It’s Time To Move:<\/strong><\/p>\nNo, the Oilers should not trade Darnell Nurse, that would be foolish, but they should send him back to the AHL. In Bakersfield, Nurse can continue developing as a professional hockey player, can play big minutes and can play in all situations against a more appropriate level of competition. This isn’t saying this player is a bust, it’s saying he isn’t ready for the NHL.<\/p>\n
There’s no shame in that either, honest. Oscar Klefbom played against men in Sweden for a few seasons before coming over, and he’s now a legit top four defender in the NHL. In fact, you can argue that Klefbom is the team’s best defender when he’s in the lineup. During his rookie North American pro season (2013-14) he played in 48 games for the Oklahoma City Barons of the AHL. That development time was key for Klefbom, in fact this is the first season that he won’t see any AHL time.<\/p>\n
Final Thoughts:<\/strong><\/p>\nDarnell Nurse is not ready for the NHL right now, but there is no shame in that. This is a very talented young hockey player who is going to be a key part of the future in Edmonton. I’ll put anything down that this kid will be a top four defender during his career, in fact I believe he can be a number one defender in this league. He’s got a rare combination of size, speed, grit and physical play. The Oilers honestly haven’t seen a package like this since Chris Pronger.<\/p>\n
However, right now, Darnell Nurse is not that player. He’s a twenty year old kid trying to adapt to the pro game while playing minutes meant for a 28 year old veteran player. He’s in over his head and it’s become apparent. It was, overall, a very good first extended look for Nurse, but now is the time to send him back to Bakersfield and let him develop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Edmonton Oilers made a decision in 2013 to select Darnell Nurse with the 7th overall pick in the NHL’s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":129893,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[191955770],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Darnell Nurse - In Over His Head - The Sports Daily<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n