Dylan Garand is living an NHL goalie's dream ... but will it last?

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  Greg WyshynskiOct 19, 2026, 07:30 AM ET

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  Greg Wyshynski is ESPN's senior NHL writer.

TARRYTOWN, NY -- Dylan Garand is living every goalie's NHL dream. Except he loathes how it started and he can't help but wonder how quickly it might end.

Garand, 24, spent his last four professional seasons as a goalie for the Hartford Wolf Pack, the AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers. That appeared to be his lot in life again for 2026-27, despite a promising training camp: The Rangers had star goalie Igor Shesterkin ready to play at least 65% of their games and veteran backup Joonas Korpisalo to fill in the blanks.

Before the season, the Rangers put Garand on waivers to be sent down to Hartford. While some expected he might be claimed by another team, Garand passed through and was demoted to the AHL. He got an apartment in the Hartford area and slept in a hotel for three nights while it remained unfurnished.

He never did get quality time in that new apartment. Korpisalo sustained a lower-body injury and was week-to-week. Garand was suddenly Shesterkin's backup for the Rangers' second game.

The Rangers' vibes early in the season were immaculate. After an opening night stumble against the Bruins, they won four straight games, looking like a team with playoff potential just nine months after GM Chris Drury set a letter to fans preparing them for a roster "retool."

Garand contributed to that early bliss with a 22-save shutout of Detroit in his first NHL start on Oct. 2 -- one night after Shesterkin became the talk of the sports world after scoring his first career goal in a win over Tampa Bay.

"On the ice, he's unreal to watch. He's my favorite goalie, honestly," Garand said of Shesterkin. "He was on another planet, playing so well. It really sucks what happened. I feel so bad for him."

The Rangers' season irrevocably changed on Oct. 9 when Shesterkin injured his right knee in the second period during a loss to the Washington Capitals. The next day it was announced that the Vezina-winning goalie would miss the rest of the season.

"It's awful. He's a pillar of this team. It stinks," captain J.T. Miller said at the time.

"It's obviously devastating. He's the best goalie in the world," forward Matt Rempe said.

Garand didn't initially know the severity of Shesterkin's injury. He saw him helped off the ice, but Garand's focus was on entering the game for the Rangers, stopping 10 of 11 shots he faced. "I did media the next day after practice and they were like, 'Oh, did you hear the news?' After we were done, I went and saw it was on TV," he recalled.

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Igor Shesterkin helped off ice after skating into the post

In an ideal world, Garand would have earned an NHL starting job through years of toiling in the AHL and patiently waiting for his chance. Instead, like so many backup goalies, his big break came at the expense of another goalie's broken body, getting unexpectedly thrust into the starter's crease.

"It's an unfortunate circumstance with Shesty, but now I'm just trying to help the team any way I can," Garand said.

In six appearances, Garand is 5-3-1 with a .927 save percentage and an impressive 1.82 goals-against average. His only previous NHL experience came last season, when he started three games and went 2-0-1, posting a fantastic .948 save percentage and a 1.62 goals-against average.

It's been a lightning-speed journey from apartment hunting in Hartford to starting goalie for the New York Rangers, under the glaring spotlights of Madison Square Garden.

"Yeah, it's obviously been crazy. But it's been a lot of fun," he said.

GARAND IS FROM Victoria, BC, and was drafted 103rd overall in 2020 by the Rangers from the Western Hockey League's Kamloops Blazers. His idol growing up was another BC native: Carey Price, who starred for 15 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens. Garand had Price's poster on his bedroom wall, but he didn't pattern his style after Price.

"As you get older, I think you just figure out what works for you. There are 64 goalies in the NHL and I don't think you can pinpoint two that play exactly alike," he said. "There are so many different ways to make saves. I just kind of stick to what works for me."

Kevin Woodley, a goaltending analyst for InGoal Magazine and NHL.com, said that Garand reminds him of Calgary Flames netminder Dustin Wolf.

"Exceptional edges and patience. He rarely gets too wide and low too soon, all of which fuels excellent movement and positioning," Woodley said.

If there's one aspect to Garand's game that's already caught coach Mike Sullivan's attention, it's his self assurance.

"He's got a lot of confidence in his game. He knows how important he is to helping this team win," Sullivan said. "He's trying to take advantage of the opportunity that he has."

Garand said he's just trying to live in the moment.

"Any opportunity that I get, I'm just trying to make the most of it and battle in there for the guys," he said. "I'm just trying to right now be present. It's really fun to play in the NHL. I definitely don't take it for granted."

Less fun for Garand: The speculation about how long his opportunity will actually last.

His locker room stall might as well be filled with ticking clocks:

• Korpisalo will eventually return from injury -- he's been week-to-week -- and has 11 seasons and 334 NHL games to his credit. Tick, tick ...

• ESPN's Emily Kaplan reported that recently retired goalie Jonathan Quick, 40, could be a possibility if the Rangers asked him to return. Quick was Shesterkin's backup for the last three seasons. Tick, tick ...

• Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported on "32 Thoughts" that Rangers goalie scout Scott Clemmensen recently took in a Buffalo Sabres game, reportedly to get a look at goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as a possible trade target. Tick, tick ...

Friedman's podcast dropped on Oct. 15. Perhaps coincidentally, or perhaps not, Garand had his worst NHL performance that night in a 7-1 loss at the rival New Jersey Devils. He gave up four goals on 13 shots and was pulled for the first time in his NHL career.

"Sometimes that happens. You don't really feel good about yourself," Garand said. "[But] the best goalies in the world -- Carey Price, Henrik Lundqvist, Igor -- everyone's been pulled. I wasn't happy. I didn't do a good enough job of being present. I let the self-doubt creep into my game too much."

On one day, Garand looked like the potential goaltending savior for the Rangers in what might have been a lost season without Shesterkin. On the next, he was chased from the crease, while his team's front office was checking on other options.

Because of that, Garand's next start, for many reasons, would be the most scrutinized of his short NHL career.

Garand returned to the crease on Saturday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Rangers lost the game, 1-0 in overtime, but Garand made his statement: Stopping 28 of 29 shots, with a handful of highlight-reel saves.

"I thought that was a huge response from him. He's a high-character kid. The more you get to know him as a person, you knew he was going to bounce back," Sullivan said.

"I'm happy for him. He's a competitor and he wanted to be better," Miller said.

The Rangers captain said his team is prepared to support whoever is tending goal for the team -- but that Garand has impressed him.

"It doesn't matter who's in net for us. We have a job to do up front. We've talked about the void with Shesty out of the lineup, but Dylan's been unreal every time he's had a chance," he said.

Despite all those ticking clocks, Garand doesn't believe he has a limited amount of time to earn the Rangers' starting job this season.

"It's pro hockey. Anything can happen. All those decisions are out of my control. I just show up every day, focused on stopping pucks. And if they tell me to play, I'll play. If not, then I'm not. So that's just kind of my approach to it," he said. "I want to help this team win in any way I can."

And if he wins enough, Garand might even see about that breaking that apartment lease in Hartford.

"If I'm here for the whole year, then yeah, I'll try," he said. "But until I get permission to do that, I won't."