Player Discussion Darnell Nurse

[Da McBomb]

Since coming back from his injury, have you guys been just as impressed with Nurse as I have been? I really liked his game before he got injured too. Remember all the talk about his RAW abilities and needing to calm his game down, etc.... well I think this year, he has taken that step and proven that he's capable of being a future top pairing dman. He was superb last night and I think he's earning the trust from the coaching staff as he lead the Oilers in ice minutes the previous game too. And I'm sure having Larsson and Russell around has helped Nurse alot too. Do you guys see top pairing potential in Nurse?

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[CornKicker]

i think in 2 years time Nurse will be pushing for #1D man ice and competing with Klefbom for it. Which would actually be ideal because having 2-3 Top pairing dmen in the lineup allows you to break in rookies or younger dmen or specialty type guys way easier.

 

[Mr Positive]

For sure he has top pair potential

But we are not that close to that yet. He is potentially a second pairing guy only as well. He can go either way.

I do think he's got some point production in him

 

[jebs]

Top pairing potential? Don't see it and have never seen it. A few hot games doesn't change that at all.

I'd love to be wrong.

 

[McBigYak]

Definitely see top pairing potential in Nurse. Not a #1 d man but somebody you can definitely play on your first pairing. Big, fast, smart with the puck(at times, he's young though and the ability is there, just has to be consistent).

I think at the absolute worst from Nurse we see a solid #4 guy who can log a decent amount of minutes and actually contribute offensively as I believe that part of his game is untapped.

At best, he will become a solid top pairing d man. He has all the tools. We are still a long ways away from that though. They say it takes 300 games for a NHL D man to truly show what he's got, so Nurse is only 1/3 of the way there.

 

[Aceboogie]

I forsure see top pairing potential. Last year had me worried about his upside, but his play this year really shows he was just in over his head last year. In a better spot Nurse has really looked good. Before his injury he was making great strides, then coming back from injury he has only looked better. Hasnt lost a step at all. Hes played perhaps 2 of his best games recently, which says alot because his first half of the year he looked great

The biggest reason why I think he has top pairing potential is that hes pushing the river offensively. Constantly starting, joining, or leading the rush. He is super dynamic due to great skating, And now his mind is catching up. His potential is pretty tremendous and I dont think itll be all that long before hes challenging Klefbom

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

His work ethic is what I'm most impressed with. If he works on the release and accuracy of his shot, he's going to become an excellent offensive weapon from the back-end as well. Really impressed with the way he can skate the puck out of trouble, joins and starts the rush and he also understands when to pinch; excellent at getting back to defend too when he does jump up. Still can be a little shaky in the defensive zone at times with his gap control but it's by no means bad. Certainly would say he has top pairing potential... going to be a lot of fun watching his career unfold.

 

[shoop]

Definitely see top pairing potential in Nurse. Not a #1 d man but somebody you can definitely play on your first pairing. Big, fast, smart with the puck(at times, he's young though and the ability is there, just has to be consistent).

I think at the absolute worst from Nurse we see a solid #4 guy who can log a decent amount of minutes and actually contribute offensively as I believe that part of his game is untapped.

At best, he will become a solid top pairing d man. He has all the tools. We are still a long ways away from that though. They say it takes 300 games for a NHL D man to truly show what he's got, so Nurse is only 1/3 of the way there.

I'd push him down a pairing on both ends. Best case is a good solid 3D. Worst case is a third pairing guy.

I just can't see him making first pairing. Not that a solid 3D is a bad thing.

Speed is good, just not elite.
Puck sense is ok, not good yet. That makes time.

I really hope I'm wrong and he's a solid first pairing guy for a decade.

 

[McNuge]

His skating is superb for his size. His skating and physicality are the 2 things that stand out most to me. I love his work ethic, he is always getting engaged in the play in some way. Some times he doesn't always make the smartest moves with the puck, which also get amplified more than the good ones. Kid is very talented and seems like a Chia player, he will be here for a very long time. I really don't see us moving him in the force-able future. I wasn't all to happy when we drafted him but he proved me wrong in junior and I am now a huge fan of his. I believe he is going to be one of the core leaders on this team. He should anchor either the second pairing or be on the first pairing in the next few years.

His progression this season has been steady, he is definitely progressing, maybe not at the speed at some would want but he is getting there. I watched his progression in junior, by the end of it he was in a different category, he did extremely well against McDavid when he was matching with him in there playoff series.

Great young player IMO, we could have a real gem on our hands if everything clicks for him. If it doesn't I see him on the second pairing for a long time.

 

[Jesus Take the Wheel]

I love how he has been jumping up on the play and carrying the puck, I think he will only continue to get better at it. The two big things he needs to work on now imo is coverage in the D zone and his gap control, a saw a couple times in the Dallas game where he just had really poor gap control, but the speed and athleticism to make up for it once he started getting skated past

 

[GMofOilers]

Hes been a beast for us. Love his game.

 

[Da McBomb]

Nurse just had another incredible game last night.... maybe the best 3 straight games of his NHL career so far. I was just thinking about his next contract.. would the Oilers be wise to try and sign him long term to a similar deal as Klefbom? Or do you see Nurse maybe wanting and deserving more than that?

 

[GMofOilers]

He might be our second best dman recently, or at least giving Sekera a run for his money.

 

[5 14 6 1]

His skating and ability to jump into the play is awesome. His physicality is gonna be great to see if we make the playoffs. He's a player you want to go to war with. Not sure what his ceiling is, but he's finally starting to show more than just raw ability playing excellent as of late.

Him Klefbom and Sekera down the left side has me feeling great

 

[GMofOilers]

As for his second contract, I would give him a 2 year bridge deal at about 3.25M per. If we have to sign him to 6 after that, its a good problem to have.

 

[elmeroil]

He's still so young and some fans expectations were ridiculous. He will at least be a very solid 3,4 if not a 1,2 and there's nothing wrong with that. I have high hopes for him to be a very solid d man for the Oilers for many years!

 

[missinthejets]

I'd push him down a pairing on both ends. Best case is a good solid 3D. Worst case is a third pairing guy.

I just can't see him making first pairing. Not that a solid 3D is a bad thing.

Speed is good, just not elite.
Puck sense is ok, not good yet. That makes time.

I really hope I'm wrong and he's a solid first pairing guy for a decade.

How on earth is the best case for someone with the tools Nurse has a solid 3D? He's big, he's fast, he's strong, he's tough and he has at least a reasonable amount of ability to move the puck. Best case he's a top pairing guy, now whether he gets there or not is the question but he's got the tools to be a top guy there is no question about that. Maybe that's a realistic and safe bet for him but come on, it's not best case.

 

[Draiskull]

Top pairing potential? Don't see it and have never seen it. A few hot games doesn't change that at all.

I'd love to be wrong.

Yet you see it in Klefbom?
Nurse has been much better than Klefa lately.

We blow out 2 teams and Klefa ends with an even +/- while Nurse is +4 in one game and +3 in another.

 

[Konami McDavid]

I believe Nurse is currently a good #4 when paired with a good partner. To think his maximum potential is to only improve marginally to a solid #3 is not giving him is due. I have seen defensemen develop into #1s who have had less potential at this stage of their career. He certainly will need to make some noticeable improvements in the next couple years, but he certainly has #1 potential (even if it is unlikely). At worst, he solidifies a second pairing before he turns 30.

Assets;
-Fast
-Big
-Mean
-Can skate the puck out of the D zone or pass it effectively
-Becoming very good on the rush and gets back into position quickly
-Has a very good shot which we will start to see more often
-Can break up opponents cycle game
-Very good at separating the man from the puck along the boards

Weaknesses;
-loses position to make a hit a couple times a game
-lacks offensive confidence (which I do see changing lately)
-Defensive acumen still needs refinement (much better of late)

My only question is how well he develops his strengths, and to what degree he mitigates his weaknesses.

I really like this kid, and am still fine with Calgary taking Sean Not-a-man. Not in the short term, but in the long term I feel Nurse will be a much more valuable player.

 

[McTrashBoat]

I believe Nurse is currently a good #4 when paired with a good partner. To think his maximum potential is to only improve marginally to a solid #3 is not giving him is due. I have seen defensemen develop into #1s who have had less potential at this stage of their career. He certainly will need to make some noticeable improvements in the next couple years, but he certainly has #1 potential (even if it is unlikely). At worst, he solidifies a second pairing before he turns 30.

Assets;
-Fast
-Big
-Mean
-Can skate the puck out of the D zone or pass it effectively
-Becoming very good on the rush and gets back into position quickly
-Has a very good shot which we will start to see more often
-Can break up opponents cycle game
-Very good at separating the man from the puck along the boards

Weaknesses;
-loses position to make a hit a couple times a game
-lacks offensive confidence (which I do see changing lately)
-Defensive acumen still needs refinement (much better of late)

My only question is how well he develops his strengths, and to what degree he mitigates his weaknesses.

I really like this kid, and am still fine with Calgary taking Sean Not-a-man. Not in the short term, but in the long term I feel Nurse will be a much more valuable player.

These will improve with increased familiarity with his righty partner

 

[Aceboogie]

I believe Nurse is currently a good #4 when paired with a good partner. To think his maximum potential is to only improve marginally to a solid #3 is not giving him is due. I have seen defensemen develop into #1s who have had less potential at this stage of their career. He certainly will need to make some noticeable improvements in the next couple years, but he certainly has #1 potential (even if it is unlikely). At worst, he solidifies a second pairing before he turns 30.

Assets;
-Fast
-Big
-Mean
-Can skate the puck out of the D zone or pass it effectively
-Becoming very good on the rush and gets back into position quickly
-Has a very good shot which we will start to see more often
-Can break up opponents cycle game
-Very good at separating the man from the puck along the boards

Weaknesses;
-loses position to make a hit a couple times a game
-lacks offensive confidence (which I do see changing lately)
-Defensive acumen still needs refinement (much better of late)

My only question is how well he develops his strengths, and to what degree he mitigates his weaknesses.

I really like this kid, and am still fine with Calgary taking Sean Not-a-man. Not in the short term, but in the long term I feel Nurse will be a much more valuable player.

I think hes getting some offensive swagger. I do question offensive upside because I think from offensive blue line down hes not really dynamic offensively. But I do see promising upside offensively because he has great ability to skate puck out of his end and start the rush. Plus his shot should continue to improve. Which his size he could have a booming shot

I see a 25-30 point D. Overall agree with your assessment

 

[Aceboogie]

I think Benning is a pretty perfect partner of him. Benning provides good defensive support but can also move the puck. Next year they should be kept together.

In 1.5-2 years have a top 4 of

Klefbom-Larsson
Nurse-Benning

 

[VainGretzky]

Nurse just had another incredible game last night.... maybe the best 3 straight games of his NHL career so far. I was just thinking about his next contract.. would the Oilers be wise to try and sign him long term to a similar deal as Klefbom? Or do you see Nurse maybe wanting and deserving more than that?

I would give him Klefbom contract in a instant he is going to be a huge stud on the backend you can see it no doubts with me at all. Larsson Klefbom and Nurse all for 13 .4 mill per year win on Defence.

 

[actionjackson]

I believe Nurse is currently a good #4 when paired with a good partner. To think his maximum potential is to only improve marginally to a solid #3 is not giving him is due. I have seen defensemen develop into #1s who have had less potential at this stage of their career. He certainly will need to make some noticeable improvements in the next couple years, but he certainly has #1 potential (even if it is unlikely). At worst, he solidifies a second pairing before he turns 30.

Assets;
-Fast
-Big
-Mean
-Can skate the puck out of the D zone or pass it effectively
-Becoming very good on the rush and gets back into position quickly
-Has a very good shot which we will start to see more often
-Can break up opponents cycle game
-Very good at separating the man from the puck along the boards

Weaknesses;
-loses position to make a hit a couple times a game
-lacks offensive confidence (which I do see changing lately)
-Defensive acumen still needs refinement (much better of late)

My only question is how well he develops his strengths, and to what degree he mitigates his weaknesses.

I really like this kid, and am still fine with Calgary taking Sean Not-a-man. Not in the short term, but in the long term I feel Nurse will be a much more valuable player.

stop making Oilers fans look stupid...you wouldn't want Sean "not-a-man" on the Oilers? kid is a stud...and i am a huge Oilers Homer.

 

[McTrashBoat]

I think Benning is a pretty perfect partner of him. Benning provides good defensive support but can also move the puck. Next year they should be kept together.

In 1.5-2 years have a top 4 of

Klefbom-Larsson
Nurse-Benning

and we'll still have Sekera, and by then who knows who could be pushing for a spot, we've got a bunch of intriguing young guys