![\"Dylan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/USATSI_27688263.jpg\")
<\/p>\nHARTFORD, Conn. \u2014 Most professional athletes will tell you they avoid reading their own clippings or spending much time on social media. How many actually abide by that is anyone\u2019s guess, but we can safely assume at least some occasionally \u2014 and discreetly \u2014 give in to temptation.<\/p>\n
Dylan Garand is unique in the sense that he doesn\u2019t try to hide it. The New York Rangers\u2019 goalie prospect, who\u2019s in the midst of his fourth full season with the team\u2019s AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, came right out with it following Thursday\u2019s practice at PeoplesBank Arena.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes I look up my name on Twitter,\u201d Garand told The Athletic, unprompted. \u201cI\u2019m not talked about a ton, so I can see a lot of stuff. And everyone just roasts me about how bad I\u2019ve been this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The criticism has added a layer of frustration to a season that hasn\u2019t gone according to plan for Garand or the Wolf Pack, who have lost seven of their last eight and sit at the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings entering Friday\u2019s home game against the Utica Comets.<\/p>\n
The message coming out of Thursday\u2019s visit was that the situation isn\u2019t as bad as Hartford\u2019s 17-24-4-2 record suggests. Coach Grant Potulny compared it to their parent club\u2019s start to the season, when the Rangers felt \u201cthey were playing good hockey; they just couldn\u2019t get wins.\u201d Garand echoed those sentiments from a team perspective, while also defending his individual numbers (11-12-2 record, .889 save percentage, 3.07 goals-against average).<\/p>\n
\u201cMy stats this year are ass,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re so bad, it\u2019s almost laughable, but I\u2019m playing way better than my stats say. It\u2019s tough sometimes when you play a game, and you get only 20 shots and maybe let in three or four goals, but you had eight breakaways and four shots from the slot. If that\u2019s 12 shots and you\u2019re saving nine of those, you\u2019re gonna say, \u2018He\u2019s playing pretty good.\u2019 I think the video would prove more.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m definitely not my best,\u201d Garand added. \u201cI\u2019m not here to say that I\u2019ve been playing unreal this year, because obviously, to my standard anyway, unreal, you would see it. But it\u2019s tough in this league to get a feel for it when you\u2019re not watching the games.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are no AHL analytics publicly available to gauge the quality of the scoring chances Garand has faced, but the standings indicate the play in front of all Hartford goalies has been lackluster. It\u2019s also clearly been a season of streaks for the 23-year-old.<\/p>\n
Garand was an AHL All-Star last season while posting career highs in wins (20), SV% (.913) and GAA (2.73), which earned him a selection to Team Canada for the 2025 IIHF World Championships. He came out of the gate slowly in 2025-26, though, posting sub-.900 save percentages in seven of his first 11 starts.<\/p>\n
The 2020 fourth-round pick responded by catching fire, going 4-2 with a .958 SV%, 1.35 GAA and two shutouts to earn AHL goalie of the month honors in December. He opened January with another solid outing, stopping 21 of 22 shots faced in a Jan. 3 win over the Bridgeport Islanders. But there was a dip for the remainder of the month, with Garand registering an .875 SV% or worse in six of his next eight appearances.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes, it\u2019s like you look at a pitcher in baseball, or a guy who\u2019s a (designated hitter),\u201d Potulny said. \u201cOne year, the guy hits .310 and hits 40 home runs, and the next year he hits .290 and 20 home runs. Everybody\u2019s like, \u2018What\u2019s going on?\u2019 It\u2019s just, for whatever reason, it was a down year. The guy the next year could be back to his .310 and 40 home runs. The goaltending position is the same way.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of it is, he had such a strong year last year that everybody always wants to build. But development doesn\u2019t go like this,\u201d the coach said while holding his arm up diagonally, then motioning his hand up-and-down and adding, \u201cIt\u2019s like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Igor Shesterkin owns the Rangers\u2019 net, but a lower-body injury has kept him out since January. (James Guillory \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
That\u2019s likely part of it, but a fairly obvious flashpoint that may have affected Garand\u2019s psyche came after that strong Jan. 3 performance.<\/p>\n
He entered the season under the impression he\u2019d be next in line in the event of injury to either Rangers goalie, Igor Shesterkin or Jonathan Quick. So, when Shesterkin went down with a lower-body ailment on Jan. 5, which has kept him out of the lineup ever since, a clear path was created for Garand to make his NHL debut.<\/p>\n