Part one is that the claim that Nurse is way ahead of Klefbom at the same age is asinine. By the numbers it's a wash and by eye Klefbom was vastly superior.
Player Discussion Darnell Nurse
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Part one is that the claim that Nurse is way ahead of Klefbom at the same age is asinine. By the numbers it's a wash and by eye Klefbom was vastly superior.
GMofOilers
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I like how you use Nurse's 3rd year after draft and Klefbom's 4th year after draft. Maybe compare the same next time?
So you don't have any evidence 21 year old Nurse is ahead of 21 year old Klefbom, then?
GMofOilers
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Nurse just played out his 20 year old season, according to age when the season started. Klefbom just played out his 22 year old season.
Kelfbom's 20 year old season involved 17 games in the NHL. Couldnt even be a NHL regular on a much worse team at the same age as Nurse's season this year.
Nurse at 20 years old was better then Kelfbom.
Why ask about 21 year old season? We have to wait until next year to see what Nurse does to compare that of Kelfbom's 21 year old season.
So your only evidence is Nurse playing (and getting buried) in the NHL at a slightly younger age? That says more about management than it does the player.
GMofOilers
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Your point is facile. If they had wanted to bring Klefbom up draft +3 to get slaughtered like Nurse did, they probably could have.
GMofOilers
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GMofOilers
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Like I said, one played in the NHL and one didnt.
You refute Nurse's ability this year, but your opinion says more about you than it does the player.
Round and round we go.
Again: that's a management decision. It's not like Nurse forced the issue with his play. Square peg, meet round hole.
That Nurse got caved in this year is a matter of fact, not opinion.
GMofOilers
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No he actually didnt, he helped the team. You can use your fancy stats to refute that, but just watch the games. He started out strong, faded a bit, and finished strong. Something all rookies go through.
Sure he was learning on the fly, but he will be better for it next year. His skating, and physical play are NHL ready. Does he need more work in the dzone? Yup but so does Klefbom to this day.
Ask every single player if they would want Darnell in the lineup this year. The answer would be yes, cause he had their back. Way more important than some fancy stats your trying to shove down my throat to prove he struggled. Another fact.
This is some crazy revisionist history. Please to be telling me how a guy who got killed in shots against, scoring chances against and actual goals against and who generated nothing on his own helped the team.
He looked good for about 10 games, awful for about 40 and was merely ok the rest of the way. It's true, he's a raw rookie, but at least be honest about what that meant in terms of actual performance.
He needs more work full stop. He can wheel, but once he gets moving, it's like he leaves his brain behind.
Another example of pointing to something other than actual on-ice performance to justify the horrible decision to throw this kid to the wolves. Said it before and I'll say it again: if nurse doesn't punch people in the face he'd be in half of the trade proposals going out.
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Dont know why we're getting all excited about Nurse vs. Klefbom. Neither have proven anything yet. Small samples sizes means we dont know for sure if either or both are going to turn into much of anything yet. They both have upside but there's also downside to both.
Konami McDavid
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Agreed!
Also, Klefbaum was solid prior to injury this year, really solid. He was regarded by many as our best defenseman and was turning heads throughout the league. Would it be such a bad thing if Nurse trended similarly? Neither have proven a lot, but to have two guys trending the same way is awesome...and overdue.
If we could just have 2 of Nurse, Reinhart, Davidson, or Klefbaum turn into NHL regulars we would be doing well. If we could have one of them turn into a top pairing defenseman, that would be phenomenal.
Bangers
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I'd be hesitant to trade Klefbom/Nurse, because I could eventually see them turning into a Keith/Seabrook like pairing.
Keith is a much 'harder' (or dirtier, whichever way you see it) player than Klefbom (and far less injury prone), but Klefa is quite honestly one of the most physically talented defencemen I've ever seen (size/speed ratio, skating); he just needs to remain healthy and needs more seasoning.
Nurse will never have Seabrook's shot, but they are kind of similar - both are big and were excellent skaters in junior while having issues with defensive positioning. To offset the difference in offensive ability, Nurse will end up bigger (and I don't think he'll become less mobile like Marincin) and stronger though.
What the team needs is 1-2 veteran D-man to come in, take up some of the hard matches and show them how to play, the way Campbell did for Keith and Seabrook.
Keith is a much 'harder' (or dirtier, whichever way you see it) player than Klefbom (and far less injury prone), but Klefa is quite honestly one of the most physically talented defencemen I've ever seen (size/speed ratio, skating); he just needs to remain healthy and needs more seasoning.
Nurse will never have Seabrook's shot, but they are kind of similar - both are big and were excellent skaters in junior while having issues with defensive positioning. To offset the difference in offensive ability, Nurse will end up bigger (and I don't think he'll become less mobile like Marincin) and stronger though.
What the team needs is 1-2 veteran D-man to come in, take up some of the hard matches and show them how to play, the way Campbell did for Keith and Seabrook.
Surprised people said Nurse had a good rookie year.
He had a miserable rookie year and he showed some very serious red flags. He seems to have a severe dearth of hockey IQ everywhere on the ice. Offensively and defensively. He seemed incapable at processing the game at this level. Nurse is a top 10 pick and is now entering his 4th season post draft and we're all hoping that he spends the year in the AHL. Quickly starting to look like a questionable pick. These guys can turn from prospect to suspect really quick. Nurse is well on his way.
Yakupov and Nurse in back to back years. Ouch.
He had a miserable rookie year and he showed some very serious red flags. He seems to have a severe dearth of hockey IQ everywhere on the ice. Offensively and defensively. He seemed incapable at processing the game at this level. Nurse is a top 10 pick and is now entering his 4th season post draft and we're all hoping that he spends the year in the AHL. Quickly starting to look like a questionable pick. These guys can turn from prospect to suspect really quick. Nurse is well on his way.
Yakupov and Nurse in back to back years. Ouch.
GMofOilers
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I wouldnt go that far. Made the NHL in his 3rd year out of the draft, is pretty good. He had a little stumble in the middle part of the season, but he played good the last 20 games. I doubt he spends any time in the AHL next year. Hes a NHL player no doubt about it. Hes only going to get better.
Senor Catface
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There are dozens and dozens and dozens of defensemen who have struggled in their rookie year to have a great career. First year defensemen struggling isn't the outlier, it's the common. The guys who jump in as rookies and don't show glaring errors? That's so rare you can count them on a hand or two.
Nurse played poorly because he was given too many minutes and too much responsibility. Just like plenty of other good defensemen when they were young.
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McJadeddog
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I don't know if I've ever seen a dman do "less with more" than nurse does... Guy has all the physical tools imaginable, but seems to have negative hockey iq.... I really can't remember a similar player with the oilers.... Nurse well top out as a defensive 2nd pairing guy if everything breaks correctly... Any hopes of offensive output should be quelled after what we saw this past season
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Bangers
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Hedman was pretty bad his first few years - to the point where, even after he became good, there were posters here (undeservedly) deriding him as a failure.
TL;DR Young star defencemen can improve.
His shot isn't that great, I wouldn't say he has "all the tools" in that sense as that's a pretty clear deficiency he needs to work on.
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