Hershey Bears' Hunter Shepard wins AHL Goaltender of The Year Award

Hershey Bears goaltender Hunter Shepard has won the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award as the American Hockey League's outstanding goaltender for the 2023-24 season. 

After winning the 2022-23 Calder Cup and taking home Playoff MVP with Hershey, Shepard followed it up this season with a remarkable 27-4-3 record and .929 save percentage.

The award is decided by votes from players, staff and media from all 32 AHL teams.

Shepard was named to the AHL First All-Star Team and combined with goaltending partner Clay Stevenson to win the Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award for allowing the least amount of goals as a team.

The 28-year-old was signed by the Washington Capitals in 2020 after four successful seasons at the University of Minnesota-Duluth where he won back-to-back National Championships. His contract runs through the end of the 2024-25 season. 

Shepard played four games with the Capitals this season and finished with a 2-1-1 record and .894 save percentage. 

Although he may be stuck behind Darcy Kuemper and Charlie Lindgren on the depth chart Shepard's numbers have put him in a good position to push for more playing time at the next level. 

The Bears earned a first round bye and will play the winner of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. 

Make sure to bookmark The Hockey News' AHL site for more updates and breakdowns.