Sure that’s why Matt Benning looked like a NHL dman next to Russell and completely lost next to Nurse. As a defenceman, I would hate playing with Nurse who is consistently out of position, reading the play wrong, and giving the puck away in zone, unable to clear. Say what you want about Russell, but the guy can alleviate the in zone pressure. Either by the off the glass and out, or by tipping the puck out of play on a shot.
So do we forget about chemistry ? How would Draisaitl look on the 2nd line ? Maybe because Russell doesn't go deep in the offensive zone so there no need to cover . When A D rushes the puck up the ice you need a good defence man to be able to cover for them . Benning is not good enough for that .