SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Toronto Marlies forward Alex Steeves, Texas Stars forward Justin Hryckowian and Hartford Wolf Pack goaltender Dylan Garand have been selected as the league’s award winners for December.
Steeves, the AHL Player of the Month, recorded seven goals and nine assists for 16 points in 10 games for Toronto during December.
Steeves returned to the Marlies lineup on Dec. 6 after a three-week stint in the NHL and recorded a goal and an assist in regulation along with a goal in the shootout as Toronto defeated Laval, 3-2. He scored twice more in a rematch with the Rocket on Dec. 7, then had three-point games on Dec. 10 vs. Lehigh Valley and Dec. 14 vs. Bakersfield as the Marlies posted consecutive come-from-behind wins. Steeves finished the month with a five-game scoring streak, including scoring the winning goal in a Boxing Day victory over Belleville at Scotiabank Arena.
Steeves has totaled 28 points (16 goals, 12 assists) in 21 games for the Marlies this season, leading the team in goals, points and plus/minus rating (+13). The 25-year-old native of Saint Paul, Minn., has totaled 85 goals and 97 assists for 182 points in 209 career AHL games over four seasons with the Marlies, and earned a trip to the AHL All-Star Classic in 2024. He has also appeared in 11 NHL contests – including four this season – with the Toronto Maple Leafs, posting one assist. Steeves signed with the Leafs as a free agent out of the University of Notre Dame on Mar. 28, 2021.
Hryckowian, the AHL Rookie of the Month, posted seven goals and 10 points in 10 games for Texas in December, and capped off the month by making his NHL debut.
Hryckowian recorded two assists in the Stars’ 5-3 win at Ontario on Dec. 3, and picked up another helper in a 4-2 victory at Henderson on Dec. 8. He had a two-goal outing against Chicago on Dec. 13, then scored against the Wolves again the next night and once more vs. Grand Rapids on Dec. 17. Hryckowian netted a goal in Texas’s 4-0 win at Milwaukee on Dec. 21 before scoring twice in a 3-2 win at Grand Rapids on Dec. 22 – giving him seven goals in a six-game span. Recalled by Dallas after the Christmas break, Hryckowian skated in two games for the parent Stars, including his NHL debut on Dec. 29 at Chicago.
Hryckowian, 23, joined the Stars organization as a free agent on Mar. 20, 2024, following three seasons at Northeastern University, where he was captain in 2023-24 and was twice voted the Hockey East conference’s best defensive forward. The native of Ile-Bizard, Que., is currently tied for the AHL lead among rookies with 12 goals and 26 points, and his plus-17 rating leads all forwards in the entire league. Hryckowian made his pro debut with Texas at the end of last season, recording three points in 12 regular-season games and four points in seven contests during the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Garand, the AHL Goaltender of the Month, allowed just eight goals on 192 shots over six starts for the Wolf Pack during December, good for a 1.35 goals-against average and a .958 save percentage with two shutouts.
Garand began the month by making 31 saves in a 6-1 win at Bridgeport on Dec. 4 before posting back-to-back shutouts, stopping 24 shots on Dec. 6 vs. Rockford and 31 shots on Dec. 11 vs. Hershey. Garand ran his shutout streak to 197 minutes, 2 seconds during a 34-save effort vs. Laval on Dec. 14, and was named the game’s first star after stopping 43 of 44 shots in a 1-0 loss to Providence on Dec. 20.
A 22-year-old native of Victoria, B.C., Garand has a record of 9-4-2 with a 2.25 goals-against average, a .926 save percentage and two shutouts for Hartford this season. The third-year pro is 38-36-10 with a 2.89 GAA, a .901 save percentage and seven shutouts in 88 career regular-season appearances for the Wolf Pack, and has also backstopped Hartford to the division finals of the Calder Cup Playoffs each of the last two postseasons (10-7, 2.21, .927). Garand, who was a fourth-round pick by the New York Rangers in the 2020 NHL Draft, was the Canadian Hockey League’s goaltender of the year in 2021-22 and a gold medalist with Canada at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship.