YOUNG STARS: Day excited to embrace challenge of Rookie Camp

PENTICTON, BC – A day in the life of goaltender Nathaniel Day is best spent at the rink working on his craft and chipping away at reaching the rank of 'NHL goaltender' in the coming years as a member of the Oilers.

“The greatest place on earth,” said goaltender Nathaniel Day before speaking with Oilers TV following Thursday’s skate at the South Okanagan Events Centre.

Despite making his way to the Okanagan this weekend for his second Oilers Rookie Camp and Young Stars Classic tournament after being selected by the 184^th overall (sixth round) by Edmonton at the 2023 NHL Draft, the prospect netminder & current Flint Firebirds shot-stopper wasn’t alluding to the picturesque surroundings of Penticton.

Instead, the 19-year-old from Burlington, Ont. was expressing his excitement to be back in the Oilers set-up for another Rookie Camp focused on getting better, with the end goal for himself and every other attending prospect this weekend of being the NHL and satisfying their life-long dreams of playing in the League.

“It’s a dream come true,” Day said. “It's been a goal since I was little – probably about three years old – to be here. Any chance I get to put on the Oilers logo is pretty special. It’s pretty emotional too. It's something I've worked towards my whole life and spent a lot of time and hard work doing, so it's awesome.

“Anytime I get to wear the Oilers logo or be out here, it's the happiest place on earth and couldn't be happier to be here.”

Day was drafted in the sixth round by the Oilers after finishing the regular season 17-10-0 with the Firebirds in '22-23, ultimately taking the crease in the playoffs for seven games and boosting his draft stock before coming to last year's Young Stars Classic and making 13 saves in his win over the Flames Rookies.

This past campaign, the 6-foot-3 netminder assumed a major role in the Firebirds' crease after playing 58 OHL regular-season and playoff matches, concluding the year with a 25-26-1 record, 3.73 GAA, .868 save percentage and a first-round exit from the playoffs in a four-game sweep to the London Knights, who boasted three of his fellow Oilers prospects in forwards Sam O'Reilly and William Nicholl.

Following his busiest OHL season to date, the 19-year-old took the time he needed to rest and recuperate before attacking the new campaign – beginning with the Young Stars Classic, which can help him set himself on the right track to having a strong season in Flint this year in the OHL.

"Definitely took some downtime after to rest the body a little bit, because it's a lot of time spent playing hockey throughout the season and it takes a wear on your body," he said. "So obviously it's really important to recover and take care of yourself, so I felt I've done a really good job at doing that.

"Coming here, I feel very proud and prepared to take on the workload."

Like last season with the Firebirds, the netminder is feeling even more confident and prepared to come into Rookie Camp and put in a strong performance, while maximizing his time in close contact with future teammates, coaches and management staff.

"I think it's a little bit better because coming in last year, there were a little bit of nerves," he said. "Everyone's new, you're playing with a new group of guys, and you don't know what to expect coming in; whereas now, I think now that I've got a few games under my belt and I've been here before, I think there's a lot more confidence and a lot more excitement.

"I know a bunch of the guys, so there's a lot of chemistry with the team, too. I think it's just a lot of excitement and confidence. I'm ready to go and play some games."