The Oilers broke established tradition and took a defender with their first pick for the first time in many moons at the 2013 entry draft, picking big Darnell Nurse from the OHL. Nurse, who comes from an athletic family, brought the skill-set and elements that Edmonton was badly lacking to the group of defensive prospects in the system.
A little over a year later, and Nurse has a whole training camp and pre-season under his belt, as well as a dominate draft year +1 in juniors. He’s developed very nicely to this point, and is looking like a player that might be ready to push for NHL employment as early as this coming season.
The Oilers have put roadblocks up in the forms of Nikita Nikitin, Mark Fayne and Keith Aulie, but that won’t stop Nurse from trying to break through. Over the course of the next two posts, we’ll go in-depth on Nurse’s skill-set and then if he should stay or go.
Tonight, we look at Nurse’s skill-set and what he will bring to the table.
The Style:
By now, we know what Darnell Nurse’s style is. He’s a physical defender that excels at preventing scoring chances and moving the puck in the right direction. At the OHL level, he is an elite defender that can easily shut-down the top scorers in that league, he did it all year this past season.
Nurse plays an extremely physical style, and makes the opponents pay a big price everytime they go up against him. That toughness, combined with some solid size for a 19 year old kid, makes him a great candidate to be the next big tough guy on Edmonton’s blue-line.
He’s built in the defense first mold, shutting down the top opponents night in and night out, and making people pay for what they do get. He’s needs some work offensively, but he’s still got a decent shot and has the ability to make and take a pass. On top of that, he posted some decent offensive boxcars this past season, and will not be a black-hole when it comes to offense. That’s huge.
He’s a best of both worlds defender, that can play against the best at his level, shut them down, and move the puck in the right direction. The Greyhounds keep advanced stats, and Nurse excelled in this area this past season, going well over 50% according to now former GM Kyle Dubas, who made the jump to the NHL as the Leafs assistant GM last week.
Nurse was tasked with the tough assignments as well in the OHL, as mentioned above, and excelled in that role.
Some people compare him to Dion Phaneuf when he first arrived in Calgary back in the fall of 2005, a young defender with some offensive ability, physical play, and a knack for some real solid defense. If anything, this is a player that screams future dominate defender and at the very least a top-four option, with the potential to be a top-pairing player.
The Strengths:
We’ve discussed this a bit above, but Nurse is a guy seen in that defense first mold. He was projected to be a top-four, and potential top-pairing, shut-down defender, and there is nothing to suggest otherwise at this point. His ability to play strong hockey and drive the possession against the top players in the OHL is a very good sign.
On top of this, he is a very smart hockey player that understands and reads the game quite well, and has a work ethic that separates him from others. He’s been called a leader many times over, and has shown those qualities quite a bit in the OHL.
His ability to physically dominate at his current size is a major strength too, and the fact that he has already added on some muscle since last training camp is a great sign for the Oil.
The Weaknesses:
Nurse’s OHL boxcars were nice this past season, but his offensive game has been questioned in regards to the ability to bring that to the pro game. Obviously we won’t know for a few more years, but it’s an area some scouts call a weakness. Some have even taken the time to point out that Nurse’s shot isn’t as good as it should be for a player of his size.
Defensively, there are not many warts here, which is a great sign.
The Overview:
Darnell Nurse, a year after being picked by Edmonton, is at the top of the prospect pool for the team. While Martin Marincin and Oscar Klefbom are both closer to being full-time NHL’ers, neither of them seems to have the potential that Nurse does. He’s a natural leader and a very hard worker, and is a guy that fits the mold of what Oiler fans love in their players.
He’s going to be a big boy, plays a very physical style, is a great defender who can matchup with the top opponents at his current level, and has the ability to move the puck in the right direction. Edmonton has not had a complete defender like that since Pronger left town.
That’s not to say Nurse will be Pronger, but that’s showing how long Edmonton has gone without a dominate defender that can punish the opponent and play top-pairing minutes. Nurse has a lot of potential, and there is a lot to get excited about here.
Next up, we’ll look at if Nurse should stay in Edmonton, or go back to the OHL for the upcoming season.
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