‘It’s a dream come true:’ Nanaimo’s Dylan Coghlan soaks up NHL experience with Golden Knights

The undrafted Coghlan had two days notice before he suited up for his first ever NHL regular season outing.

Coghlan’s teammates were supportive prior to hitting the ice Friday night in a game televised nationally.

“Guys before the game were coming up to me and telling me to play like every other game and don’t try to do anything you’re not used to and that’s what I tried to do. Getting a three-goal lead in the first period of the first game definitely calmed the nerves a little bit.”

Coghlan first learned to skate in Port Hardy when his family lived in the small north Island community.

His progress accelerated with increased competition and coaching while living in Campbell River, then took off to another level when his family moved to Nanaimo.

“That was kind of the big step for me in my career when I moved there, I had lots of exposure to WHL scouts,” Coghlan said. “It’s pretty special to see where I’ve come from and all of the people behind me and supporting me, I really appreciate that.”

The 6’2”, 190 pound defenceman first signed with the Vegas Golden Knights after an impressive showing at the team’s development camp prior to the 2017/18 season.

He further caught the attention of the NHL team while progressing as an offensive defenceman with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves for the previous two years.

Coghlan starred as a standout member of the Tri City Americans in the Western Hockey League for four seasons.

Bill Coghlan watched his son’s first NHL regular season game from the comfort of his Nanaimo living room.

“All I could think was ‘my kid’s playing in the NHL.’ It was so surreal, and then a flood of emotions thinking of all of the people that helped him, from coaches, to friends, families and supporters.”

Bill said Dylan didn’t let being passed over in two successive NHL drafts get him down, but rather became more motivated to realize his NHL dreams.

“The advice that we gave him was do what you do and show all of those teams that didn’t pick you that they left one on the table. It’s worked out so far,” Bill said.

Aside from being a high-performance athlete, Bill said Dylan is extremely humble and isn’t eager to talk about his on-ice accomplishments.

“It’s almost like it makes him uncomfortable because he says, ‘Dad, it’s not who I am, it’s what I do.’ That to me speaks about him as a person, I couldn’t be more proud,” Bill Coghlan said.

Jason Dubyna coached Coghlan as a 14-year-old call-up and again the following year when Dylan played full-time with the Nanaimo-based North Island Silvertips of the BC Major Midget League.

Dubyna said Coghlan stood out as a skilled and devoted competitor who was excited about all facets of hockey, from practice to games.

“He loved being at rink all the time with a smile…he had a passion for learning all he could and just loved to compete.”

Dubyna vividly recalled Coghlan’s offensively-minded tools, noting he was always pushing the games pace offensively.

“I’m sure people watched him as a young kid thinking he should have played forward instead of defence, but the game trended in a way that defencemen needed to be part of the offence for team’s to find success.”

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On Twitter: @reporterholmes

by Ian Holmes

‘It’s a dream come true:’ Nanaimo’s Dylan Coghlan soaks up NHL experience with Golden Knights

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