LD Sean Day - Mississauga Steelheads, OHL (2016 Draft)

[1Gold Standard]

Update: Day's team lost in the semifinals to the East Coast Kings.

His hockey season is done? Good! He can get his *** to T.O. and begin workouts with the fitness guru Gary Roberts...put him on the Steven Stamkos workout.

And work on dropping his American accent. Just kidding.. I tease my yankee cousins all the time of course and they me.

 

[PBandJ]

Thanks for posting. That is one incredibly awful song. Was I the only one who muted it after buddy started screaming? Sean's video's should have Mozart playing the background, as a testament to his deliciously beautiful skating.

That's not screaming, lol.

New highlight vid. Video from some other sources.

That was awesome. Kid is such a smooth skater for his size.

 

[Garyboy]

What are the odds of him getting an invite to Ivan hlinka tournament this summer??

Not happening. MacDavid wasn't invited last summer, so I can't imagine Day being invited this summer. They'll have all their top 96's at their disposal, so to invite an ES player that is two years their junior and yet to play a game of Major Junior is really asking too much.

His first taste of international competition will be at the World U-17 Challenge over the holidays.

 

[UsernameWasTaken]

Not happening. MacDavid wasn't invited last summer, so I can't imagine Day being invited this summer. They'll have all their top 96's at their disposal, so to invite an ES player that is two years their junior and yet to play a game of Major Junior is really asking too much.

His first taste of international competition will be at the World U-17 Challenge over the holidays.

not only that...but Day was the 4th player taken in the draft. McDavid was obviously way ahead of everyone else in his draft year.

 

[shello]

I'll be seeing a lot of Day next year in Mississauga, looking forward to see how the transition will be for him. It's a shame Percy won't be there, he would've been able to show him a lot of the little things that are required to do well in the OHL.

 

[3 Minute Minor]

His first taste of international competition will be at the World U-17 Challenge over the holidays.

Can't wait for that tournament

 

[HabLover]

Not happening. MacDavid wasn't invited last summer, so I can't imagine Day being invited this summer. They'll have all their top 96's at their disposal, so to invite an ES player that is two years their junior and yet to play a game of Major Junior is really asking too much.

His first taste of international competition will be at the World U-17 Challenge over the holidays.

How are the 1997's in Ontario for the U17's?

BC and Alberta are loaded and Team Pacific should be stacked a fav for Gold.

Will McDavid be at the U17's or WJC tryouts?

 

[arsmaster*]

How are the 1997's in Ontario for the U17's?

BC and Alberta are loaded and Team Pacific should be stacked a fav for Gold.

Will McDavid be at the U17's or WJC tryouts?

http://www.allcanadians.com/most-recent/42-players-announced-for-all-canadians-national-camp

The top 1997's in the country. 42% came from the Pacific Region. I don't think that is generally the case.

Ontario's kids are good, but the roster team Pacific could assemble looks incredible.

 

[mapleleaf979]

Cool, let's keep this about Sean Day and not a music debate between the forums older members and teens.

Thats a great idea. Of all the guys drafted in the 2013 OHL draft, Its Sean Day who I am curious to see how he adjusts most. Thankfully Im only 15 mins from Hershey Center. Ill see the first few home games thats for sure. I think Day will has be fantastic to watch develop. I think he will flourish, in due time. Hopefully he is paired with an 18-19 yr old, stay at home Dman. Percy is probably in the AHL next year, but that would be perfect type of guy as a pairing.

 

[Daneurism]

http://www.allcanadians.com/most-recent/42-players-announced-for-all-canadians-national-camp

The top 1997's in the country. 42% came from the Pacific Region. I don't think that is generally the case.

Ontario's kids are good, but the roster team Pacific could assemble looks incredible.

That list is missing some pretty impressive BC players, to boot. Guys like Reddekopp, Stukel, and Kawaguchi.

 

[Garyboy]

You seem almost attracted to his skating.

Almost? I'm in love with it. As are many others who are a fan of world class skating.

 

[jhoops89]

I've only read the last 3-4 posts so don't get mad at me for lack or knowledge but I think he'll play for Canada in the International events and I was also wondering why he went 4th Overall and not first. Konecny is a good player but don't exceptional status players usually go 1st Overall?

 

[Pajicz]

I've only read the last 3-4 posts so don't get mad at me for lack or knowledge but I think he'll play for Canada in the International events and I was also wondering why he went 4th Overall and not first. Konecny is a good player but don't exceptional status players usually go 1st Overall?

I believe Ottawa was looking for a forward, so they decided to take Konecny.

I have no idea why Erie and Peterborough didn't take him, though.

 

[UsernameWasTaken]

I've only read the last 3-4 posts so don't get mad at me for lack or knowledge but I think he'll play for Canada in the International events and I was also wondering why he went 4th Overall and not first. Konecny is a good player but don't exceptional status players usually go 1st Overall?

Well, a player is going to always be judged relative to others in his draft year - having exceptional status doesn't mean your automatically better than those people.

What happened with Day isn't clear...it got out that he wasn't going to be given exceptional status...and then he got it. It's unknown whether he got it because he deserved it or whether Hockey Canada was caving to some sort of pressure w/ fear he'd go play for the US.

As far as why he dropped, I know there were rumours about his personality ... that he wasn't very mature.

I don't know what his parents told the teams...whether they suggested he wouldn't report to Erie or Peterborough.

As far as Erie goes, Strome's an amazing player, so I'm not surprised they took him.

 

[jfb392]

I've only read the last 3-4 posts so don't get mad at me for lack or knowledge but I think he'll play for Canada in the International events and I was also wondering why he went 4th Overall and not first. Konecny is a good player but don't exceptional status players usually go 1st Overall?

I think there's a few reasons..

Limited viewings/limited evaluation when viewing: He played in the Detroit area of course, so some teams may have almost solely relied on tournaments to view he and his teammates, which means they saw him a lot less than anyone playing in Ontario. Even when they saw him, he's an underager and you're paid to scout players that are eligible in the current season. You probably won't pick apart his game but rather jot down a few things since he's a year younger than everyone else. The talk of him looking at ES picked up at the Silver Stick, which at that point the MM season is basically already halfway over. That means little time for serious evaluation, especially when you consider the fact that he didn't play in the province.

Rawness: He's pretty much a blank canvas. He has some amazing tools that basically make his ceiling unlimited, but he needs to learn how to fully utilize them. For example, I believe he has had very little defensive coaching. Either this season or last season was the first one he had serious defensive coaching. This can be looked at as both a positive and a negative. If you look at it positively, he's already an incredible prospect and still has plenty of room for growth. If you look at it negatively, he may not be ready to step into your lineup without some growing pains. The Steelheads obviously looked at it in a positive manner and are willing to help him grow.

Conspiracy: Some think that Branch wanted a star in the GTA and made it happen. I don't really know about that and the other two factors make much more sense.

Character and reporting, as previously mentioned, should not be factors as he was granted ES.

 

[UsernameWasTaken]

I think there's a few reasons..

Limited viewings/limited evaluation when viewing: He played in the Detroit area of course, so some teams may have almost solely relied on tournaments to view he and his teammates, which means they saw him a lot less than anyone playing in Ontario. Even when they saw him, he's an underager and you're paid to scout players that are eligible in the current season. You probably won't pick apart his game but rather jot down a few things since he's a year younger than everyone else. The talk of him looking at ES picked up at the Silver Stick, which at that point the MM season is basically already halfway over. That means little time for serious evaluation, especially when you consider the fact that he didn't play in the province.

Rawness: He's pretty much a blank canvas. He has some amazing tools that basically make his ceiling unlimited, but he needs to learn how to fully utilize them. For example, I believe he has had very little defensive coaching. Either this season or last season was the first one he had serious defensive coaching. This can be looked at as both a positive and a negative. If you look at it positively, he's already an incredible prospect and still has plenty of room for growth. If you look at it negatively, he may not be ready to step into your lineup without some growing pains. The Steelheads obviously looked at it in a positive manner and are willing to help him grow.

Conspiracy: Some think that Branch wanted a star in the GTA and made it happen. I don't really know about that and the other two factors make much more sense.

Character and reporting, as previously mentioned, should not be factors as he was granted ES.

No one really knows. The lead up to him getting ES was quite murky. There were also some stories that commented negatively about his maturity - and they were credible news sources. As far as the reporting issue...that might never have been an issue as it was just my own speculation.

 

[jfb392]

No one really knows. The lead up to him getting ES was quite murky. There were also some stories that commented negatively about his maturity - and they were credible news sources. As far as the reporting issue...that might never have been an issue as it was just my own speculation.

Like who, The Hockey News?
Their coverage lately speaks for itself, from their fruitless "expansion announced after CBA negotiations", to "Day will be denied ES" just days before he was granted it, to their draft rankings this year that are just a bit off base.
They lose credibility with each passing year it seems.

Everyone seemed to piggyback the THN report and the rest was rumblings from nobodies.
Don't forget, McDavid was apparently going to be denied ES too, once upon a time..
You have to take everything you read about any minor hockey player with a sizable grain of salt.

 

[ForAllOurSins]

Not in the nhl yet. Kids a bust.

 

[Nascarfan12]

Why didn't his team (Detroit Comp.) play in the OHL Cup. they was ranked like # 4. Lots of scouts would of been able to see his play there.

 

[UvBnDatsyuked]

I think there's a few reasons..

Limited viewings/limited evaluation when viewing: He played in the Detroit area of course, so some teams may have almost solely relied on tournaments to view he and his teammates, which means they saw him a lot less than anyone playing in Ontario. Even when they saw him, he's an underager and you're paid to scout players that are eligible in the current season. You probably won't pick apart his game but rather jot down a few things since he's a year younger than everyone else. The talk of him looking at ES picked up at the Silver Stick, which at that point the MM season is basically already halfway over. That means little time for serious evaluation, especially when you consider the fact that he didn't play in the province.

Rawness: He's pretty much a blank canvas. He has some amazing tools that basically make his ceiling unlimited, but he needs to learn how to fully utilize them. For example, I believe he has had very little defensive coaching. Either this season or last season was the first one he had serious defensive coaching. This can be looked at as both a positive and a negative. If you look at it positively, he's already an incredible prospect and still has plenty of room for growth. If you look at it negatively, he may not be ready to step into your lineup without some growing pains. The Steelheads obviously looked at it in a positive manner and are willing to help him grow.

Conspiracy: Some think that Branch wanted a star in the GTA and made it happen. I don't really know about that and the other two factors make much more sense.

Character and reporting, as previously mentioned, should not be factors as he was granted ES.

Little Caesars, Honeybaked and Compuware are elite programs no matter what other teams you compare them to in the world. These are the organizations he has played at over the years. Players from Lafontaine to Modano to Kane to Fowler to Kesler to Iafrate to Hatcher brothers to Jack Johnson have developed in these three organizations.

So not sure what you mean by blank canvas (the time and money spent to develop his skating from a young age is well known, so I doubt other aspects were ignored) I do not know the coaches personally who have coached his age group through those teams but I find it hard to believe that any of those teams ignored the defensemen side of the game any more than a Toronto Marlie, York Simcoe, organization would have.

So blank canvas in terms of, lacking direction over the years or not being taught the finer points of the defensive game does not fit anywhere near a description for Day. He has had top notch skating coaching, bench coaching and parents who care about his longterm development and have left no stone unturned with regards to that.

 

[jfb392]

Why didn't his team (Detroit Comp.) play in the OHL Cup. they was ranked like # 4. Lots of scouts would of been able to see his play there.

Unfortunately, the OHL Cup interferes with state playoffs in Michigan and USA Hockey Nationals.
There are sometimes select teams sent made up of kids who are already done playing, but they're never true teams.

Little Caesars, Honeybaked and Compuware are elite programs no matter what other teams you compare them to in the world. These are the organizations he has played at over the years. Players from Lafontaine to Modano to Kane to Fowler to Kesler to Iafrate to Hatcher brothers to Jack Johnson have developed in these three organizations.

So not sure what you mean by blank canvas (the time and money spent to develop his skating from a young age is well known, so I doubt other aspects were ignored) I do not know the coaches personally who have coached his age group through those teams but I find it hard to believe that any of those teams ignored the defensemen side of the game any more than a Toronto Marlie, York Simcoe, organization would have.

So blank canvas in terms of, lacking direction over the years or not being taught the finer points of the defensive game does not fit anywhere near a description for Day. He has had top notch skating coaching, bench coaching and parents who care about his longterm development and have left no stone unturned with regards to that.

I know that the programs are quality, but he himself has said he was not given much defensive coaching until recently and that's likely because he's a fourth forward type that is incredibly effective without it.

 

[Grant McCagg]

Like who, The Hockey News?
Their coverage lately speaks for itself, from their fruitless "expansion announced after CBA negotiations", to "Day will be denied ES" just days before he was granted it, to their draft rankings this year that are just a bit off base.
They lose credibility with each passing year it seems.

Everyone seemed to piggyback the THN report and the rest was rumblings from nobodies.
Don't forget, McDavid was apparently going to be denied ES too, once upon a time..
You have to take everything you read about any minor hockey player with a sizable grain of salt.

When you say the Hockey News rankings are "just a bit off base"... several NHL scouts were consulted for those rankings and I personally scouted more than 70 games live and 150 games on video/webcast/TV.

I would imagine that at least 52 of the top 60 players ranked will go in the top two rounds, and at least 25 of the top 30. Considering that the rankings had to be submitted in early April before the U-18's, that's a pretty solid number. Even so, I suggest you wait until after the draft (or better yet three years) before definitively criticizing the rankings.

Independent lists have a tendency to be pretty close to one another...doesn't mean their rankings are correct however. Believe me, you would be shocked to know how different NHL lists can be, even in the first round. There are teams that don't have Shinkaruk in the top 20 for instance, while some think he may be a top ten guy.

Mantha is another guy with very polarizing opinions..there are teams that won't even look at him in the first round, but he still made the top 30. There is no right or wrong ranking for a player like him..there are question marks that have to be answered...some teams won't worry as much as other teams about his perimeter play.

A player like Dauphin is too low on the list admittedly, but his stock rose considerably after his play at the U-18's, as did a few others.. I now have him in the top 40. Ristolainen had a solid end of the season in Finland also and has moved up some on my list...in the mid teens, while Pulock struggled at season's end and dropped a few spots.

Anyway - The THN rankings were not done with any influence from other lists, and the scouts consulted for the rankings are senior NHL scouts with excellent reputations. Unfortunately they ask for the final rankings to be submitted quite early, so there were bound to be a few guys who moved up or down afterwards.

 

[Garyboy]

I think there's a few reasons..

Limited viewings/limited evaluation when viewing: He played in the Detroit area of course, so some teams may have almost solely relied on tournaments to view he and his teammates, which means they saw him a lot less than anyone playing in Ontario. Even when they saw him, he's an underager and you're paid to scout players that are eligible in the current season. You probably won't pick apart his game but rather jot down a few things since he's a year younger than everyone else. The talk of him looking at ES picked up at the Silver Stick, which at that point the MM season is basically already halfway over. That means little time for serious evaluation, especially when you consider the fact that he didn't play in the province.

Rawness: He's pretty much a blank canvas. He has some amazing tools that basically make his ceiling unlimited, but he needs to learn how to fully utilize them. For example, I believe he has had very little defensive coaching. Either this season or last season was the first one he had serious defensive coaching. This can be looked at as both a positive and a negative. If you look at it positively, he's already an incredible prospect and still has plenty of room for growth. If you look at it negatively, he may not be ready to step into your lineup without some growing pains. The Steelheads obviously looked at it in a positive manner and are willing to help him grow.

Conspiracy: Some think that Branch wanted a star in the GTA and made it happen. I don't really know about that and the other two factors make much more sense.

Character and reporting, as previously mentioned, should not be factors as he was granted ES.

Great post.

I tend to lean towards your rawness argument as to why he slid to 4. When you watch him play you can see how he's pretty much solely relying on his incredible physical gifts. He'd make poor passes or reads, and his skating alone would bail him out. Will be great to see how he adapts/alters his game.

 

[mapleleaf979]

Great post.

I tend to lean towards your rawness argument as to why he slid to 4. When you watch him play you can see how he's pretty much solely relying on his incredible physical gifts. He'd make poor passes or reads, and his skating alone would bail him out. Will be great to see how he adapts/alters his game.

Good perspective. I think people will be keying on some of the things u mention, early in his OHL season. Some doubts were raised (although drafted 4th is no small task) and people want to see the transition. I personally am eagerly awaiting his OHL debut. People will be watching to see how much he gives each shift and how high his hockey IQ is... i.e. his reads. If those issues remain in 2-3 years, his skating and size alone should draw major interest in the first round of the NHL draft. He has alot of potential to really blossom into a big time player.

 

[UsernameWasTaken]

Good perspective. I think people will be keying on some of the things u mention, early in his OHL season. Some doubts were raised (although drafted 4th is no small task) and people want to see the transition. I personally am eagerly awaiting his OHL debut. People will be watching to see how much he gives each shift and how high his hockey IQ is... i.e. his reads. If those issues remain in 2-3 years, his skating and size alone should draw major interest in the first round of the NHL draft. He has alot of potential to really blossom into a big time player.

I'm excited to see him, too - and he looks like he has a ton of potential.

re him 'dropping' to 4th...getting UA doesn't mean you're the best player in the draft...and it seems there were some question marks about him. The circumstances surrounding him getting UA also seem a bit murky.

hopefully he does well next yea.r