Bertucci, Pitre, Day, and Hay Set New Firebirds Franchise Record with Four Selected at the NHL Draft
Flint, Mich. – It was a record-setting day for the Flint Firebirds as a franchise record four players were selected in the 2023 NHL Draft. Tristan Bertucci, Coulson Pitre, Nathan Day, and Ethan Hay all heard their names called this afternoon in Nashville, marking the first time the Firebirds have ever had more than two players taken in a single draft.
Day 2 started with a bang for the Firebirds as defenseman Tristan Bertucci and Coulson Pitre selected four picks apart.
The Dallas Stars selected Bertucci with the 61st overall pick in the 2nd round. This marks the fourth Firebird in history to be selected by the Stars (Caamano, Dellandrea, Oksentyuk), and sixth Stars prospect to play for Flint (Peters, Moran) and the second Firebirds player to be selected in the 2nd round (Vladislav Kolyachonok – 2019).
“It feels surreal,” Bertucci said. “It’s a dream come true couldn’t be happier to get drafted to Dallas.”
The Firebirds’ first-round pick in the 2021 Priority Selection is coming off a career year finishing with 50 points (11 G, 39 A), which was tied for 12th among OHL defensemen and the second most among OHL draft-eligible blueliners.
The Anaheim Ducks selected Pitre in the 3rd round (65th overall). He became the first Flint player to be selected by Anaheim in the NHL Draft and with the selection it’s the third straight year a Firebird has gone in the 3rd Round (Kuzmin, Hayes).
“It feels unbelievable (being drafted),” Pitre said. “Being here with my family means everything. I’m grateful to Flint and I’m grateful to all my teammates for their help in making me the player I am.”
The Stouffville, Ont. burst onto the scene in his first year in Flint producing 44 points (23 G, 21 A) in 52 GP while being named to the OHL First All-Rookie Team. He followed that up with a successful 2022-23 season, adding 60 points (25 G, 35 A) in 59 GP for the Firebirds.
Nathan Day became the first goaltender in Flint history to be selected when the Edmonton Oilers took him in the 6th round (#184 overall). Day was also the only OHL netminder selected in the 2023 NHL Draft. He also became the first Firebird selected by the Oilers.
“It is so surreal being drafted,” Day said. “This has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. This was a very special day for my family and me, and we couldn’t be more excited.”
The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Grimsby, Ont. native finished the season going 9-1-0 with a .916 SV% in his final 11 games of the year. For the 2022-23 campaign Day finished 17-10-0 with a 3.91 GAA and .874%.
Ethan Hay rounded out the Firebirds draftees when the Tampa Bay Lightning selected him 211th overall in the 7th round, becoming the first player in franchise history to be selected by Tampa.
“This is a dream come true,” Hay said. “I’m super excited to get things started with Tampa, they are a great organization and I’m thrilled to have been drafted by them!”
Ethan Hay finished the year scoring 17 G and adding 11 A in 64 GP. He was awarded the Ivan Tennant Memorial Award as OHL’s Top Academic High School Student and was named the second-best in faceoffs and second-best defensive forward in the Western Conference in the end-of-season OHL coaches poll.
The Flint Firebirds have had at least one player selected every year in the NHL Draft since moving to Flint in 2015. In six of the eight drafts, they have had multiple players selected, including having six players drafted the past two years under Head Coach Ted Dent, a franchise best for a two-year span.
“We couldn’t be happier for our guys on such an exciting day for them,” General Manager Dave McParlan said. “It’s great to see all the hard work they have put in, both on and off the ice, has paid off. We are very proud of them. This has been a strong draft for the Flint Firebirds organization, and it’s a true testament, not only to the great job from our coaches but also to the long hours put in by our incredible scouting staff.”
Flint tied London, Ottawa, and Hamilton with the most picks in the 2023 NHL Draft from the Ontario Hockey League.
The four drafted Firebirds’ game-worn blue jerseys from this past season are available in a silent auction until 8:00 p.m. tonight. Fans can place their bids HERE!
Since the Flint Firebirds’ inception seven seasons ago in 2015, the club has already had 29 drafted or NHL-signed players on its roster consisting of Tristan Bertucci (Dallas), Will Bitten (Montreal), Dennis Busby (Arizona), Nick Caamano (Dallas), Connor Chatham (New Jersey), Will Cranley (St. Louis Blues), Nathan Day (Edmonton), Ty Dellandrea (Dallas), Artem Guryev (San Jose), Ethan Hay (Tampa Bay), Fedor Gordeev (Toronto), Gavin Hayes (Chicago), Kyle Keyser (Boston Bruins), Ethan Keppen (Vancouver), Braeden Kressler (Toronto), Vladislav Kolyachonok (Florida), Dmitry Kuzmin (Winnipeg), Amadeus Lombardi (Detroit), Nick Mattinen (Toronto), Brent Moran (Dallas), Alex Nedeljkovic (Carolina), Evgeniy Oksentyuk (Dallas), Brennan Othmann (NY Rangers), Alex Peters (Dallas), Coulson Pitre (Anaheim), Vili Saarijarvi (Detroit), Kole Sherwood (Columbus), Jalen Smereck (Arizona), Tyler Tucker (St. Louis) and Josh Wesley (Carolina).
For more information, contact:
Jack Sznewajs
Director of Broadcasting & Communications
Flint Firebirds Hockey Club
[email protected]
