ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have recalled goaltender Hunter Shepard from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.
Shepard, 28, has a record of 2-1-1 with a 3.19 goals-against average and a .894 save percentage in four games with the Capitals this season. Shepard made his NHL debut and earned his first career win on Oct. 25 at New Jersey. On Nov. 11 against the New York Islanders, Shepard stopped 36 of 37 shots and was named the game’s First Star in a 4-1 Washington win. In 31 games with Hershey, Shepard has posted a record of 25-3-3 with a 1.80 goals-against average, a .927 save percentage and five shutouts. Shepard leads the AHL in goals-against average and save percentage and ranks tied for third in wins and shutouts.
Shepard appeared in 33 games with Hershey last season, posting a record of 20-8-5 with a 2.18 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage and one shutout. The 6'0", 219-pound goaltender ranked second among AHL goaltenders in goals-against average and tied for sixth in save percentage. Shepard, who was awarded the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the MVP of the Calder Cup Playoffs, started all 20 playoff games for the Bears,posting a 14-6 record with a 2.27 goals-against average, a .914 save percentage and three shutouts en route to the franchise’s league-record 12th championship. In 76 career AHL games with Hershey, Shepard has a record of 53-14-8 with a 1.96 goals-against average, a .924 save percentage and eight shutouts.
A native of Cohasset, Minnesota, Shepard won back-to-back NCAA Championships with Minnesota-Duluth in 2018 and 2019. In addition, he was twice named the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Goaltender of the Year (2019 and 2020) and earned First-Team All-American honors in 2019 and Second-Team All-American honors in 2020. With Minnesota-Duluth, Shepard started an NCAA-record 115 straight games from Oct. 21, 2017 to March 7, 2020. Shepard finished his NCAA career as a three-time Mike Richter Award Finalist – given to the NCAA's top goaltender – and a three-time All-NCHC selection.
