WOLF PACK UNLEASHED: DYLAN GARAND
Aug 21, 2025HARTFORD, CT – For Dylan Garand, the 2024-25 season represents a professional high mark. Selected in the fourth round, 103rd overall, by the New York Rangers in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Garand has shown statistical growth in each of his three seasons as a pro.
With the Hartford Wolf Pack during the 2024-25 season, Garand set new career high marks in wins with 20, save percentage with a .913 mark, and goals-against average with a 2.73. He also tied his career high in shutouts with three.
It was a season that put Garand on the level of the league’s best goaltenders, the kind of year he can be proud of.
“I feel pretty good about it,” he said when asked about the season. “Obviously, as a team, not where we wanted to finish, I’d have preferred we wrapped up months after April, but that’s kind of just the way it went this year. I’m proud of the way I laid it on the line every night and competed, I tried to give the guys a chance to win every night. I think it was a good year for myself on a personal level, and I learned a lot.”
Giving his team a chance to win every night resulted in a career-high in wins for the native of Victoria, BC. He finished with a record of 20-10-8, which was also good for the fewest losses in his professional career.
In a 72-game season, winning 20 games is an accomplishment that only a select few goalies are able to pull off each AHL season. It’s a milestone that was not lost on Garand when looking back on the season that was.
“It was awesome. That’s the name of the game, winning,” he said. “20 wins is a great number, definitely felt nice to get that in my last start. I was stuck on it for a couple of weeks there, so it was nice to get that in my final start. It’s pretty cool to do for the first time, but hopefully I can top that number next year.”
That’s always been the young netminder’s mindset. Garand was sensational for the Wolf Pack during the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs, helping guide the team to the Atlantic Division Finals. He carried that momentum into the 2023-24 season, in which he improved in almost every statistical category.
Garand felt, however, after the 2023-24 season that his regular season numbers didn’t quite reflect the step he truly took. He enjoyed another strong postseason run in the spring of 2024, using that as a springboard for a year in which he admits he took a step in his development.
“Yeah, for sure,” Garand proclaimed when asked if he felt he took a major step last season. “I honestly feel a little bit of the same as last year. I think, maybe, I was even better than my numbers showed this past season. It was nice to get those results. Obviously, it’s a factor of the work I put in every day, last summer and every day this season. I’m a big process guy and I believe in my process. I know if I focus on my process, then the stats and stuff like that will take care of itself. I think it did for the most part this past season.”
So what is the next step in the process? Louis Domingue, who has been in tandem with Garand for the last three seasons, signed overseas in July and will not return to Hartford this fall. That leaves Garand as potentially the workhorse for a Wolf Pack team determined to return to the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Is that the next step in the development process for this young netminder?
“For sure,” he said. “I think a little bit of that and also pushing to play in the NHL. I think I showed this year that I can be one of, if not the, best goalies in this league and NHL caliber. Obviously, I’m waiting for my opportunity up top. I know that if I keep putting in the work, that’ll come. Wherever I am, whether it is up there or here, I’m going to compete to win and keep working hard and getting better every day.
“If I’m in Hartford, I’m really excited to carry the load for this team. It’s exciting looking forward to that.”
After missing the Calder Cup Playoffs in April, Garand embarked on his first extended offseason as a pro. Extra time to rest and recover. Extra time to prepare and train.
How is he spending that time, ahead of a season in which he is hoping to improve upon statistics that made him an AHL All-Star?
“Working on some things here and there,” Garand said about what he’s looking to improve on this summer. “I want to work on my skating, work on my puck handling, and I want to work on presenting myself bigger as well.
“I think if I do those things and keep working hard every day, come training camp, I’ll be ready for whatever opportunity I’m given. Those things are kind of the focus. I like where my game is at and I’m just going to keep working to improve everything overall.”
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ABOUT THE HARTFORD WOLF PACK: The Hartford Wolf Pack has been a premier franchise in the American Hockey League since the team’s inception in 1997. The Wolf Pack are the top player-development affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers and play at PeoplesBank Arena. The Wolf Pack has been home to some of the Rangers newest faces including Igor Shesterkin, Will Cuylle, and Matt Rempe. Follow the Wolf Pack on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, and TikTok.