Promising Young Goalie Ditches the NHL for Russia
It's not uncommon in the offseason to see NHLers sign in places like Sweden, Switzerland, and Russia. This one comes as a bit of a surprise, though as the person in question had been showing tons of promise.
KHL Bound
Unrestricted Free Agent goaltender Dylan Ferguson, 24, has decided to sign a new contract with Dinamo Minsk of Russia's KHL. Ferguson doesn't have a lot of NHL experience. But in two games with the Ottawa Senators last season, he put up a goals against average of 2.52 and a save percentage of .940. He also played eight games for the Bellville Senators of the AHL, with a GAA of 2.30, and a .926 SV%.
The Reasons
While Ferguson has not said exactly why he decided to leave the NHL, there are usually a couple of reasons why players with promise will head overseas. Ferguson will likely make more money in Russia than he would have playing in the minors. It has also been noted several times that the AHL is a developmental league that will play prospects over veterans at the cost of winning games. This does not happen in the KHL. A team there is put together for the sole purpose of winning the Gagarin Cup, and prospects who can't keep up will sit in favour of better players.
Dylan Ferguson with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017-18, where he played one NHL game
Ferguson was initially taken by the Dallas Stars in the seventh round of the 2017 entry draft. He was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights two days later in exchange for a 2nd round pick and Marc Methot. After three years with the Knights, he was not made a qualifying offer, making him a free agent. He signed with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL, and was traded to Bellville in February of this year.
| POLL | ||
AOÛT 4 | 127 ANSWERS Promising Young Goalie Ditches the NHL for Russia Would you play hockey in Russia? | ||
| Yes | 34 | 26.8 % |
| No | 70 | 55.1 % |
| Not sure | 23 | 18.1 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Zachary Werenski | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| Sean Monahan | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jesper Bratt | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Frederick Gaudreau | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jack Hughes | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Mackenzie Weegar | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Kent Johnson | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Alexander Wennberg | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Mitchell Chaffee | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Coronato | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Marcus Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nick Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Conor Geekie | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Stefan Noesen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Corey Perry | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Igor Sharangovich | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dmitry Voronkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||