The American Hockey League announced Wednesday that Hunter Shepard is the winner of the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s most outstanding goaltender for the 2023-24 season. The award is voted on by coaches, players, and media.
Shepard finished his impressive season with a 27-4-3 record, a 1.76 goals-against average, a .929 save percentage, and five shutouts. The 2023 Calder Cup champion and playoff MVP was already named to the league’s First All-Star Team and won the Harry ‘Haps’ Holmes Memorial Award.
SENSATIONAL SHEP 🏆@shepDadyy has won the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as @TheAHL's outstanding goaltender for the 2023-24 season. He's just the fourth goalie in team history to earn the honor.
📰 https://t.co/a80q4SF8x7 pic.twitter.com/HRAtkxSiTb
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) April 24, 2024
Per Hershey’s press release, Shepard is just the fourth Bears netminder in club history to win the award. Shepard has been with the Bears since the 2020-21 campaign but only took the starter’s reins last year when he helped lead Hershey to their 12th Calder Cup.
The former University of Minnesota-Duluth standout made his NHL debut with the Capitals early during the 2023-24 season, defeating the New Jersey Devils 6-4 in an 18-save effort. He would go on to get into three more games for the Capitals, winning one other start against the New York Islanders.
The 28-year-old backstop led the AHL in goals-against average and save percentage. He, along with rookie netminder Clay Stevenson, broke the Bears’ single-season shutout record in late March and combined for 12 total shutouts this year.
Shepard and the rest of the Bears will next take the ice in the Atlantic Division Semifinals after receiving a first-round bye for the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs. Their opponent is yet to be determined.
Here’s Hershey’s press release:
SHEPARD WINS BAZ BASTIEN AWARD AS AHL’S OUTSTANDING GOALTENDER
The American Hockey League announced today that Hunter Shepard of the Hershey Bears is the winner of the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding goaltender for the 2023-24 season. The award was voted on by coaches, players and members of the media in each of the league’s 32 cities.
Shepard, 28, becomes just the fourth goaltender in franchise history to earn this honor since the AHL began awarding it in 1984, joining Wendell Young (1987-88), Frédéric Chabot (1993-94), and Jean-François Labbé (1996-97).
Shepard went 27-4-3 in 34 appearances for Hershey in an exceptional 2023-24 campaign that saw him lead the league with a 1.76 goals-against average – the lowest in club history and fifth-lowest mark in AHL history – and a .929 save percentage while recording five shutouts. He helped Hershey capture the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as the AHL’s regular season champions as Hershey posted a .771 points percentage, the best mark in Hershey’s 86-season history, and the second best mark in AHL history. He allowed one goal or fewer in 17 of his 34 starts.
He was named to the 2023-24 AHL First All-Star Team and won the Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Award along with teammate Clay Stevenson as Hershey surrendered a league-low 2.10 goals per game. Shepard’s .838 win percentage in the regular season established a new single-season record in Bears history, and that mark is the second-highest winning percentage in league history.
The 6′, 215-pound netminder made his NHL debut earlier this season – and earned his first career NHL win – with the Washington Capitals in a 6-4 triumph 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 victory. In four career games with the Capitals, Shepard has a record of 2-1-1 with a 3.19 goals-against average and a .894 save percentage.
In 79 career AHL appearances, all with Hershey, Shepard has gone 55-15-8 with a 1.94 goals-against average (first in franchise history), a .925 save percentage (first in franchise history), and eight shutouts (tied for 12th in franchise history). Following the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs, the native of Cohasset, Minn., was awarded the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as playoff MVP after starting all 20 postseason contests for the Chocolate and White, 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 12th Calder Cup championship.
The Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award, which was first presented in 1984, honors former Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Baz Bastien, who played four seasons in goal with the AHL’s Pittsburgh Hornets (1945-49) before suffering a career-ending eye injury. Bastien would go on to serve as head coach and general manager of the Hornets, leading them to the 1967 Calder Cup championship. Previous winners of the award include Jon Casey (1985), Sam St. Laurent (1986), Mark Laforest (1987, ’91), Felix Potvin (1992), Corey Hirsch (1993), Jim Carey (1995), Manny Legace (1996), Martin Biron (1999), Dwayne Roloson (2001), Jason LaBarbera (2004, ’07), Ryan Miller (2005), Michael Leighton (2008), Cory Schneider (2009), Jonathan Bernier (2010), Jake Allen (2014), Matt Murray (2015), Peter Budaj (2016), Troy Grosenick (2017), Garret Sparks (2018), Alex Nedeljkovic (2019), Kaapo Kahkonen (2020), Logan Thompson (2021), Dustin Wolf (2022, ’23).
The Bears next take the ice in the Atlantic Division Semifinals (opponent, dates, and times to be determined) after receiving a first-round bye for the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs, as they look to defend their title as 2023 Calder Cup Champions. Continue to check HersheyBears.com for the latest updates regarding playoff opponents, game dates, start times, and ticket information.
