6 Things to Know About Oilers’ Goalie Prospect Nathaniel Day

“They had us rotating goalie every other game, so when it got to my turn, it was pretty fun to have the cool gear and just stand there in net and stop the puck,” Day said. “I remember telling my dad I wanted to play goalie and he was pretty upset about it, but it worked out for the best and I haven’t looked back since.”

He’s Worn the Maple Leaf

At age 16, Day competed in Hockey Canada’s 2021 Capital City Challenge, which took place in Ottawa from Nov. 26 to Dec. 1. The tournament comprised three men’s under-17 teams and the Canadian National Women’s Team.

Day backstopped Team Canada White to a 7-3 victory over the Canadian National Women’s Team, who just several weeks later would go on to win gold at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, China.

He Led the OHL This Season

Day was the busiest netminder in the OHL this season, leading all goalies in both games (59) and minutes played (3,401) by a wide margin. He barely had a night off, appearing in 59 of Flint’s 68 contests during their 2024-25 schedule. Day started on back-to-back days 13 times during the season, including three days in a row on one occasion in November.

The Grimsby goalkeeper also played all five of Flint’s games in the 2025 OHL Playoffs. The Firebirds were eliminated by the Kitchener Rangers in a best-of-seven first round series that wrapped up on April 4, the night before Day signed with Edmonton.

He Set Records in Flint

The 2024-25 campaign saw Day set the Firebirds’ single-season records for games and minutes played by a goalie. He also tied the team record for shutouts in a season, with two.

Day finished his time with the Firebirds as the all-time leader in several goaltending categories, including games (153), minutes played (8,482) and wins (70). The Firebirds’ record book starts with 2015-16, their first season in Flint. The team was originally based in Detroit and then later Plymouth, Michigan, where it was known as the Whalers.

He’s the First of His Kind

Before calling Day’s name during Round 6 of the 2023 NHL Draft, Edmonton had never selected a Firebirds player during the OHL team’s time in Flint.

The Oilers have since drafted another Firebird, centre Connor Clattenburg, who Edmonton selected with the 160^th pick in 2024. Clattenburg signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Oilers last December and is currently with the Bakersfield Condors in the American Hockey League (AHL).

Since 2016, 18 players have been drafted to the NHL from the Firebirds, the most notable being Ty Dellandrea, who was taken 13^th overall by the Dallas Stars in 2018. Day was the first and still only of them who plays between the pipes.

He Had a Historic Pro Debut

Day played his first professional game with Edmonton’s ECHL affiliate, the Fort Wayne Komets, on April 6, recording a shutout in a 7-0 victory over the Cincinnati Cyclones.

The 20-year-old turned aside all 24 shots he faced over 60 minutes, joining the exclusive club of goalies that did not allow a goal in their pro debut. He also became just the eighth netminder since 1952 to record a shutout in their first game with the Komets. 

“He was great,” Komets coach Jesse Kallechy said about Day. “He controlled his rebounds. He was big. Made all the saves he needed to make. Just an unbelievable effort by him in a pretty pressure-packed moment” (from ‘Nathan Day records shutout in debut as Komets thump Cincinnati,’ The Journal Gazette, 4/6/25).

Day has a long way to go to reach the NHL, but if his ECHL debut is any indication, Edmonton fans might get a chance to see him before not so very long.