One month ago to the day, Dylan Ferguson signed an AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies. And since then, he was loaned to the ECHL, traded to AHL Belleville and, on Monday night, collected his first career NHL win with the Ottawa Senators.
Talk about a whirlwind.
But luckily for the Senators, Ferguson seemed more than fine dealing with the chaos, as in his first career NHL start, the 24-year-old netminder made 48 saves on his way to a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
And while Ferguson will admit to being a little overwhelmed by the last four weeks, he tried his best to stay grounded.
"I wanted to stay in the moment," Ferguson told Sportnset's Kyle Bukauskas after the game. "I knew the guys were going to go to war for me tonight, and I planned to do the same."
And go to war he did, as his 48 saves in his debut set a Senators franchise record for saves by a goalie making his first NHL start.
The Lantzville, B.C., native even claimed to enjoy seeing all those shots.
"No, I love it," Ferguson said, when asked if he would've enjoyed a break. "Every goalie asks for that, especially on a night like that, right?
"I'm not someone that looks at the clock or the shots, I just really try and stay in the moment and treat every puck the same."
Ferguson's only other NHL appearance was a short nine-minute appearance for the Vegas Golden Knights, in November 2017. At that time, Ferguson was only 19 and playing for the WHL's Kamloops Blazers.
Fast forward more than five years, and Ferguson came 6:21 from posting a shutout in his first career start. Penguins forward Rickard Rakell finally solved the new Senators goalie after he banged one in from the side of the net.
However, Ferguson's teammates were not going to deny him his first win, as Drake Batherson finished a nice pass from captain Brady Tkachuk to reclaim the one-goal lead with just over two minutes remaining.
Ferguson would do the rest, and was rightfully mobbed by his teammates after the final horn sounded. Not only was the win his first, it also snapped a five-game Ottawa losing skid.
But Ferguson doesn't see this as a one-off, as he never lost faith he could succeed at the NHL level.
"I always had that belief inside me," Ferguson said. "I really felt like I had some adversity last year that was out of my control. Just grinding. I was on a PTO for 40 games this year and I just really tried to make the best of every day.
"I just kept telling myself every day this is where I want to go, so this one feels good."
He certaintly earned the right to celebrate. The next question is, when and if he will get another chance.
With his perfromance Monday, it might come sooner rather than later.
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