Nanaimo Minor Hockey alum to make NHL debut with Vegas Golden Knights

Nanaimo's Dylan Coghlan is shown: (Vegas Golden Knights)

Nanaimo — When Dylan Coghlan suits up for the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night, he will become the 10th Nanaimo Minor Hockey alumnus to play in the NHL.

The six-foot, 190-pound defenceman played in the Nanaimo Minor Hockey system from 2009 to 2013, before moving onto the North Island Silvertips program.

In a Vegas Golden Knights YouTube video, called Knight Rising, Vegas head coach Pete DeBoer speaks highly of Coghlan’s skating ability.

"He’s a world-class skater," says DeBoer in the video.

"If you’re looking for a defenceman with how the game is being played – he’s big, strong, skates with good offensive instincts," says DeBoer. "There’s a lot there to like."

In 2017, Coghlan signed a three-year entry level contract with the Golden Knights.

He’s played the last two seasons with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. Before that, he played four seasons with the WHL’s Tri City Americans, and also had a brief stint with the Nanaimo Clippers of the BCHL.

The Vegas Golden Knights play the LA Kings at 7 p.m. Friday in Las Vegas.

The last Nanaimo Minor Hockey league alum to play in the NHL was goaltender Dylan Ferguson during the 2017-2018 season with the Vegas Golden Knights.