Growing up in Seminole, Fla., playing hockey made Logan Day a bit of an oddball.
“I tried baseball. I tried football. It never really stuck with me. I was always the odd one in class who played hockey,” said Day, who started skating when he was three. “Every two weeks I was up in the northeast playing in tournaments so I was missing a lot of school.”
Day, 24, eventually did wind up playing home games in the northeast, first spending one season at Providence.
“That didn’t work out. I just felt like I never got the opportunity to play,” Day said, explaining why he transferred to Endicott College, a Division III school.
“Division III gets a bad rap. It’s not bad hockey. I got my chance to play,” said Day.
“I kept getting better and better.”
After finishing two seasons at Endicott, Day joined the Bakersfield Condors for the end of the 2017/18 season. He really turned heads last year, posing a Condors rookie record — 34 points in 64 games. That earned Day a one-year entry-level contract from the Oilers in May.
“He’s a real diamond in the rough,” said Condors head coach Jay Woodcroft.
“He made us a faster team. He moved pucks. He led our defence in scoring. He was good on the power play.”
“My biggest strength would be getting up in the rush and playing on the attack,” Day said. “Today’s game is so fast. The less defence you play, the chances you win are going to be better.
“I like to get up in the rush, keep pucks alive, keep my feet moving and keep the pace of play high.”
Day and the Oilers rookies will take on the Calgary Flames rookies Saturday at 7 p.m. in Red Deer.