New York Rangers: Ranking the prospects by tiers

Tier 6

Sean Day, Tim Gettinger, Patrik Virta, Ville Meskanen, Riley Hughes, Lauri Pajuniemi, Nico Gross

This tier is for players who have a chance at making the NHL because of one skill set that they excel at, yet have some holes in their game that need filling.

Sean Day is the poster child for that description.

Day is an exceptional skater with plus offensive ability. He was granted exceptional status at age 16, allowing him to play in juniors a year early. There are only four other players that have received the same honor; John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, Connor McDavid and 2018 first round pick Joe Veleno.

Getting a player with those credentials in the third round like the Rangers did in the 2016 draft is worth the risk. However, Day is at risk of being the first player with exceptional status to be declared a bust by the hockey world.

For as great as his skating is, Day has been nothing short of a huge disappointment defensively and really hasn’t gotten a ton better over the years. His poor positioning screams “low hockey IQ.” You can have all the skill in the world but if you can’t think the game properly, you are at a huge disadvantage.

Day will begin the year in Hartford unless something goes horribly wrong that causes him to start the season with the Maine Mariners of the ECHL.