The Top 20 countdown of our 2025 Cult of Hockey Prospect Series continues. These are the twenty young men in the system today closest to making an impact with the big club. Players only fall off the list once they:
-Make the NHL
-Get dealt to a different organization
-Age out, or…
-Drop off the map.
O.K.? Let us proceed…
#17 – Nathaniel Day, G
(Voters: David Staples, Kurt Leavins, Jim Matheson, Ira Cooper).
A few days ago, I wrote how the Oilers only have two goaltenders in their Top 20 prospects. That is when we were featuring young Eemil Vinni at #20. The other goalie in the Top 20 is the subject of this prospect preview, juts mere notches higher on the ladder than his tender brethren…
…or at least that is how the Cult of Hockey panel sees them.
A Grimsby, Ontario native, Nathaniel Day was drafted in 2023 by Edmonton, in Round 6, number 184 overall. Day is a fairly tall kid at 6’4, weighs in at 205, and catches and shoots left. He is 20 years old right now and will turn 21 in February. Puckpedia has him on a three-year contract with a cap hit of $856,667 through 2028.
After a strong finish to 2023-24 for Flint of the OHL when he supplanted a more experienced starter, Day took another decent forward in 2024-25. In 59 games he was 26-25-5, with a 3.07 GAA and a .894 SV%. Those were improvements from 2024-24’s 54 GP, 25-26-2, 3.73 GAA, 0.0868 SV%. Progress.
He then had a productive cup of coffee with Fort Wayne of the ECHL at season’s end. He was 2-0-0 in 3 games with a 0.43 GAA and a .981 SV%. For the Komets in the playoffs, he was 2-1-1, 2.17 GAA, 0.914 GAA. Small sample, but encouraging.
Here is what the scouts say.
Elite Prospects:
– “Day displays a lot of patience in a variety of different scoring opportunities. He is solid and composed on breakaways, rarely making the first move. When the puck is worked around the zone, he shows good attention to detail by making micro adjustments with his feet to stay on angle, even when the play around him speeds up.”
From our old friend Bruce McCurdy’s Cult of Hockey article back on draft day:
– “His wide stance could become more of an issue as he moves on in his career. It forces him to make a lot of lunging moves across the crease on plays that he could otherwise beat on his feet with a confident push. A narrower stance that gives him better access to his edges, combined with the patience that he already has could be a deadly combination. Questions about tracking have also emerged because too many clean shots beat him.”
And finally, from Dobber Prospects:
– “An athletic goaltender who can make high-difficulty saves. Needs to get better with reads and consistency.”
Other player pluses:
-His height combined with his upright posture enables him to cover a lot of net.
-Moves well post-to-post. Good news, for a bigger man.
-He has quick pads. Fits his stand-up approach.
Where does he need work?
-As alluded to above, Day can go down early, and leave himself scrambling to get back on his feet where he is strongest.
-Tracking the puck. Common for young goalies. His (small sample) good start in the ECHL is a good sign, though.
-Perimeter & Angles. Related to the above, he can struggle with outside shots.
General observations:
-Day was a Ken Holland/Tyler Wright selection, so Stan Bowman and Rick Pracey may not have the same investment in him. That is just how it works in most organizations, and hardly exclusive to Edmonton. We shall see.
Projection:
-Nathaniel Day has a way to go and a lot to prove and improve upon before he would be considered a strong NHL prospect. In the short term, expect his time this upcoming season to be split between the ECHL and AHL. Most goalies develop slower than skaters and just need the reps at a lower pro level first. So, if he starts in Fort Wayne and even spends most of the season there, that is not necessarily a danger sign.
-But if Day ends up in more games for the Condors than the Komets this season, that would be a significant plus. It would signal encouraging maturity and growth in the points outlined above. That would be considered the best case case scenario for Day, in the short-term.
-As for his NHL future? At this time, it would seem several seasons away at the very best. Day may stack up no better than the organizational Number five. But as a 6th Round pick, he was always going to be a long shot.
Next up…prospect #16 from my Cult of Hockey colleague David Staples.
Now on Bluesky @kurtleavins.bsky.social. Also, find me on Threads @kleavins, Twitter @KurtLeavins, Instagram at LeavinsOnHockey, and Mastodon at KurtLeavins@mstdn.social.
This article is not AI generated.
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Bruce McCurdy, 1955-2025.
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