Image Credit: Vegas Golden Knights

By Chad Klassen

DYLAN FERGUSON

‘This is really just a blessing in disguise for me’: Former Blazers goaltender making most of pandemic delays

Oct 22, 2020 | 4:25 PM

KAMLOOPS — Now living in his dad’s condo in downtown Vancouver, Dylan Ferguson is trying to make the most of the pandemic. He moved to Vancouver recently to practice with the likes of Mathew Barzal and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

“I reached out to my agent and just said, ‘Look, I’m looking for some really good shooters,’ and he told me about this ice in Coquitlam down here. It’s called Planet Ice. There are guys out there like Matt Barzal, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Brenden Dillon — a lot of these NHL guys,” said Ferguson. “It’s the kind of shots that I need right now. It’s so crazy what’s going on in the world. To be able to go out with guys like this and stay sharp and get better every day is a huge opportunity.”

Ferguson is trying to flip the script on what has been a rough last year. He struggled with an illness that limited him to 16 games in Fort Wayne in the ECHL. However, he felt good in his return in the spring before the pandemic shut down the season.

“I went through and had some health problems, and once I started to get to play again, I won my last six of eight games and started to feel good, then COVID hit right before playoffs,” he said. “Learning how to be a pro was part of it, and then I got sick and things happen and things happen fast in pro hockey, so I’m making the most of it.”

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The 22-year-old former Blazers netminder is using the delay in hockey to work on himself and his game as he tries to get back to the NHL, where he got a taste in 2017 as an emergency backup for Vegas.

“This is really just a blessing in disguise for me,” he noted. “At the time, I was living on [Vancouver] Island, a pretty isolated place. There’s no real potential risk. I get to go train five times a week, on the ice three, four times a week. This is something that a lot of people would be asking for right now, and I’m grateful to get that opportunity.”

Ferguson is entering the final season of a three-year, entry-level contract with Vegas. He understands the team’s focus has been on the NHL bubble, but knows he’s putting in the work to garner more attention from the Golden Knights.

“They know — I hope they know — that I’m doing everything that I can to get better every day. I can confidently say that I’m a better goaltender than I was eight months ago, so it’s exciting for me in a way because all this work that I’m putting in now is just making me feel more excited every day to get back at it and get on a team and play.”