Staple Dylan Garand Continues His Rise — 'Arguably the Best Goalie in the CHL'

[Phil]

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Terrific is a good way to describe Garand’s season so far. He leads all WHL goalies with a .926 save percentage and a 1.97 goals-against average, just ahead of World Junior teammate Sebastian Cossa, the Red Wings’ 2021 first-rounder who, according to sources, was a strong target of the Rangers — Detroit traded up from No. 23 to No. 15 to nab Cossa just ahead of the Rangers.

 

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Garand does not fit the mold of the prototypical NHL goalie of this era: He’s 6-foot-1 and 181 pounds. Rangers goalie guru Benoit Allaire has done wonders with some goalies considered too small to be perfect NHL fits, like that Lundqvist fellow who was also, coincidentally, 6-1 and about 180. Garand has the sort of personal qualities that have allowed him to flourish with Kamloops for four years in the high-scoring WHL, where his save percentage has improved steadily from a .902 in his age 16 rookie season to .921 in his draft and post-draft seasons, even though the 2020-21 “season” in the WHL was a pandemic-shortened 22 games.

 

“He’s probably the most committed to the process of any goaltender I’ve been around,” Clouston said. “It’s not a surprise to me. It’s just been relentless for the three years that I’ve worked with him — relentless his commitment to his craft. It’s, ‘What can I do today to improve myself to accomplish ultimately what I believe is going to happen?'”

 

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“Besides his skill set, work ethic, that’s probably his greatest ability, is to refocus, reset, reframe everything. … Whether it’s a warmup, cool down, workout, goalie ice, his greatest asset is he’s completely immersed in the moment. We get back from Kelowna, about a two-hour ride, 12:15, 12:30 a.m. — he starts unpacking his gear and filling up the cold tub. He makes sure he’s gonna do that before he hops in the car and goes home. There’s a commitment to what’s next.”

 

https://theathletic.com/3112080/2022/02/07/rangers-prospect-pipeline-check-in-dylan-garand-continues-his-rise-arguably-the-best-goalie-in-the-chl/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983

 

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His preparation and mental dedication sound Lundqvist-esque.

[Pete]

"Best goalie in the CHL" yet career outlook was "He could be a good backup"...

[Dunny]

It's a goalie. Nobody has a clue what he is, until he gets to the next level and shows it.

[siddious]

3 hours ago, Pete said:

"Best goalie in the CHL" yet career outlook was "He could be a good backup"...

I mean… hank was a 7th round pick.

 

I feel like with goalies you just don’t know what they are until they play in the NHL like Dunny said. But it’s an encouraging report. 

[Pete]

I was leaning more towards "Pronman is an idiot". 

[josh]

He didn’t even make the Russian Olympic team!