New York Rangers prospect rankings: goalies
It’s safe to say that with Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick at the NHL level, the New York Rangers goaltending is in good hands for the 2024-25 season. But there are questions behind them in the organization after the Rangers again decided to not select a goalie in the 2024 NHL Draft.
Shesterkin is one of the best goalies in the world, which he proved again in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this past spring. He can be an unrestricted free agent after next season and reportedly is seeking to become the highest-paid goalie in the NHL. But you’d have to think he’ll be a Ranger for the long haul after a long-term contract is hammered out.
Quick is 38 and playing it year by year at this stage of his career. The future Hall of Famer is a three-time Stanley Cup champion, a Conn Smythe Trophy winner and the winningest United States-born goalie in NHL history. And he proved last season that he can still play, forming an outstanding tandem with Shesterkin on Broadway.
For their American Hockey League affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, 32-year-old Louis Domingue is set to return as the third goalie on the organizational depth chart, filling a 1A role in the minor leagues, and first-call up capable of making a spot-start in case of injury or other emergency. He is on a one-year contract with a $775,000 cap hit at the NHL level and can be a UFA after next season,. Domingue appeared in one game for the Rangers last season, a win against the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 9. Domingue has appeared in 73 regular-season games with Hartford over the past two seasons, compiling a record of 38-20-12 with five shutouts.
After the three veterans at the top of the organizational depth chart, the Rangers are pretty thin prospects-wise at the goalie position.
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Ranking New York Rangers goalie prospects
Let’s break down the three goalie prospects in the Rangers organization after Olof Lindblom signed to play in Europe next season and the Rangers then did not extend him a qualifying offer, allowing the 23-year-old goalie to become an NHL unrestricted free agent.
1. Dylan Garand
The clear top goalie prospect and possible goalie of the future for the Rangers is Dylan Garand. Selected in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Draft, Garand played the past two seasons with Hartford in the AHL in a 1B role, and looks primed to take over as the clear No. 1 with an eye toward becoming an NHL backup as soon as the 2025-26 season. During the 2023-24 regular season, the Garand posted a record of 16-17-5 with two shutouts. His goals-against average was 3.03 and he had an .898 save percentage.
These numbers may seem below average at first glance, but the Wolf Pack were not very good most of last season. It was in the Calder Cup Playoffs when Garand shined most and showed his potential during long runs the past two years. In the 2024 playoffs, Garand appeared in nine games, with a record of 5-4, allowing only 24 goals against and had a sterling .922 save percentage and 2.59 GAA. His numbers the year before in 2023 were even better, with a 5-3 record in eight games, a 1.76 GAA and .935 save percentage and two shutouts.
Internationally, Garand has represented Canada on multiple occasions at the junior level. He helped Canada win the silver medal at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, appearing in two games. He served as the backup to Devon Levi for the 2021 World Junior Championship, playing in one game during the tournament when Canada won the silver medal. He was named to play for Canada again for the 2022 tournament initially scheduled to be played in December 2021 and January 2022 before it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When the tournament resumed in August 2022, Garand returned as the No. 1 goalie and in six of Canada’s seven games. He won each of his starts and finished with a 1.98 GAA, helping Canada capture gold along with fellow Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann.
2. Talyn Boyko
The most recent goaltender to have been drafted by the Rangers is Tayln Boyko, who was selected in the fourth round in 2021. The 6-foot-7 goalie appeared in 26 games this past season with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL, posting a record of 13-9-1 with a 3.42 GAA and .888 save percentage. Boyko also saw action with the Wolf Pack, coming on in relief for one playoff game.
Boyko is expected to form a tandem with Hugo Ollas for the Bloomington Bison, the new ECHL affiliate of the Rangers. He will need to improve upon his numbers if he is to remain in the organization and be re-signed next summer, as he’s entering the final year of his entry-level contract.
3. Hugo Ollas
Hugo Ollas signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Rangers on March 15. The 6-foot-8 Swedish netminder was drafted in the seventh round back in 2020. In three seasons at Merrimack College, Ollas appeared in 64 games, compiling a record of 27-27-0 with six shutouts. He had a career 2.48 GAA and .914 save percentage.
After agreeing to an Amateur Tryout, Ollas appeared in one game for the Wolf Pack, a winning effort on April 20 against the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Ollas is expected to form a tandem with Boyko at Bloomington in the ECHL. If he progresses and develops as hoped, Ollas could be promoted to Hartford in the AHL to continue his path towards becoming an NHL option for the Rangers.
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