ready, for sure.”
Garand’s pro journey started 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 to pull Hartford into the Calder Cup Playoffs for the first time since in eight years, then brought them back in 2024. He showed that he can handle pressure hockey; in 17 postseason appearances for Hartford, he has a 2.21 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage alongside two shutouts.
He set 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 opted to go with veteran backups Jaroslav Halak and Jonathan Quick.
But as last season unraveled in both New York and Hartford, Garand remained steady, holding the Wolf Pack in games many 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 he could play in the NHL, making 35 saves in his debut on Mar. 22, 2026.
Garand signed a two-year extension with the organization in the offseason. But 10 days later, New York acquired Joonas Korpisalo from Boston. That set up a training-camp battle for the Rangers’ back-up role. Korpisalo, who has played 334 NHL games, won it, and Garand was ticketed for a return to Hartford.
Waiving Garand was a risky move for the Rangers; goaltenders Leevi Merilainen, Rémi Poirier and Clay Stevenson had all been claimed in recent days.
But he cleared. And it was back to Hartford… until it wasn’t.
Korpisalo went down with a lower-body injury before he even played his first game of the season. Garand was recalled to back up Shesterkin in the Rangers’ home opener Oct. 1, then got the start and earned his first NHL shutout in Detroit a night later.
Then came last Friday in Washington, when Shesterkin awkwardly went down with an apparent right-leg injury. The prognosis came down the next day: out for the season.
And with Korpisalo still out as well, the net is Garand’s.
Starting goaltender of the New York Rangers is not a role that opens up very often. For more than 40 years, it has basically been John Vanbiesbrouck, Mike Richter, Henrik Lundqvist and Shesterkin.
“I’m excited for the opportunity,” Garand said. “I’m going to put my heart and soul on the line for these guys and this city, every night.”
On the American Hockey League beat for more than two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2015-16.
