The New York Rangers had high hopes for defenseman Sean Day when they selected him in the third round (No. 81 overall) in the 2016 NHL Draft. While those hopes never materialized, Day continues to chase his NHL dream. The 27-year-old's latest move came Wednesday when he signed an AHL contract with the Bridgeport Islanders, the top minor-league affiliate of the Blueshirts' biggest rival.
Day's NHL career consists of the two games he played with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021-22; he had no points or shots on goal, was minus-2 and took one minor penalty. The Lightning had signed him as a free agent in July 2020, but except for the cup of coffee in '21-22, his time in the Bolts' organization consisted of four mostly nondescript seasons with Syracuse, their AHL affiliate.
He played the 2024-25 season with HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League, finishing with 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 45 games, before returning to North America.
Day may have had an "in" with the Isles; their recently hired general manager, Mathieu Darche, was Tampa Bay 's director of hockey operations and assistant general manager before coming to Long Island, so he obviously had some idea of Day's ability. It's likely that the Islanders signed Day to provide some experience on the blue line for a team that crashed and burned in the AHL standings last season but has talented defense prospects such as Isaiah George and Jesse Pulkkinen.
No one could have had an inkling 12 years ago that Day's career would see him scrambling for a job in his late 20s.
Day was born in Belgium but lived in Singapore, Canada and the United States as a child and played minor hockey in suburban Detroit . He was good enough that on March 21, 2013, he became the fourth player granted exceptional player status by Hockey Canada – the first three others were John Tavares (2005), Aaron Ekblad (2011) and Connor McDavid (2012); five more players have since been given this status.
That made him eligible to be drafted a year early in the 2013 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection and to play major junior hockey as a 15-year-old. He was taken by Mississauga with the fourth pick. The Rangers selected him in the 2016 draft, and he signed with them in March 2017 after being traded to Windsor in October 2016. He helped the Spitfires win the Memorial Cup not long after signing with New York; his coach then was Rocky Thompson, who will be his coach at Bridgeport.
Day began his pro career in the fall of 2018 with the Rangers' AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. But after a slow start, he was demoted to the Maine Mariners of the ECHL. He played well enough in his 19 games with the Mariners to be selected to play in the ECHL All-Star Game, but he was promoted back to Hartford before it took place.
The 2019-20 season again saw Day begin with Hartford. But after putting up just four points in 16 games, he was demoted to Maine, where he remained until the remainder of the season was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Rangers decided they had seen enough and on May 30, they placed him on unconditional waivers for the purposes of contract termination. He cleared waivers the following day and the remaining year of his contract was terminated.
The Lightning signed him to a one-year, two-way contract on July 17, 2020, but he played all of the Covid-shortened 2020-21 season with Syracuse. The Lightning re-signed him, and he had his best offensive season in 2021-22, finishing with 40 points (eight goals, 32 assists) in 69 games.
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He also got his first taste of the NHL, making his debut against the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 28, 2021, and dressing for the Bolts' game against the Florida Panthers two nights later before being returned to Syracuse.
Day stayed with the Lightning organization through the 2023-24 season before signing a two-year contract with HV71 last summer. But did little offensively, though he did help the team avoid relegation to Sweden's second division.
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