Goaltender Dylan Ferguson has been recalled from the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL on an emergency basis, as per a report from CFJC Today’s Earl Seitz.
This roster move comes after yet another Vegas goaltender finds himself on the shelf, this time Oscar Dansk, who exited with a lower-body injury in the second period of Monday’s tilt with the New York Islanders.
Ferguson is expected to back up Maxime Lagace, who begin the year with the Chicago Wolves as the Golden Knights’ de facto fourth-string goaltender. Lagace allowed four goals on 11 shots in relief of Dansk against the Islanders.
The 19-year-old Ferguson was the Dallas Stars’ seventh-round selection in the 2017 Entry Draft and was packaged along with a second-round pick in exchange for Marc Methot following the expansion draft.
Ferguson excelled with Kamloops last season, posting a 2.74 goals against average (GAA) and a .922 save percentage (SV%) across 31 games but has struggled to find that success this year, going 4-9-0 with a 4.05 GAA and an .878 SV%. Having said that, he has been trending upwards, posting a save percentage of .917 or higher in five of his past seven games, a stretch that has seen him go 4-3 with a .921 SV% overall.
Ferguson saw action in the preseason, first by notching a shutout in one of the rookie camp games, then later playing the entirety of the Golden Knights’ 9-4 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Despite allowing four goals on 33 shots, Ferguson was clearly the best goalie on the ice that night, thoroughly outplaying both Canucks’ top goalie prospect Thatcher Demko as well as journeyman Richard Bachman in a game where defense was merely a suggestion.
Ferguson produced a gorgeous save on a breakaway in that contest:
While Ferguson is slated for backup duty, it would not be surprising to see him get a taste of NHL action, considering the bizarre spate of injuries to befall Vegas netminders.