Maple Leafs Sign Goalie Dylan Ferguson to PTO: Who’s He?

Yesterday, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Dylan Ferguson to a PTO (professional tryout). That begs the question, “Who’s Dylan Ferguson?”

Ferguson played midget hockey in the Saskatoon Midget Hockey League with the legendary Notre Dame Hounds (in Wilcox, Saskatchewan, where Curtis Joseph also played). In 2013, the Kamloops Blazers selected him 166th overall in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft.

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Ferguson Was Drafted by the Dallas Stars in 2017

After his second season of junior hockey with the Blazers, Ferguson was picked by the Dallas Stars (194th overall) in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. However, only two days after the Draft, the Stars traded him to the Vegas Golden Knights.

In September 2017, the Golden Knights signed Ferguson to a three-year, entry-level contract. For good or for ill, shortly after he began the 2017–18 season began the Golden Knights were beset by injuries and the 19-year-old Ferguson was called up to the team on an emergency basis.

On November 14, Ferguson made his one and only NHL game against the Edmonton Oilers. It was 9:14 minutes long. He faced two shots – stopping one of them, and ended with a goals-against-average of .650. Ferguson returned to Kamloops on November 17. When the Blazers didn’t make a postseason run, the Golden Knights re-called Ferguson and he served as their third backup goalie during the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Ferguson played during the 2018–19 season with the Blazers. He was named the WHL Goaltender of the Week after he recorded a 1.00 goals-against-average and a 0.970 save percentage.

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Where Has Ferguson Been Since 2019?

Since the 2019-20 season, Ferguson has primarily been kicking around in both the AHL and ECHL. But he hasn’t played that many games. Last season he was the backup goalie with the Hendersen Silver Knights (the Golden Knights’ AHL affiliate). He posted a record of 5-4-0, a save percentage of .907, and a goals-against-average of 2.90.

There’s little doubt that the Maple Leafs see Ferguson as an addition to their AHL Toronto Marlies’ roster. If he gets a contract as a result of his solid play in the training camp, he’d be assigned to the Marlies and become a backup to both Erik Kallgren and Joseph Woll, both of whom played some solid minutes in the Maple Leafs’ net last season.

The other goalies in the Maple Leafs’ organization are Keith Petruzzelli and Dryden McKay, who are both signed to AHL contracts. Because both the Maple Leafs and the Marlies suffered goalie injuries last season, it’s probably a good thing for the team to collect another goalie.

And, with the way that goalies sometimes develop, who knows? Ferguson will be 24 years old when the regular season begins. And that isn’t old for a youngster in the net. He might still grow his game with practice and experience.

In the best-case scenario, Ferguson might be a low-risk and high-reward contract for the team – sort of like Josh Ho-Sang was last season. In the worst case, the organization releases him from his PTO and gets to take a blue and white jersey with his name on it home.

Come the beginning of training camp on September 23rd, we’ll see.

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