On Wednesday, the Bridgeport Islanders, the New York Islanders AHL affiliate, announced they had signed 27-year-old defenseman Sean Day to an AHL deal.
Day, a left-shot defenseman, spent the 2024-25 season in the SHL, recording 11 points (two goals, seven assists) in 45 games.
He spent the prior four seasons as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning organization, playing two games for the NHL squad.
Transaction: The Bridgeport Islanders have signed defenseman Sean Day to an AHL contract.
— Bridgeport Islanders (@AHLIslanders) August 6, 2025
➡️ https://t.co/3oxaxxp6Gopic.twitter.com/Q1VidAzV7e
Per the release: Day, 27, has 110 points (20 goals, 90 assists) in 277 career AHL games with the Syracuse Crunch and Hartford Wolf Pack. He posted career highs in goals (8), assists (32), points (40), and games played (69) with Syracuse in 2021-22, the same season he made his NHL debut with the Tampa Bay Lightning (two games).
The New York Rangers drafted him in the third round (No. 81) of the 2016 NHL Draft.
On the surface, Day is a mere depth signing for Bridgeport, who needed another defenseman — especially one with experience. In theory, Day is the second-best option on the left side if there are injuries, but, at this point in time, he is ineligible to be recalled to the Islanders since he signed an AHL deal.
While a depth option on the surface, Day actually has a crazy backstory.
He was one of the greatest CHL prospects of all time — not Connor McDavid level, but when he was younger, kids his age called him the next Bobby Orr.
That wasn't a realitic comparison, but that's just how dynamic he was to his peers.
“As a kid, you couldn’t go to a hockey tournament without hearing the name Sean Day,” The Daily Faceoff’s Jonny Lazarus told The Hockey News. “He was strong, fast, and could move the puck better than anyone. It’s a shame he never really got his shot in the NHL. I don’t think it’s too late for him. The tools have always been there.”
Day is one of nine players all-time to receive exceptional status.
For those who don't know, players must be 16 or older to play in the Canadian Hockey League, which includes the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and the Western Hockey League (WHL).
However, players who aren't 16 can be given exceptional status, which means that Hockey Canada deems he is physically and mentally ready to compete in the league.
Only nine players have ever been given that exemption, with former Islanders captain and current Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares being the first, back in 2005.
Here’s the list of the nine players:
- John Tavares (2005, OHL)
- Aaron Ekblad (2011, OHL)
- Connor McDavid (2012, OHL)
- Sean Day (2013, OHL)
- Joe Veleno (2015, QMJHL)
- Shane Wright (2019, OHL)
- Connor Bedard (2020, WHL)
- Michael Misa (2022, OHL)
- Landon DuPont (2024, WHL)
Day spent five seasons in the OHL, with his second season (age 16) being his best. He recorded 36 points (10 goals, 26 assists) in 61 games for the Mississauga Steelheads.
Maybe it was the pressure. Maybe the expectations were just too high at too young of an age.
But, as Lazarus mentioned, the tools were there — and still are there.
Day may have once been expected to be a difference-maker, but with Bridgeport — whose goal is to be more competitive under Rocky Thompson — the job of the day is to be a leader for the young players manning the Bridgeport blue line.
With Grant Hutton no longer with the organization and Seth Helgeson expected to stay retired this year after coming out of retirement in 2024-25 because Bridgeport actually ran out of defensemen, Day is the elder on the block alongside Ethan Bear, 28, who signed a one-year, two-way deal on July 1.
Here are the youngsters they’ll be tasked with helping take their game to the next level:
- Isaiah George, 21*
- Jesse Pulkinnen, 20
- Marshall Warren, 24
- Calle Odelius, 21
- Travis Mitchell, 25
- Cole McWard, 24
*Could make NHL roster
Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche had Day as a player for many years with Tampa. That probably played a part in his coming to the organization after a year overseas.
Day’s first season in Bridgeport is an important one, as he’ll be tasked with helping to build an identity — a foundation that will have lasting effects on the prospects there right now and the ones coming over the next few seasons.
PHOTO: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images