Prospect Info: Development camp

[s7ark]

Thanks for the report Yak City.

I can't wait for real camp.

 

[Brewster]

I was lucky enough to attend the scrimmage this morning, and here's my thoughts for the day. Once again, I'm not anything even in the same neighbourhood as a scout, so take my opinions with a grain of salt. I basically took a quick note whenever I noticed a player do something nice or make a big mistake, so I probably missed many of the finer details.

Just because I don't list a player doesn't mean they did poorly - just nothing jumped out at me as a casual observer.

Thanks a bunch! It's really appreciated by those who can't make it out to the rink for these games.

 

[ghostnights]

I love oscar, I can't wait for him to be an nhl regular. He is also by the far the best looking oiler in years.

 

[dustrock]

Thanks Yak City.

So those with the (incredibly) early criticism of Nurse that he lacks in hockey IQ will have some ammo from today.

 

[czar99]

Dat homemade nutella

Dat NOT homemade Nutella. He made it with almond butter not hazelnut. Dumb jock!

 

[Da McBomb]

I think its good that Nurse had a few wrinkles in his first development camp. Theres no better motivation to get bigger, better and stronger than getting knocked on your ass or getting beat and scored on. Hopefully this is a bit of an eyeopener for him and he trains hard this summer and adds some muscle.

 

[StoveTopStauffer]

I liked the Nurse pick but I also liked Nichushkin. I think the draft would of been better with Nich + Hagg + 2nd for 2 3rds but whatcha gonna do. I don't mind Nurse, I think he'll be really good in a couple of years.

 

[monkeywrench]

Yes, he will start in OKC.

He certainly seems like a good kid, but we'll see how he handles being a pro.

It will be decided closer to camp or after camp where he will be next season. They're seriously thinking about sending him back to play for the Oil Kings so he gets a chance to develop his offensive game a little bit more, but they also want to see want OKC line is going to look like.
If I was to put money on it today I would be guess he gents sent back to the Oil Kings

 

[AlowlyMcOilersfan]

It will be decided closer to camp or after camp where he will be next season. They're seriously thinking about sending him back to play for the Oil Kings so he gets a chance to develop his offensive game a little bit more, but they also want to see want OKC line is going to look like.
If I was to put money on it today I would be guess he gents sent back to the Oil Kings

really? thought he would get a better chance

 

[monkeywrench]

really? thought he would get a better chance

It wouldn't surprise me either way, but I think he will be in Oil Kings colors next year. Travis is campaigning hard to be in OKC next year, but they really want him to develop his offensive game more and there is a better chance for that to happen in the whl. It also depends on OKC's center depth as they just do not want him watching from the press box

 

[SterlingArcher]

Anything about the Russians during the game like yakimov or Zharkov? Would love to hear how they did.

 

[Obiwan Eberle]

Zharkov had to lead before the scrimmage as he had a KHL training camp to attend...I believe that was true for Yakimov as well

 

[Gret99zky]

Here is a video of Oscar Klefbom's shifts during the Oilers Development Camp Scrimmage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC92iDBC_jo

Cheers.

 

[dustrock]

Zharkov had to lead before the scrimmage as he had a KHL training camp to attend...I believe that was true for Yakimov as well

Yeah McCurdy told me they both had to leave yesterday. Too bad, wanted to see them in the scrimmage.

 

[Soli]

Here is a video of Oscar Klefbom's shifts during the Oilers Development Camp Scrimmage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC92iDBC_jo

Cheers.

Gonna sit down and watch this in a second, but mucho gracias in advance.

Side note... Im going to change your user name to Comic Book Guy someday.

 

[GrinningBuddha]

Here is a video of Oscar Klefbom's shifts during the Oilers Development Camp Scrimmage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC92iDBC_jo

Cheers.

By my count, Klefbom was +3 in a 5-4 loss, with one goal and 3-4 shots. Can't ask for much more than that!

 

[SterlingArcher]

Too bad Zharkov and Yakimov could not play they both ooze size and skill both need to work on skating though and being more consistent with energy. Hopefully they aren't in the KHL too long I think it's two years max for either one of them. Hopefully Nurse gets some much needed size for the big camp but doesn't lose any of that mobility.

 

[Tw0Shoes]

#74 Darnell Nurse
I was a big fan of the Nurse pick at the draft, but he has some serious work to do.
First and foremost, he's not NHL ready physically. Multiple times he got run through on checks, or tried to throw a big hit and wound up being the one to get bowled over. He looks skinny, he needs to add a lot of muscle mass to be ready to play against men.
Secondly, he needs to calm his game down. I'm not sure if he was nervous or trying to show off, but many times he was trying to make an impressive play (a one-timer slapshot, a big hit, etc.) when it was the wrong judgement call. He blew assignments multiple times, and he liked to shoot the puck directly into a crowd when he had a teammate open.
IF I had to guess I'd say it looked more like nerves than showboating, but I don't want to try and speculate too much as to his inner thoughts.
Thirdly, he needs to learn when to chase his man and when to play positionally. By my eye he was responsible for two of the goals against Blue team by chasing guys around and losing his assignment. (It's worth noting that on the second goal I'm referencing, he played the position perfectly, McCarron was simply too strong for him to stop).

For positives, however, he's a very smooth skater (especially backwards) and demonstrated that he's not at all afraid of going for hits or standing people up at the blueline.

If he weighed 20 more pounds I'd have walked away today with a very different impression, he's just not physically mature enough yet to play the game the way he tried to. His timing and positioning weren't nearly as big a problem as his scrawniness was, the fact that guys could shrug him off was the biggest thing against him.

Gotta say that that sounds more like not being able to throw a hit properly... maybe he wasn't used to the speed? but really if you're the one going in there to throw a hit, more times than not you should be the one walking away from it, not laying on the ground... no matter what your size.

 

[dustrock]

nah if he's 6'4" and under 200 lbs and someone sees him coming wouldn't be too hard to shrug him off.

if you've got a lower center of gravity Nurse is going down

 

[s7ark]

By my count, Klefbom was +3 in a 5-4 loss, with one goal and 3-4 shots. Can't ask for much more than that!

That is roughly what I saw as well. A pretty great outing.

nah if he's 6'4" and under 200 lbs and someone sees him coming wouldn't be too hard to shrug him off.

if you've got a lower center of gravity Nurse is going down

Nurse will need to mature and gain some mass before he can comfortably play his physical style against men. D-men like him take time. I hope he gets in a few games to see what it's like, and then down to the OHL for the year to work hard and continue to improve his offensive game. Two more seasons in the OHL, one in the AHL and he might be ready for top 4 NHL duty.

 

[Homesick]

nah if he's 6'4" and under 200 lbs and someone sees him coming wouldn't be too hard to shrug him off.

if you've got a lower center of gravity Nurse is going down

I think I read somewhere that McCarron is 6'2" 230lbs so a 6'4 185lb kid is going to get tossed. I think he plays two more years in the OHL, and probably 2 in the AHL. Oiler fans are going to have to get used to picks not jumping into the NHL right away now.

 

[AlowlyMcOilersfan]

when is TC?

 

[Lay Z Boy GM]

Hopefully Nurse has a miraculous off season and puts on a good 20lbs. That's really, really hard to do though. He's probably going to have to get to 210lbs, maybe 220lbs before he can stick in the NHL. He's gonna need a year or two. Oh well, Klefbom can be the rookie dman this year.

 

[T-Funk]

I hope people aren't expecting Nurse to make an impact for at least a few years. We are finally on the right path to having a good mature defense. Like Lay Z Boy said, Klefbom gets to be the rookie project for a couple years.

 

[Still DRAI]

Is Betker just a lumbering giant or are there signs of him being a capable skater?

He didn't look terrible but he didn't glide like the wind. With some good skating coaching I didn't notice it being a limiting factor, but keep in mind this is compared to other prospects and not NHL level skaters (outside Klefbom imo)

Gotta say that that sounds more like not being able to throw a hit properly... maybe he wasn't used to the speed? but really if you're the one going in there to throw a hit, more times than not you should be the one walking away from it, not laying on the ground... no matter what your size.

I have no real concept of what subtleties go into hitting skills at an NHL level, but he didn't look out of position or off-balance. It was just that the two guys who bowled him over, Petryk (6'1" and 211 lbs) and McCarron (6'2" and 228 lbs) saw him coming and threw their shoulder into him, flattening him. Petryk saw Nurse come in for a hipcheck, and his form looked good to me, but Petryk just threw his arm out and tossed him aside.