One of the biggest question marks surrounding the Edmonton Oilers this season will touch on their two top defensive prospects. Which one will make the jump to the NHL this season? Will it be recently acquire Griffin Reinhart, a second year pro, or top-prospect Darnell Nurse?
Both of these men are likely good enough to make the roster on merit in October, but I think the odds of that are incredibly slim. Which of these guys, if either of them, makes this team? Let’s examine it, shall we?
The Candidates:
The Oilers selected Darnell Nurse with the seventh overall pick in the 2013 NHL entry draft. Since then, Nurse has spent two seasons, mainly in the OHL, perfecting his game. Within those two years, he’s also had two short stints in the AHL and one two game stint in the NHL last fall. He’s Edmonton’s top-prospect not named McDavid in my mind.
Nurse is big, he’s fast, he’s physical, he’s solid defensively and he’s mobile. Offensively, he’s not a stud, but he can score enough that 20-30 points a season really won’t be expecting too much. Nurse has the potential to be a top-pairing defender in the NHL, that’s a significant piece.
Nurse was the best defender in the OHL last year, and was arguably Team Canada’s best defender at the WJHC, where he also won a gold medal. Nurse went to Oklahoma City following his junior season and was an impact player for the Barons during their second round playoff series.
BigCat Griffin Reinhart was acquired at the draft in exchange for picks 16 and 33. Listen, we aren’t going to talk about the price because it has no impact on the player himself. It is what it is. As for Reinhart, he’s got the potential to be a solid piece for Edmonton moving forward.
Reinhart had a substantial WHL career with the Oil Kings, leading the way defensively and playing a major leadership role. He was the defensive catalyst for the OK’s run to the Memorial Cup Championship in 2014, a true impact shut-down defender.
He played last season in the AHL for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and saw a handful of NHL tilts with the Islanders. His ceiling? In my mind, he’ll likely be a very solid second-pairing defender who plays a shut-down role and who sees tons of PK time.
Is Reinhart going to be a stud? I don’t think he’ll be that level, but a top-four shut-down defender with size, physical ability, leadership skills and a decent first pass is a very solid piece.
Both of these candidates should be long-term solutions for Edmonton, it’s a true win-win for the club.
Who Is The Favorite:
This is a tough call. Nurse is, in my mind, going to be the better NHL player, but he’s only played a handful of professional hockey games in his career. Reinhart, on the other hand, has a full season of professional hockey under his belt and was hired by the current GM.
Will that extra year impact the decision that Todd McLellan and Peter Chiarelli make? It honestly might. Chiarelli, when in Boston, rarely rushed players from juniors to the NHL. The only players he did it with were Tyler Seguin and Phil Kessel, two elite offensive talents.
Chiarelli has always had a thought process that preaches patience with prospects. Will that apply to Darnell Nurse? I’m thinking that it will, at least for the start of the 2015-16 season.
I’d give Reinhart a close edge in this battle because of his year of professional experience and the rawness of Darnell Nurse.
The Final Results Of The Battle:
To start the season, I have Griffin Reinhart sliding in on the third pairing with veteran defender Eric Gryba. The Oilers are going to want to break in both Reinhart and Nurse, so I think they make sure at least one of them makes the roster to start the season.
Developing Nurse in the AHL might not be the most popular decision among the fanbase, but adapting for a few months to the pro game might not be the worst idea. That said, I think you can put me on the record as saying that Darnell makes the NHL by the middle of January. He’s too good to keep down for a full season.
I think Reinhart will play around 50 NHL games this season, mostly in a third pairing and shut-down role. Is it a sexy spot to start? Nope, not at all, but he’ll be a better player for it, it’ll help him adjust to the NHL game.
Whoever gets to the NHL first really does not matter. Both of these players are feature pieces to the future in Edmonton and should be on the roster come April. That said, they will be tested in training camp and will be fighting for a roster spot, there is no doubt about that.
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