Player Discussion Darnell Nurse Part II: How do you rate his rookie year?

[The Nuge]

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I'm not so sure about that. It's not his fault he was one of our most durable options with veterans on the payroll like Nikitin and Ference providing zero depth.

Right now it looks like he will be competing with one of Davidson or Klefbom with others young guys like Reinhart in the mix as well for the final d spot and that's before we see what changes happen this summer.

At the same age Davidson was playing as a 20 yr old overager in the WHL because he wasn't good enough to be even at the AHL level yet, and even at 21 he was barely AHL level. Nurse at the same age is definitely further along in development, and given their draft pedigrees that's no surprise.

Not saying Nurse couldn't use more AHL seasoning if it makes sense, but I highly doubt he's going to need to spend multiple years in the minors to be "ready". In fact I doubt he'll need more than a half season in the AHL if that's where he ends up going.

I don't think it's Plan A, but if they only land one top four D this offseason, i bet their fallback plan is

Klef-new guy
Nurse-Sekera

They ******* love this kid.

Yeah a lot to love with his physical tools and compete level. Don't think that results in irrational decision making though especially with last years information at hand.

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[Young Lions*]

Yeah a lot to love with his physical tools and compete level. Don't think that results in irrational decision making though especially with last years information at hand.

Deploying him the way they did last year shows irrational decision making is alive and well.

 

[missinthejets]

Deploying him the way they did last year shows irrational decision making is alive and well.

But who should they have played instead? With all the injuries and ****** veterans wasting space on the roster options were limited, Nurse was playing well so he got bumped up, struggled and got bumped back down and played much better. Not like what happened last year was the plan they laid out to start with.

 

[Beerfish]

Disappointing but not disastrous.

 

[Lacaar]

Deploying him the way they did last year shows irrational decision making is alive and well.

Hockey future 101. If prospect struggles.. he was deployed too early.

 

[Faelko]

It's too bad we had the run of injuries that we did. If Nurse would've stayed all year in the AHL it would've benefitted him immensely.

 

[Musashi]

Deploying him the way they did last year shows irrational decision making is alive and well.

Not really. Lots of s*** happened to force that hand and it's not like they tried to fix the situation with what was available by giving other guys opportunities and trying out waiver claims.

I would be surprised if it was lost on management that we need to be better prepared to not have that situation happen again.

 

[Young Lions*]

Hockey future 101. If prospect struggles.. he was deployed too early.

Yeah when you put it that way it sounds...completely logical.

 

[McGoMcD]

He did what I expected, some had way to high expectations. He evolved over the year, he showed he doesn't belong in the AHL. He will continue to mature into a very solid top 4 type guy. That is what I thought his upside was, that is where he is heading, so it was a good year really.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

I'm not sure if its his puck skills or IQ.

He would be a wizard rushing the puck if he took steps in those areas.

 

[Aerchon]

I think he was put in over his head and was a part of the reason we lost so many games.

Having said that I also think as a first year player against quality nhl competition he preformed very well.

I think his future is bright but by no means certain yet.

Probably will take him a long time to be a consistent top 4 impact defender.

Has all the tools to be great just needs to keep pushing and improving.

This season will be a good indication of where he will end up. Many defenders take a step back thier second year and still end up good to great. But it's rare for a truly great defender to take much if any steps back.

 

[Shizuka]

He was in way over his head and it exposed some questionable decision making. Great tools, but I wonder a bit about the toolbox. I believe in junior, some felt that he was also trying to do too much, and overcomplicating things for himself. If he and Reinhart are on the squad come October, we will be in trouble once again.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

I think all things considered Nurse's rookie year was okay. He looked worlds better when not facing top lines (even when saddled with Clendening, Schultz, and Pardy) and with his minutes cut, but predictably when hucked out there as our top shutdown D he got peppered with shots against. I won't be at all upset if our 3rd pairing is Nurse-Davidson next year.

I also kind of felt he looked better when allowed to skate and wheel a bit. When he focused too much on not screwing up in the D zone he got the yips and looked awful. When he started to get some confidence back and skated with the puck more he was much more effective.

 

[Quality Oil]

Rated exactly how you can expect a player that should be full time in the AHL with maybe ~15 games in the NHL. Not disappointed with his play at all. I'll be disappointed with the team if the D spots aren't filled to a point where he isn't needed here unless he forces his way on the roster.

His play got a bit sloppier as the year went on, but that shouldn't be surprising to anyone given the situation he was put in. We can hope they can get him back to focusing on the finer points of the defensive game without so much pressure.

He's a great skater on a big frame which will help him out tremendously and he seems to have some raw offensive instinct. Should be a good next few years for Nurse.

 

[kurtcobang]

Considering he was thrown into the deep end like he was I thought he did as well as expected. He plays physical, stands up for teammates and works hard.
Sure he had some brain farts but show me a rookie D that doesn't. The criticism of Nurse on these boards is way over the top imo and I still believe he will be a solid #2 for many years for us. He will be in the NHL next year full time I believe

 

[snipes]

He was thrown to the wolves too early. That's not his fault. But he showed enough for me to believe he'll be an excellent 2nd pairing D man and has an important part in our future.

He is an outstanding skater, he possesses elite skating and for a guy 6'4 that is a great physical tool to have going forward. He's still lanky and hasn't grown into his man body. He'll likely be 230ish when he's around 25. Nurse is also tough as nails.

Nurse showed character laying a ****ing beat down on the coward Polak. Instead of making Gazdic or Kassian fight his battle with Haley, he refused and wanted to deal with it himself. Teammates notice that. Opponents notice that, look at the respect he was shown by Haley after the game.

Oh yeah, Haley taught Nurse a lesson? He finished the game +4 and added a point playing his best game in an Oiler uniform. We ended up crushing the Sharks. Overall, I'm happy with the kid. He still needs work, but I'm happy with him and type of character he has. Those things matter.

Start him and Reinhart in the AHL next year on the first pair. Give them both a letter and make them play big minutes in all situations. 5 on 5, PP, PK, final minutes of a close game, etc. D men take time to develop and we need to be patient with him.

I want Nurse on my team all day long.

 

[Mr Positive]

He was okay for a rookie but pretty bad overall. He was more often a liability than an asset.

I've seen this pattern across the league though. Teams suffer through this with young defensemen, and to me it seems like they know they'll suffer but they see it as worth it so that the player will develop. Just like Draisaitl benefited from getting outclassed last season, Nurse likely benefited by being outclassed this season.

I'd still prefer to rewind the clock on him a bit. He should start in the AHL, with the plan to call him up mid-season. I don't envy Chiarelli's job in the coming months. These are tough decisions to make.

 

[ponokanocker]

Rated exactly how you can expect a player that should be full time in the AHL with maybe ~15 games in the NHL. Not disappointed with his play at all. I'll be disappointed with the team if the D spots aren't filled to a point where he isn't needed here unless he forces his way on the roster.

His play got a bit sloppier as the year went on, but that shouldn't be surprising to anyone given the situation he was put in. We can hope they can get him back to focusing on the finer points of the defensive game without so much pressure.

He's a great skater on a big frame which will help him out tremendously and he seems to have some raw offensive instinct. Should be a good next few years for Nurse.

Pretty much this. Really wished he would have only played around 40 games but Chia didn't do his job by getting a competant D corpse.

 

[McJeetz]

Nurse and Reinhart should start in the AHL regardless of how training camp. Put them in a position where they have to force their way on the Oilers roster. They will!!! There needs pressure on both players to make the team and develop, not carry the team as a top 4 def vs tough competition 20+min a night.

I am hoping Schultz success with the Penguins makes the oilers rethink their 'throw them to the wolves, sink or swim' philosophy. The Oilers have their own successes in Davidson and klefbom by bringing them along slowly.

Sekera. New player
Klefbom. New player
Davidson Fayne
Gryba

This is the oilers starting def next year I hope.

 

[Lacaar]

Yeah when you put it that way it sounds...completely logical.

Yup.. sure beats out the logic some seem is best.

1. Defenceman get's injured.

2. Call up the best suitable replacement.

3. Wait that's a young Darnell Nurse!

4. Don't call up your best replacement. He must percolate!

5. Call Up your next best dman that doesn't need to percolate. Screw winning.


If you think there was a better dman in the AHL then Nurse to play then fine.
I don't think there was. They found out Nurse was more capable then Reinhart right away.

There's not a dman in the AHL that I think would have outperformed Nurse.
As average as Nurse was in the NHL this year. He didn't get completely overwhelmed. I'd like to think it was a great experience out of necessity and he'll be a better player for it in the long run. More beneficial than if he stayed in the AHL all season.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I think he would've benefited more by playing a year in the AHL, and being 'the man' so to speak -- being the top pairing guy, PP QB, etc. I think that would've been a better learning experience than being pinned in his zone in the NHL and peppered with shots as he fairly often was. Not so sure what you learn from that, other than you're just not ready. Injuries be damned. Sign an average Joe off the street if you have to, as opposed to hurting the development of one of your top prospects in another lost season. That said, I don't know for sure if it DID hurt his development. May sound like I'm contradicting myself, but I merely stated what I would've PREFERRED to have happened. I don't know for sure if that would've been best for him, or if spending the year in the NHL was. No one does. I guess we'll see how things turn out in the next couple of years, and we can trace the steps and missteps.

As for rating his rookie performance, I'd give him a C-. Wasn't great. Wasn't even good, IMO. Was 'okay' and merely acceptable in many aspects, and not so acceptable in others.

 

[Young Lions*]

Yup.. sure beats out the logic some seem is best.

1. Defenceman get's injured.

2. Call up the best suitable replacement.

3. Wait that's a young Darnell Nurse!

4. Don't call up your best replacement. He must percolate!

5. Call Up your next best dman that doesn't need to percolate. Screw winning.

If you think there was a better dman in the AHL then Nurse to play then fine.
I don't think there was. They found out Nurse was more capable then Reinhart right away.

Oh yeah they won so much with Nurse as the best option.

The fact that Nurse was the best option for a call up shows just how hard management screwed this team into the ground.

There's not a dman in the AHL that I think would have outperformed Nurse.
As average as Nurse was in the NHL this year. He didn't get completely overwhelmed. I'd like to think it was a great experience out of necessity and he'll be a better player for it in the long run. More beneficial than if he stayed in the AHL all season

There's really no way to tell. personally I think sending a 20 year old out to get slaughtered every night is less beneficial to development than putting them in an environment where they can learn the game at a higher level which is probably why they have developmental leagues in the first place, but sure, let's just send all the rookies to the big team to get crushed, they'll be better for it, just like we've seen so many times before!

 

[voxel]

Similar to Smid's rookie season. On track to be Smid 2.0 and fans were also hyped over Laddy too.

 

[Lacaar]

Oh yeah they won so much with Nurse as the best option.

Hindsight is 20/20.. you don't know this at the time the games are being played. You don't give up on the season in December as an organization.. that's our job as fans.

The fact that Nurse was the best option for a call up shows just how hard management screwed this team into the ground.

I completely agree.

There's really no way to tell. personally I think sending a 20 year old out to get slaughtered every night is less beneficial to development than putting them in an environment where they can learn the game at a higher level which is probably why they have developmental leagues in the first place, but sure, let's just send all the rookies to the big team to get crushed, they'll be better for it, just like we've seen so many times before!

I agree there's no way to tell.
I do think you're exaggerating with the slaughtered comment. Nurse trod water. He went under for a bit.. swam for a bit. Learned a lot hopefully.

The only reason I was ok with Nurse playing in the NHL last year was that he was able to compete and he was playing decent minutes.

If his Ice time was minimal I believe keeping him up would be a mistake.

There's no such thing as a real development league. They're all just tiers of hockey. Why do we always challenge hockey players with higher tiers to get better then completely reverse that philosophy when it comes to the NHL and AHL? (Once again I want to emphasize playing time.)

In the end I'm not a believer that Percolating the AHL makes a better hockey player. All it does is allow you to determine if you have an NHL player before he gets to the NHL.

Bringing the player to the NHL sooner doesn't destroy players. All it does is allow you to find out if they're NHL players sooner.

This team's problem is that we haven't had the depth to let those questions get answered on our farm team for the last 10 years. Instead we get the answer when they're in the NHL.

As for Nurse. I am concerned about him. I love his compete and physicality. His skating is great.

But I do worry he relies too much on those skills to go along with his really long stick. His decision making/awareness is my concern. I don't think the AHL is going to improve that aspect of his game any more in the NHL. It's just sad that the Oilers don't have the luxury of letting it develop in the AHL.

Nurse is now coming to his 4th year. When compared to other defencemen of his draft stature they almost always play on the NHL club in their 4th year.
If Nurse can't crack the Oilers this year then I'm going to conclude that his development is stagnating.

 

[missinthejets]

Similar to Smid's rookie season. On track to be Smid 2.0 and fans were also hyped over Laddy too.

As prospects Nurse and Smid are totally different and not worth comparing to at all. Nurse has a mean streak that Smid never had. Smid was tough, but it was more along the lines of tough by putting himself in front of shots or sticking his nose into scenarios where he was over matched. Nurse is a bad man and will make people accountable. Bigger, stronger, meaner and a better skater so I don't like the comparisons at all. Smid was never supposed to be a tough defender anyway, in fact I recall his scouting reports said he lacked grit. Grit that guys have to work to develop are not the same as guys who have their biggest plus in their package as grit and toughness.

Let's not forget that Smid did play well for the Oilers for several years too. He just broke down too quickly because he was playing a style that really wasn't for him.