Player Discussion Darnell Nurse vs Matthew Benning

[McDNicks17]

I think post-injury/playoffs Nurse is a little too fresh in our minds.

The Nurse that started the season looked solid and ready to move up the lineup, IMO.

 

[Aerchon]

Benning is better now, I'll say Nurse will be better in the future. Although I kind of doubt either ends up as good as some Oiler fans project them to be.

This.

Although since Benning is only 22 as well, there is certainly still a solid chance he just always stays better.

Ill add that predicting Defense certainly has an element of voodoo that makes it impossible to accurately gauge their effectiveness and when they will reach said effectiveness.

 

[ToeMcDrag83]

Nurse's weaknesses are more apparent when the game on transition is hesitant, which I believe is the opposite of what we're trying to coach.

When Nurse is forced into stationary breakout from behind the net (wait and see approach) he struggles to make a proper decision, and his passes have no confidence behind them.

If we are intent on transition game, skating the puck up the ice, none of the behind the net stalling, Nurse has far superior impact on the game. His strength will show as gets closer to 250-300 games, we need to invest in this kid, he will step up.

Benning had an excellent rookie season, I think he has a lot of untapped offensive touches too that will be seen as the team grows. Some of the knocks on his panic under pressure just need to be tempered with the fact that his career is some 60 odd games old.

The development of these two will not, however, be best served on a 3rd pairing together. I think you have to split them up, share some top 4 time.

 

[McAsuno]

One thing that frustrates me the most about Nurse is his shot. His wristers are weak and I've seen him fire the puck that misses the net and ends up in the boards. Hopefully he works on that in the summer.

 

[McShogun99]

Nurse in his prime will be very good for us. His combination of speed, size and aggression will be really nice on the second pairing.

 

[Debonair]

Nurse has much higher upside - the question is if he gets to it or not. It was odd, I felt he struggled in the playoffs, for the most part - but IMO his best game was when he played on the top pair with Larsson.

I'm going to say Benning now, Nurse in the future - just because he's the only one of the two who could potentially become a top pairing D.

 

[Draiskull]

Did you watch the playoffs? Benning was the better dman and it wasn't close.

Umm yeah.. i wouldnt make judgment based on playoffs.. both of them were bad. We would be going to SC Finals if Chia brought in D help on the deadline. Nurse-Benning gained valuable exp but cost us a banner or 2.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Benning was certainly more poised and made fewer mistakes, but Nurse has such a unique and amazing skill set that I can't imagine a world where a couple more years experience doesn't see him developing into an absolute monster on the ice.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Umm yeah.. i wouldnt make judgment based on playoffs.. both of them were bad. We would be going to SC Finals if Chia brought in D help on the deadline. Nurse-Benning gained valuable exp but cost us a banner or 2.

I disagree with this completely. We might have beaten Anaheim, but you can't sit there and say we would have been guaranteed to beat Nashville even with a bottom pair who weren't making mistakes. And I didn't think they were bad either, Nurse was worse than Benning, but Benning was pretty good in the playoffs.

 

[Draiskull]

I disagree with this completely. We might have beaten Anaheim, but you can't sit there and say we would have been guaranteed to beat Nashville even with a bottom pair who weren't making mistakes. And I didn't think they were bad either, Nurse was worse than Benning, but Benning was pretty good in the playoffs.

Benning was decent for a rookie but he was far from a "good" dman.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

IMHO its a tie now. Nurse future.

Nurse has so many physical tools and lacks maturity.

Benning has more maturity but lacks them tools.

Nurse is gonna be gold soon enough.

 

[bucks_oil]

IMHO its a tie now. Nurse future.

Nurse has so many physical tools and lacks maturity.

Benning has more maturity but lacks them tools.

Nurse is gonna be gold soon enough.

Pretty much a perfect summary. Benning is already playing a "smart"game that is ~maxing his abilities. If Nurse can learn that it won't be close.

I actually like them as a pairing for this reason.

I also agree with the "natural scapegoat" comment... that Nurse's draft order and salary are likely to influence his perceived value negatively.

 

[Ctrain2k]

I think Benning has potential to be a good 2nd pairing D, nurse has potential to be as good as he wants to though.

 

[Smartguy]

I think post-injury/playoffs Nurse is a little too fresh in our minds.

The Nurse that started the season looked solid and ready to move up the lineup, IMO.

Exactly what I came here to say, Nurse was well on his way to showing he could be a top 4 dman pre injury. Next year will be a big year in showing where his potential might finish. I'd say he's a dark horse for a breakout

 

[booyakasha]

Benning was decent for a rookie but he was far from a "good" dman.

this is true...not sure how some saw him as more poised, when I saw him chasing the play quite a bit, and a fair amount out of position.

I agree that Benning looked decent, but that's about it.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

I think post-injury/playoffs Nurse is a little too fresh in our minds.

The Nurse that started the season looked solid and ready to move up the lineup, IMO.

While you're right about recency bias I wasn't really that impressed with his game pre-injury either. I dunno, I just don't get what the big deal with him is. He might be a 2nd pairing someday but he really needs to up his hockey IQ.

 

[Digger12]

this is true...not sure how some saw him as more poised, when I saw him chasing the play quite a bit, and a fair amount out of position.

I agree that Benning looked decent, but that's about it.

I think part of the Benning narrative can be attributed to him being a shiny new toy this year, he hasn't been around long enough for people to become bored with what he brings. He was also found money essentially, so any decent play from him was considered a bonus.

With Nurse, it's a bit different as fans have been hearing about him for 4 years now since he was drafted with much fanfare, a fairly high draft pick with equally high expectations, complete with a gregarious personality that is the complete opposite to Benning's low profile demeanor.

They're a fascinating contrast in many ways.

 

[bucks_oil]

I think part of the Benning narrative can be attributed to him being a shiny new toy this year, he hasn't been around long enough for people to become bored with what he brings. He was also found money essentially, so any decent play from him was considered a bonus.

With Nurse, it's a bit different as fans have been hearing about him for 4 years now since he was drafted with much fanfare, a fairly high draft pick with equally high expectations, complete with a gregarious personality that is the complete opposite to Benning's low profile demeanor.

They're a fascinating contrast in many ways.

Davidson-factor.

Blue-collar-fan-factor.

Canadians like to cheer for underdogs and criticize what is perceived as privilege (sometimes even when merit is involved). It's a pro and a con, but it is part of our nature.

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

Always was a silly comparison but Darnell Nurse is the better defenseman and it isn't even remotely close.

Matthew Benning isn't currently good enough to be on an NHL roster and this team would be better off if he was permanently PB'd or sent down to the AHL.

It's more than being asked to play higher in the lineup than he should. The guy just doesn't display any intelligence out on the ice. Defensive positioning is a foreign concept to him, he constantly loses his man, his gap control is abysmal and his handling of the puck is ECHL level. A constant disaster and there's a moment every shift with him that leaves you shaking your head in despair. To make matters worse, anybody that's paired with him has to basically play with a pylon on the opposite side and their own game suffers because of it. Good for a glaring mistake that leads to a goal against per game... I would be more than happy to see us move on from him.

 

[McDaddy]

Always was a silly comparison but Darnell Nurse is the better defenseman and it isn't even remotely close.

Matthew Benning isn't currently good enough to be on an NHL roster and this team would be better off if he was permanently PB'd or sent down to the AHL.

It's more than being asked to play higher in the lineup than he should. The guy just doesn't display any intelligence out on the ice. Defensive positioning is a foreign concept to him, he constantly loses his man, his gap control is abysmal and his handling of the puck is ECHL level. A constant disaster and there's a moment every shift with him that leaves you shaking your head in despair. To make matters worse, anybody that's paired with him has to basically play with a pylon on the opposite side and their own game suffers because of it. Good for a glaring mistake that leads to a goal against per game... I would be more than happy to see us move on from him.

The Benning experiment should be way done by now. Woof.

 

[walktheboulavard]

Always was a silly comparison but Darnell Nurse is the better defenseman and it isn't even remotely close.

Matthew Benning isn't currently good enough to be on an NHL roster and this team would be better off if he was permanently PB'd or sent down to the AHL.

It's more than being asked to play higher in the lineup than he should. The guy just doesn't display any intelligence out on the ice. Defensive positioning is a foreign concept to him, he constantly loses his man, his gap control is abysmal and his handling of the puck is ECHL level. A constant disaster and there's a moment every shift with him that leaves you shaking your head in despair. To make matters worse, anybody that's paired with him has to basically play with a pylon on the opposite side and their own game suffers because of it. Good for a glaring mistake that leads to a goal against per game... I would be more than happy to see us move on from him.

I almost vomit at the thought that the two were ever perceived to be near skill/talent level to precipitate a comparison. So insulting to Nurse.

Benning has caused us games all season. He just doesn't posses NHL speed, the guy made Horvat look like McDavid taking him wide and today he was handing out possession like candy at Halloween as the Jets forecheck was just too fast for him. Speed wins games in todays NHL, first it was the east now the west, teams like the Jets are built to feast on guys like Benning. I pray Jones is ready for next year because we can really use an injection of speed in this d group.

 

[Zaddy]

Always was a silly comparison but Darnell Nurse is the better defenseman and it isn't even remotely close.

Matthew Benning isn't currently good enough to be on an NHL roster and this team would be better off if he was permanently PB'd or sent down to the AHL.

It's more than being asked to play higher in the lineup than he should. The guy just doesn't display any intelligence out on the ice. Defensive positioning is a foreign concept to him, he constantly loses his man, his gap control is abysmal and his handling of the puck is ECHL level. A constant disaster and there's a moment every shift with him that leaves you shaking your head in despair. To make matters worse, anybody that's paired with him has to basically play with a pylon on the opposite side and their own game suffers because of it. Good for a glaring mistake that leads to a goal against per game... I would be more than happy to see us move on from him.

Easy to say now that Benning is playing really poorly. Nurse was looking nearly as poor on many nights in the past couple of seasons. Last year a lot of his bad play was masked by his limited role and how good the rest of the team was. That hasn't been the case this year. The whole team has been struggling and basically every defenseman outside of Nurse has struggled this year. Benning is probably playing without confidence right now and IMO should've been sent down to AHL a couple of weeks ago as he's a liability out there. Anyway, this Benning vs Nurse discussion was legit last year. It's just that Nurse took a giant step forward while Benning has regressed and is having a big sophomore slump. It happens.

 

[nabob]

Easy to say now that Benning is playing really poorly. Nurse was looking nearly as poor on many nights in the past couple of seasons. Last year a lot of his bad play was masked by his limited role and how good the rest of the team was. That hasn't been the case this year. The whole team has been struggling and basically every defenseman outside of Nurse has struggled this year. Benning is probably playing without confidence right now and IMO should've been sent down to AHL a couple of weeks ago as he's a liability out there. Anyway, this Benning vs Nurse discussion was legit last year. It's just that Nurse took a giant step forward while Benning has regressed and is having a big sophomore slump. It happens.

Nurse was playing much better before getting hurt. The only time it was somewhat legit was right after Nurse came back from injury.

Also keenin mind that the expectations and criticism are much higher and louder for a high pick than a college UFA. Just like everyone this year and offseason has been praising Slepy like crazy and guaranteeing him a roster spot, and in the same breath critical of Drai.

 

[GMofOilers]

Easy to say now that Benning is playing really poorly. Nurse was looking nearly as poor on many nights in the past couple of seasons. Last year a lot of his bad play was masked by his limited role and how good the rest of the team was. That hasn't been the case this year. The whole team has been struggling and basically every defenseman outside of Nurse has struggled this year. Benning is probably playing without confidence right now and IMO should've been sent down to AHL a couple of weeks ago as he's a liability out there. Anyway, this Benning vs Nurse discussion was legit last year. It's just that Nurse took a giant step forward while Benning has regressed and is having a big sophomore slump. It happens.

No it wasntlegit last year. It only was for people that thought Nurse had no hockey IQ. Nurse has and will always be the better player.

 

[GMofOilers]

Nurse was playing much better before getting hurt. The only time it was somewhat legit was right after Nurse came back from injury.

Also keenin mind that the expectations and criticism are much higher and louder for a high pick than a college UFA. Just like everyone this year and offseason has been praising Slepy like crazy and guaranteeing him a roster spot, and in the same breath critical of Drai.

Yup I dont get the Sleppy love at all on this board. Not even a NHL player at this point.