From Kamloops to the Golden lights
WHL Blazers’ goalie Ferguson living the dream with Vegas
VANCOUVER — Dylan Ferguson’s first time on an NHL ice surface didn’t come in Tuesday’s 8-2 loss where the injury-riddled Vegas Golden Knights called on their fifthstring goalie for mop-up duty.
It was actually back in 2010 when the 11year-old netminder led the Vancouver Canucks onto the ice before a game at Rogers Arena. He even lined up beside his idol, Roberto Luongo.
“I do remember that pretty well. I was pretty dry-mouthed,” said Ferguson, now 19. “It’s all surreal how this turned out.”
Surreal is one of many adjectives that can be used to describe Ferguson’s last two weeks. A seventh-round pick at June’s draft, the goalie for the Western Hockey League’s Kamloops Blazers was sitting in a Boston Pizza on Oct. 30 watching the expansion Golden Knights play the New York Islanders.
Vegas was already down to its third goalie with Marc-Andre Fleury (concussion) and Malcolm Subban (lower body) sidelined when Oscar Dansk was forced to leave in the second period with a leg injury.
Knowing he and Maxime Lagace, that night’s backup, were the only remaining healthy goalies in the organization, Ferguson was pretty sure his phone would be ringing.
“I was actually having all-meat wings, but I didn’t get them because they were about five minutes away when I got the call,” he said. “I just pretty much ran out, paid off the guys’ dinner, that was that and I was on a flight two hours later.
“I was watching the game at Boston Pizza and the next thing I know I get a call from Vegas saying I’m going to New York. Pretty crazy.”
The emergency recall for Ferguson — who grew up in Lantzville, B.C., just outside Nanaimo — turned into actual playing time Thursday when he made his NHL debut with the Golden Knights trailing the Edmonton Oilers 7-2 midway through the third period.
Ferguson stopped one of the two shots he faced in 9:14 of action, and also had an exchange with Oilers superstar Connor McDavid, who had a potential third goal nullified by an interference call.
“I was kind of star struck at the time,” said Ferguson. “I think he said something like, ‘Good job,’ and gave me a tap on the pads and something about the hat trick he didn’t get.”
When the team isn’t on the road, Ferguson is living at the Red Rock Casino, about 25 kilometres from the Golden Knights’ home at TMobile Arena on the Vegas strip.
“It’s pretty nice, except I can’t really do anything,” the teen said with a smile. “I’m just all denned up in my room and hibernating up there all day and going to practice.”
Selected by the Dallas Stars in June, Ferguson was traded to Vegas as part of the Marc Methot deal a few days later. In 13 games with Kamloops this season, he had a 4-9-0 record, a 4.05 goals-against average and a 0.878 save percentage.
Having played behind Connor Ingram the last two seasons, Ferguson has just 60 games of WHL experience, and is just the eighth player from the 2017 draft to play in the NHL this season. The other six were first rounders, while the seventh was selected in the second round.
“He’s learning the pro game, he’s travelling with pro players every day,” said Golden Knights head coach Gerard Gallant. “It’s great experience for the kid.”