Dylan Ferguson earned his first NHL start Monday, March 20, another stop on a long, winding road which has made up his pro hockey career. (Ottawa Senators)

By Alex Rawnsley

winding journey

‘My dream continues:’ Lantzville’s Dylan Ferguson eyes permanent spot on NHL roster

Mar 26, 2023 | 5:31 AM

NANAIMO — “I went into it feeling excited and knowing I was going to do my best and whatever that looked like, I was going to be ok with it.”

The attitude of focusing on self, controlling what he could control and leaving it all out on the ice is an unwavering focus of Lantzville’s Dylan Ferguson during a winding pro hockey career.

Ferguson, 24, led the Ottawa Senators out from their room in Pittsburgh for a game against the Penguins on Monday, March 20, before stopping 48 of 49 Penguin shots to record his first NHL victory in his first start and first NHL game action in over five years.

It had been 1,949 days since Ferguson appeared in relief for the Vegas Golden Knights in November 2017, playing roughly nine minutes in Edmonton, allowing one goal on two shots.

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Ferguson spoke to NanaimoNewsNOW while on the road with the Senators, preparing for a Saturday, March 25 game against New Jersey.

He said the days and weeks leading up to Monday’s re-debut were a rollercoaster.

One month prior, he’d signed with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League after skating with the team on a professional try-out.

A few days later, he was then loaned to Wichita of the ECHL, two tiers below the NHL level.

Approximately 30 minutes into a drive to Toledo to meet up with the team, he was informed he’d been traded to the Belleville Senators, Ottawa’s AHL affiliate, and would instead he headed to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to join the team there.

Ferguson spent around a month with Belleville before being informed of another change in direction following a Saturday night win in Cleveland.

He was heading back to the show.

“After the game I got a call saying I was going to be getting in a car service and travelling to Pittsburgh (to join the NHL Senators). It’s been really, really exciting obviously, it’s humbling for sure and I just want to do the best I can.”

The news came too fast for his family to fly out despite efforts from the organization to get them to Pittsburgh, however Ferguson’s girlfriend Amy, along with his mental coach Pete Fry were in attendance.

Given the start Monday, a first star performance later and now Ferguson is eyeing more games to come.

He said the journey he’s taken to return to the NHL, including stops with multiple teams in both the AHL and the ECHL, never caused him to waiver in his goals.

“I feel like since I started playing, I never stopped working. It was my dream as a young kid to make it to the NHL and my dream continues. My dream now is to get a spot in the NHL and keep it and obviously the main goal is to win a Stanley Cup one day.”

Ferguson added everyone’s path to the NHL is different, whether earning an opening night spot out of the draft, signing as a free-agent or riding the bus for years in the minors.

“Everyone’s road is different and it’s most of the time not a very straight one. Life in itself can be a rollercoaster and I think just really staying in the moment, being true to yourself, waking up and being the best version of you every day was really my plan.”

Born in Vancouver but spending most of his childhood in Nanaimo and Lantzville, Ferguson left home at 13 to play high-level midget hockey in Saskatchewan.

Drafted to the WHL by Kamloops, he graduated from the Blazers program and embarked on a pro hockey career.

He was drafted into the NHL by Dallas before being quickly traded and signed by Vegas and has had stops in the minors in Chicago, Fort Wayne, Henderson and Toronto.

Much like an unpredictable road map to present day, Ferguson is unsure what his future holds. Senators netminder Cam Talbot is due back shortly from injury, however a space on the roster remains with the season-ending injury of Anton Forsberg.

“It’s really just something I need to take a day at a time and stay in the moment to be honest. Things happen very fast as I’ve learned over the course of my career and I just want to wake up and be the best version of me I can be every day.”

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