Darnell Nurse: Making a Case to Stay

Who watched the game last night? Who saw how good Darnell Nurse looked out there? I DID, man was he impressive. This year’s 7^th overall pick was arguably the best defenseman on the ice last night for either squad.

Statistically he was as good as he looked, no points but he had 1 shot, 3 hits, 4 blocked shots, 0 giveaways, 4 take aways all while playing 22.58 minutes (second most to Justin Schultz). That’s all, nothing too major. Ha, I sure didn’t expect this, I’m not sure even the coaching staff expected it.

Now, I don’t think that Nurse should stay with the big squad this year and that he would be better served spending the season with the Sioux Greyhounds in the OHL and playing for Canada at the World Junior tournament. Not because I don’t think he can handle the competition in the NHL but because he needs to mature a bit more physically and dominate the league like it appears he is capable of.

However I think that his play, if it continues, may be forcing Dallas Eakins hand. Darnell Nurse is certainly making a case to stay. Media and other bloggers keep referring back to Alex Pietrangelo as how the Oilers should develop the rookie d-man, and I agree with that thought process. I’ve been thinking of comparables and thought I’d have a look at other top 10 defensive picks and to narrow it down a little (also being a little bit optimistic) I decided to use the Team Canada Olympic invites;

Karl Alzner picked 5^th overall in the ’07 draft spent a year in junior with the Calgary Hitmen and a year in the AHL with the Hershey Bears. Alzner, a highly touted all around D man hasn’t lived up to potential offensively but his defensive play is what got him invited to the Olympic camp. I would venture to say that Nurse is a better prospect at the same age.

Jay Bouwmeester was drafted 3^rd overall by the Florida Panthers in 2002. Jay was touted as the second coming of Paul Coffey with his quick skating and all around ability. He made the jump straight to the NHL in the ’02-’03 season, he managed 16 points in his first 82 games, his career high in points is 46 back in ’05-’06. Jays production and play has slowed in recent years but if Darnell Nurse turned in to a similar player I’d consider that a successful first round pick.

Drew Doughty went 2^nd overall in the 2008 entry draft and, like Bouwmeester, made the jump straight to the NHL with the Kings. Doughty is one of the top defensemen in the NHL and it’s too early to tell if Nurse is really comparable, but Doughty was a success in his first season with 27 points and has been great ever since.

Dion Phaneuf played two more years of junior hockey with the Red Deer Rebels after being taken 9^th overall in the 2003 entry draft. When he came to the NHL he was a little bigger and a little more mature (a little). He also made and immediate impact when he arrived in the show scoring 20 goals and adding 29 assists as a rookie. His draft spot and size are very comparable with Nurse, maybe the most similarities than the rest on this list.

Alright so the list above is 50% makes it in the first year and 50% doesn’t. Are these players necessarily comparable to Nurse? I think so, at least I certainly hope so. But all it really says is that there are chances of success no matter which way the Oilers decide to deal with it. Dallas Eakins has some tough decisions to make.

What do you think? NHL or back to Junior for the promising rookie?

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