After two years spent as part of the Toronto organisation, Brady Ferguson announced yesterday (June 12, 2020) that he is playing in Europe as from next season.
The 25-year-old forward has signed for Rögle BK who compete in Sweden’s top league, the SHL.
Ferguson enjoyed personal success during his time in the NCAA with Robert Morris University for whom he was better than a point per game player (167 points in 157 games).
The Texas native penned an Amateur try-out for the Toronto Marlies in the back-end of the 2017-18 season and made a strong impression in five outings.
He notched up four even-strength assists split equally between primary and secondary helpers.
It wasn’t as if he was bumped up the line-up either as he mainly featured on lines consisting of his peers also looking to make their mark given an AHL opportunity.
It was unsurprisingly then in June of 2018 when Brady Ferguson was announced in a swath of players signed to a one-year AHL deal by the Toronto Marlies with the organisation looking to strengthen their core squad while providing the newly formed Newfoundland Growlers with a strong team to begin their inaugural season.
During his rookie season, Ferguson received just eight opportunities in the AHL but with the Newfoundland Growlers he tore up the ECHL.
Thirty goals and 58 points in just 49 outings helped the league’s new kids on the block storm to a North Division Championship and second place in the Eastern Conference.
Newfoundland eliminated Brampton and Manchester in six games before facing their nemesis in the Conference finals, namely the Florida Everblades.
However, the Growlers comprehensively despatched them in five games, shutting them out twice before going on to lift the Kelly Cup on home ice after defeating Toledo Walleye in six games.
Brady Ferguson more than played his part in that memorable championship success with 24 points in 23 games, only equalled by Giorgio Estephan and bettered by Zach O’Brien.
I expected that the USA forward would feature more in the AHL this past season after penning another one-year contract but that simply wasn’t to be.
It’s almost absurd to type that he played just one game for the Toronto Marlies through the 2019-20 season but that’s the only ice-time he received, even when the Marlies were at the lowest ebb and in the midst of a terrible run of form where they posted a 5-15-2 record from December 12, 2019 – February 8, 2020.
He might not have shown it outwardly but Ferguson must have been disappointed not to be getting a shot at a higher level but Newfoundland benefited from his skills as he continued to master the ECHL.
A further 63 points were accrued in 57 games before the season as ultimately brought to a premature halt by the Corona Virus pandemic.
It was certainly a sad way for the Texan end his time in Newfoundland with all on the Rock believing a second straight championship was very possible.
The Lewisville native leaves Newfoundland as their all-time leading scorer with 121 points and will certainly be missed by everyone on the east coast.
You certainly cannot blame the multifaceted forward for choosing this time to move on. The immediate future for the American Hockey League is very much up in the air and it’s highly unlikely he would have received much more of a chance in that league if the Toronto Marlies had opted to re-sign him for a third season.
Having played alongside several Swedish players during his time in Toronto, it’s likely the prospect of plying his trade in that country appealed highly and that opportunity came courtesy of Rögle BK.
As per the Swedish team’s website, the club has been following his progress for a while now.
(https://www.roglebk.se/artikel/hkhxakbc9-3k501/rogle-skriver-kontrakt-med-amerikansk-anfallare)
“We already wanted Brady two years ago, he has great potential,” said Chris Abbott (Rögles Sports Manager) who went on to add the following.
“Christoffer (Malm, assistant sports manager) and I have followed Brady since he left college and became a professional. We are very happy to be able to get Brady into our squad, he will add a lot. Brady is a very intelligent player, he has good character, produces offensively and is exactly the type of player we want to associate with our organization.”
“He [Brady Ferguson] definitely has the potential to grow and become a really good SHL player. We like to work with talented players who have a great drive, such as Kodie Curran and Leon Bristedt. He wants to come to us and help us win and take himself to the next level in his own development. He wants to go to the NHL, that’s a good attitude.”
Ferguson has signed a two-year contract with the Swedish outfit and that’s a nice amount of stability to his future career that he likely would not have had in North America had he stayed.
In an interview with his new club, Ferguson says “I long to come over and become acquainted with the team management and my new team-mates. I’ve talked to both Chris and Cam and like what they stand for. I have also seen some matches on TV and have realized that I am going to a hockey-crazy town with intense fans. I talked to some old Swedish team-mates who told me that the atmosphere in Rögle’s home arena is electric, I look forward to it.”
(You can find more here: https://www.roglebk.se/artikel/ty31akbcb-3k501/lang-intervju-med-nye-rogleanfallaren)
It won’t be an easy introduction to European hockey as Ferguson is joining one of the lesser lights in the SHL.
Rögle BK has often struggled to maintain their place in Sweden’s top tier and only qualified for the playoffs for the first occasion in 2018-19.
They would ultimately fall in the best-of-three ‘play-in’ round to HV71but the future certainly looks brighter with Rögle BK having finished third in league standings during the most recent campaign.
My best wishes to Brady Ferguson as he embarks on his hockey career outside North America and it would be no surprise to me if he continues to enjoy personal and team success in Sweden.
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