Canucks sign former Golden Knights prospect to PTO

Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin announced Sunday evening that the Canucks have signed goaltender Dylan Ferguson to a professional tryout offer.

Ferguson, 25, was drafted 194th overall by the Dallas Stars in the 2017 NHL Draft and will provide the Canucks with much needed depth at the goalie position with training camp coming up.

Additionally, Ferguson also has some NHL experience. The Kamloops Blazers product returns to B.C. with three NHL games under his belt - two with the Ottawa Senators and one with the Vegas Golden Knights - with a 1-1-0 record, a 2.82 GAA, and a .929 save percentage.

For all intents and purposes, those are good numbers, albeit in an extremely small sample size.

Ferguson has also stood out in the AHL in parts of four seasons, compiling a 15-7-0 record across 29 appearances to pair with a 2.56 GAA, a .915 save percentage, and two shutouts with the Chicago Wolves, Henderson Silver Knights, Toronto Marlies, and Belleville Senators.

The 25-year-old spent the 2023-24 season in the KHL, serving as the backup for Alexei Kolosov for Belarusian outfit Dinamo Minsk. In 23 appearances, Ferguson posted a 9-9-0 record, a 2.51 GAA, and a .904 save percentage.

Ferguson joins a Canucks goalie group that now includes himself, Thatcher Demko, Arturs Silovs, Nikita Tolopilo, Jiri Patera, Ty Young, and Jonathan Lemieux. This will allow the Canucks to divide the six goaltenders, even if Demko or Silovs aren't healthy, amongst the three training camp groups later this week.

Canucks fans will recall that Allvin and new goalie coach Marko Torenius attempted to recruit veteran netminder Antti Raanta at some point in the NHL offseason, but the 35-year-old Finn had rebuffed their advances.

The Canucks reportedly still maintain interest in signing Kevin Lankinen, even after adding Ferguson, though their need to close the deal quickly has been greatly reduced for now.