Former Blazer Dylan Garand named AHL goaltender of the month for December

HARTFORD, CT — Former Kamloops Blazers netminder Dylan Garand has been named the American Hockey League’s goaltender of the month for December.

Garand posted a 4-2 record with two shutouts in December as a member of the Hartford Wolf Pack, the AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers. He allowed just eight goals on 192 shots giving him a 1.35 goals-against average and a .958 save percentage in the final month of 2024.

The 22-year-old Victoria native, who is into his third season of professional hockey, is one of the top goaltenders in the American Hockey League. He has a 9-4-2 record with a 2.25 goals-against average, a .926 save percentage for Hartford this season.

Garand, the 2021-22 Canadian Hockey League goaltender of the year, boasts a 38-36-10 record with a 2.89 GAA, a .901 save percentage and seven shutouts in 88 career regular-season games for the Wolf Pack. He also backstopped Hartford to the division finals of the Calder Cup Playoffs in each of the last two postseasons.

A fourth-round pick by the New York Rangers in the 2020 NHL Draft, Garand is the first member of the Hartford Wolf Pack to be named AHL goaltender of the month since Igor Shesterkin in October 2019.

As a Blazer, Garand posted a 90-31-5-2 record in 136 regular season games over five seasons. He ended his WHL career with 12 shutouts, a 2.33 goals against average and a .919 save percentage.

Garand also finished with a 11-7-1 record, a 2.08 goals against average, and a .927 save percentage in 20 playoffs appearances over two seasons.