Elite talent is the one ingredient that all the cap space in the world won’t buy for the Rangers, whose past practice of trading draft choices in their chase for an elusive Stanley Cup has left the organization all but bereft of high-end, difference-making skill.
But the Blueshirts, who probably didn’t go for the highest-ceiling teenager available in this weekend’s draft with their seventh-overall selection of well-rounded and mature center Lias Andersson, do have a potential world-class prospect working his way toward the NHL.
And perhaps sooner rather than later.
His name is Sean Day, and if the tag “exceptional” might prove hyperbolic at this moment, remember that this 19-year-old potential stud defenseman was only the fourth player in OHL history to be granted “exceptional player status” that allowed him to join the league as a 15-year-old in 2013.
The first three: John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad and Connor McDavid.
The Rangers were able to snatch Day in the third round at 81st overall in 2016 after his junior career hit a significant speed bump primarily because of a family crisis. The young man’s older brother was sentenced to prison after killing a woman while driving under the influence.
The defenseman persevered and took a significant step forward last season after being traded to Windsor, with whom he won the Memorial Cup.
“I had never won anything big in my career, so that’s probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done in hockey,” Day said following his first session on the ice Monday in the Rangers’ development camp at the club’s training facility. “I want to play pro hockey, wanted to go out on [a] winning note in my junior career and I’ve done that.”
Day, who received his second invitation to Team USA’s World Junior training camp after having been among the first round of cuts last year, is eligible to play for the AHL Wolf Pack. He would not have to return to the Spitfires if he does not succeed in what might be a quixotic attempt to make the jump to Broadway this October.
“I want to move on, but obviously have to show the Ranger organization and management that I’m ready and capable of [playing pro],” Day said. “I think I am. I’m willing to do anything now to show them that I’m ready to take the next step and show that I’m ready.”
Day is a 6-foot-2, 231-pound lefty who played the right side last season. He said that’s become his preferred position. If the Rangers would give their kingdom for a horse, it would specifically be for a horse on the right side of the blue line. Nick Holden, whose game slipped dramatically the second half of the season, seems to have a spot, but beyond that, it’s wide open with Brendan Smith still an impending free agent.
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Anthony DeAngelo, acquired from Arizona in the Derek Stepan deal, and free-agent signees Neal Pionk and Alexei Bereglazov are probably the leading contenders for roster spots.
The Rangers, like everyone else, are seeking defensemen who skate well, are mobile, can move the puck quickly and join the rush. That’s the area of his game Day cited as where he made the greatest improvement last year after being traded to Windsor by Mississauga.
“My overall game was a lot better, but with Windsor my coaches allowed me to use my offense a little bit more so it did develop in that way,” Day said. “Before I was hesitant to use it because my coaches didn’t want me to use it, I guess, but then I got to show what I could do where I was most confident.
“I think my offensive game jumped another level and I matured as a player. But I just have to keep getting better and better.”
If he does and if he can, the Rangers just might have an exceptional talent on their blue line one day not too far in the future.