Colin Stephenson: Rangers' Dylan Garand waits patiently for his next shot in goal
Rangers goaltender Dylan Garand looks on against Chicago in the second period of an NHL game at Madison Square Garden on March 27. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Life is just different when you’re a goalie. And when you’re a young goalie trying to break in, it sometimes requires a great deal of patience.
When he finally got his chance to play in the NHL, Dylan Garand didn’t fumble it. The 23-year-old from Victoria, British Columbia, a fourth-round pick by the Rangers in the 2020 draft, made his NHL debut March 22 after four seasons in Hartford with the Rangers’ top minor-league affiliate. He made 35 saves in a shootout loss to the Winnipeg Jets, then made 27 saves in a brilliant performance in earning his first NHL victory five days later against Chicago.
His goals-against average and save percentage for those two games were 1.44 and .954.
And he hasn’t played since.
“This is just part of the process that Dylan has gone through with the Rangers,’’ coach Mike Sullivan said when asked about Garand’s extended period of not playing. “I'm just new to it this year, but these are some of the things that Chris [Drury, the Rangers’ GM] and I have talked about with his overall growth and maturation. And the question that I always try to ask [is] what do we think is best for his continued growth and development?’’
Garand, who did not play Wednesday in the Rangers’ home finale at Madison Square Garden — Igor Shesterkin got the start — isn’t complaining.
“Whether I get to play or not is out of my control, so I don't want to focus on any of that,’’ Garand told Newsday on Tuesday. “I'm just trying to be here and get better and learn every day, and just get valuable experience. In my point of development, being here is important . . . I do know that I will play in the NHL again at some point, whether it's this year or not. I'm not too worried about that.’’
For now, Sullivan said, the Rangers believe even if Garand isn’t playing, it’s good for him to be practicing with the big club, and to be hanging around and learning from Shesterkin and future Hall of Famer Jonathan Quick, who sit on either side of him in the practice locker room. Garand is totally on board with that.
“I feel like, for me, where I'm at in my development, NHL practices are really important,’’ he said. “You know, the guys shoot different here. Plays develop differently. All sorts of things are a little different. So it's an adjustment to make. So, the longer I'm here, the more adjusted I can get to that.’’
He pointed out that the NHL and AHL schedules are different, in that AHL teams practice all week and play mostly on the weekends, where NHL teams play games on the weekends and in midweek, and don’t practice as often. So as a goalie, he said, he has to figure out how to get the amount of work he needs to stay sharp, whether that means going on the ice a half-hour before practice, or staying on a half-hour afterward to work with the goalie coach.
Still, the Rangers have just three games remaining after Wednesday. They close the season with a road trip to Dallas Saturday, Florida Monday and Tampa next Wednesday. So, will Garand get to play in one of those?
Sullivan wouldn’t answer that. But he did say there is a game plan for how the team will handle the goaltending in the final stretch and that Shesterkin, the unquestioned No. 1, will play, because he wants to. Quick, 40, is in the final year of his contract, and — though Sullivan wouldn’t say so — may not be back next season. It would be a sign of appreciation to get him one last start.
As for getting one more look at Garand, Sullivan said, “At the end of the day, is that going to influence where we stand as far as assessing his overall game? Probably not.’’
Hartford, which is last in the Atlantic Division and likely won’t make the AHL playoffs, has six games remaining: Friday at home, Saturday and Sunday away, then games Wednesday, Friday and Saturday next week.
If Garand is to play again this season, he may have to go down to Hartford and play there, and he said he’d be OK with that.
“For sure,’’ he said. “Those are my guys, my teammates, my brothers down there.
“But at same time, I feel like I'm getting a lot of valuable experience here. And . . . I think this is the next step for me in my development is being here, being around the guys, and practicing. Practicing is so important. You arguably get more out of practice here than you do a game down there. So we'll see.’’
It’s a patient approach, but for young goalies, sometimes, patience is a must.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
