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

[ChaoticOrange]

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

Smid really never took any kind of a step at all from his rookie season. Dismissing Nurse as 'another Smid' isn't fair

 

[Young Lions*]

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.)

Nurse basically came straight from the OHL to the NHL. He had no chance to get used to the speed of the game at the pro level before he was facing real NHL players and it showed in how quickly he went from doing ok to floundering.

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.

I don't agree with that and a lot of successful teams (Detroit for example) would also. It's hard to learn and build confidence if you're just getting filled in all the time.

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.

But above you seem to suggest spending time on the farm doesn't really matter for a player's development, so why characterize it as a problem?

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.

I think the difference in speed matters a lot. Plus there's a bit less pressure to win, which allows players and coaches to focus more on areas that need improving and on teaching system play.

 

[Young Lions*]

Smid really never took any kind of a step at all from his rookie season. Dismissing Nurse as 'another Smid' isn't fair

Well we won't know that until we see Nurse take a step forward now will we?

 

[Spawn]

Smid really never took any kind of a step at all from his rookie season. Dismissing Nurse as 'another Smid' isn't fair

Smid was better as a rookie imo, and he did progress from that point. For at least a couple of seasons he was a legit shut down d-man.

 

[Dorian2]

I understand the thinking that going from the OHL pretty much straight to the NHL can, and typically does, become a developmental issue. For many players. But I think that Nurse is cut from a different cloth than most people in general. Actually I don't just think it, I know it. And I don't even know the guy.

He'll be fine.

 

[Digger12]

but Chia didn't do his job by getting a competant D corpse.

But I thought we had an abundance of D corpses already?

 

[Birdperson]

He had an extremely poor rookie season. I don't think you could argue he was an actual NHL player this year and there are serious questions about his puck skills/decision making. I don't care that he fought or is tough because he was a liability on the ice most of the time.

He has amazing skating abilities but how far does that take him with below average puck moving skills?

 

[McJadeddog]

Smid really never took any kind of a step at all from his rookie season. Dismissing Nurse as 'another Smid' isn't fair

i think that the parallels between the two are staggering personally... i expect a "smid-like" career for nurse

 

[McJadeddog]

He had an extremely poor rookie season. I don't think you could argue he was an actual NHL player this year and there are serious questions about his puck skills/decision making. I don't care that he fought or is tough because he was a liability on the ice most of the time.

He has amazing skating abilities but how far does that take him with below average puck moving skills?

this is an understatement... i struggle to even think of a dman who had less hockey-sense than nurse does... its almost comical how he has ZERO idea of what to do with the puck after he skates it up ice and into the offensive zone... i suppose if he eventually learns to play to his glaring weakness, and passes it to a competent offensive player to enter the zone, this would limit his offensive liability

i think he was also very, very bad in the defensive zone, running around with no clue who to cover most times.... however, i think this is an area that will improve with seasoning... he has the size and speed to be a good defender in his own zone after a few more seasons

 

[Perfect_Drug]

I don't remember Smid pummelling the crap out of the other teams players as a 20 year old, and shown he's not afraid to take an instigator.


Do any of you guys have videos of Smid physically dominating the opponents in fistfights?

I just remember him going ballistic after whistles but not really being able to intimidate anyone like Nurse has several times.

 

[Young Lions*]

I don't remember Smid pummelling the crap out of the other teams players as a 20 year old, and shown he's not afraid to take an instigator.

Do any of you guys have videos of Smid physically dominating the opponents in fistfights?

I just remember him going ballistic after whistles but not really being able to intimidate anyone like Nurse has several times.

Who cares? We're talking about the stuff that actually matters here.

 

[missinthejets]

Who cares? We're talking about the stuff that actually matters here.

That does matter. when you have a crazy person on your side the other side is less likely to take liberties. People like to pretend that the NHL has moved past that kind of thing but it really hasn't.

 

[McJadeddog]

Who cares? We're talking about the stuff that actually matters here.

exactly

nurse appears to be at least an average fighter, and has a bit of "crazy" in him... is that good? sure, its better than NOT having it, thats for sure... but it really doesn't matter much at all.... certainly nowhere NEARLY as much as hockey sense, offensive awareness, shooting ability, etc.... all areas where nurse appears to be severely lacking (similar to how smid was lacking in all those departments as well, thus the comparisons)

 

[thadd]

All things considered I'll give him 7.5/10.
I wanted him to spend the year in the AHL and I want him back in the AHL next year.

 

[DarkSaturn]

I don't remember Smid pummelling the crap out of the other teams players as a 20 year old, and shown he's not afraid to take an instigator.


Do any of you guys have videos of Smid physically dominating the opponents in fistfights?

I just remember him going ballistic after whistles but not really being able to intimidate anyone like Nurse has several times.

Smid wasn't physical that way. But he was really good at delivering a hard crosscheck to the back of any opposition player who takes an extra whack at the goaltender. Didn't he end up pretty high up on a player survey of secretly dirty players?

 

[CornKicker]

I don't remember Smid pummelling the crap out of the other teams players as a 20 year old, and shown he's not afraid to take an instigator.


Do any of you guys have videos of Smid physically dominating the opponents in fistfights?

I just remember him going ballistic after whistles but not really being able to intimidate anyone like Nurse has several times.

there is a video of him gettin gpunched in the face by sean avery ......lol

 

[Consultant]

Not disappointed at all. He had exactly the year we should expect from a 20-21 year old dman.
He still has all the tools to be a hard nose top pairing dman, maybe not in 2016 but in the next few years. He is so undervalued here, dmen take time folks. 200 games before we should judge.

 

[La Bamba]

I'd rate his rookie season a 4/10, however I still have high hopes for him to develop into a top pairing D man.

I expected more offence and a better defensive game but he entered the league as a 20 year old so I don't blame him at all.

 

[shoop]

I'd rate his rookie season a 4/10, however I still have high hopes for him to develop into a top pairing D man.

I expected more offence and a better defensive game but he entered the league as a 20 year old so I don't blame him at all.

Failing grade?

I was thinkin' 6/10. Bare pass.

Yeah, he probably shoulda spent the season in Bako, and I'd really like to see him start in Bako come October. First call up. Hopefully no injuries right away!

 

[McTrashBoat]

Failing grade?

I was thinkin' 6/10. Bare pass.

Yeah, he probably shoulda spent the season in Bako, and I'd really like to see him start in Bako come October. First call up. Hopefully no injuries right away!

That's probably fair, I think if he played as a brief call up or 3rd pairing all year he would have earned an 8/10

 

[Draiskull]

Showed heart, showed he has the balls to go up against anyone, showed nastiness that this team lacks, showed speed, showed mobility...

Was thrown to the wolves and was given way too tough and way too many minutes...

The kid will get nothing but better from here on in.. Top line shutdown Dman is still his upside despite the hiccups last season...

Expecting more growing pains next season but this kid is a keeper!

 

[soothsayer]

Some of these posts are going to get their posters tar'd and feather'd by this time next year. Just a brutal inability to contextualize the player's performance.

 

[Sheikyerbouti]

My impression of Nurse improved this year a ton

I don't think he has instincts for the game but I saw a player that cared enough to make the NHL for sure. He has a fire in him; he physically intimidated people as a rookie and was ferocious even when his confidence was down.

Conversely GriffRein can make the right decisions but can't seem to do it quick enough.

I was way wrong on those two. I still think they have similar ceilings, but Nurse has the mental fortitude to maximize his physical tools. That combination of raw athleticism and fear-b@ner mentality is unique enough to make up for the poor instincts imo. We are lucky to have him, when he is fully developed and playing in the playoffs he will be a wrecking ball that every team hates and calls dirty.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

My impression of Nurse improved this year a ton

I don't think he has instincts for the game but I saw a player that cared enough to make the NHL for sure. He has a fire in him; he physically intimidated people as a rookie and was ferocious even when his confidence was down.

Conversely GriffRein can make the right decisions but can't seem to do it quick enough.

I was way wrong on those two. I still think they have similar ceilings, but Nurse has the mental fortitude to maximize his physical tools. That combination of raw athleticism and fear-b@ner mentality is unique enough to make up for the poor instincts imo. We are lucky to have him, when he is fully developed and playing in the playoffs he will be a wrecking ball that every team hates and calls dirty.

I really hope that he develops enough of his game to at least be a 20ish point 2nd pairing guy. Anything more would be gravy, anything less would be a disappointment. That said even if he for some reason tops out as a 3rd pairing guy he has enough physical tools to be a very valuable 3rd pairing guy. Griff on the other hand has the hockey IQ but I agree that his timing was just a hair off at times and nothing but experience fixes that.

 

[voxel]

Smid really never took any kind of a step at all from his rookie season. Dismissing Nurse as 'another Smid' isn't fair

It's completely fair. Smid and Nurse have extremely limited offensive IQ. Both skated like the wind in their rookie season and had zero idea what to do with the puck in the O-zone. We rushed Smid. We stunted his limited offensive skill by throwing him into the NHL.

I wish HFboards had posts from 2007 and 2008 cause they were hilarious. There were posts projecting Smid's offensive output to Pronger and above. Nurse may hit 30pts once in his career (and many of those will be secondary assists) but that's the ceiling.

And what's wrong with Smid? He was fine as a 2nd pairing defensive D-man for a time. It's these unreasonable delusional expectations of Nurse that bother me. I labeled Smid as a 2nd-pairing at best also back in 2008-ish... and was laughed off. Nurse is following the same flawed "thrown into wolves" development path.