Rogers Arena could become Dylan Ferguson’s rink of dreams tonight.
There’s a chance the 19-year-old goalie from Lantzville could start for the NHL’s Las Vegas Golden Knights against the hometown Vancouver Canucks.
“It’s been surreal,” Ferguson said on Wednesday.
He was called up from the junior ranks on Oct. 31 and made his pro debut Tuesday in Edmonton, playing the final nine minutes and 14 seconds of an 8-2 loss to the Oilers.
“It’s starting to hit home but it’s still pretty crazy,” Ferguson said by phone.
“My dream came true.”
Ferguson and his father, Colin Ferguson, tried to absorb the turn of events as they sat together Wednesday in a Vancouver café.
Colin Ferguson was on his way to an appointment with his younger son, Kyle, on Tuesday when they pulled the car over to the side of the road near Ladysmith to watch the final minutes of the Golden Knights-Oilers game on his iPhone.
“We’re numb … in a state of shock … dream come true is an understatement,” said Colin Ferguson, who remembers driving the same highway to take his son to minor hockey games.
“Those are the places where I learned the game,” Dylan Ferguson said.
That led to a junior career with the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League and selection by the Dallas Stars in the seventh round of the NHL draft in June.
The 6-foot-1 graduate of the Nanaimo minor hockey system was traded to the Golden Knights who signed him to a three-year, entry-level NHL contract.
Dylan Ferguson was called up by the Golden Knights after to a chain of events that included injuries to goaltenders Marc-André Fleury, Malcolm Subban and Oscar Dansk.
Then, during Tuesday’s game, goalie Maxime Lagacé went down with an injury.
That meant Ferguson came off the bench, making one save and allowing one goal.
“It’s still surreal and I have to be prepared to play,” he said.
Ferguson backstopped the expansion Golden Knights in their first-ever exhibition game in Vancouver on Sept. 17, but knows the regular season is a whole different thing.
“I have been put into a unique position and I’m grateful for the opportunity,” he said.
