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LD Darnell Nurse (2013, 7th, EDM)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mr Lahey*
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avsman said:
At the time of the draft I said I'd probably take whoever Colorado takes with their 2nd rounder over Nurse and I'll easily stand behind that after seeing Bigras and Nurse develop.
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Seeing them develop like:

Seeing one make the world junior team in his first year but easily being the worst player on the team, to getting cut the following year

and seeing the other get cut his first year, then go on to make it the team the following year, winning MVP of the gold medal game while arguably being Canada's best d.

Yeah Bigras is the easy choice :sarcasm:
 
Ok guys sorry about the Cam Barker comparison, I admit that was a bit aggressive.
Nurse is a hell of a skater for someone who's 6'4, on the bouw/pietrangelo/Seth Jones level for skating and he is far more physical then all of them. As has been brought up he is an extremely gifted athlete. I have also compared him to guys like Phanuef and Bogosian, but he is clearly a better skater than either of those guys.

The thing that scares me is when he leads the rush he looks like Cumiskey/Hunwick who just beasts it past the blue line, then looks like a deer cought in headlights when they hit the red line. As well his pinches are often ill timed, in junior he can get back because of his skating, however I think in the NHL he'll get cought a lot more often.

Yes he does have a coachable game due to all of his gifts, and yes he seems to have a good drive. But there are things that will take time, and I don't know that he will ever add everything to his game.
 
avsman said:
Ok guys sorry about the Cam Barker comparison, I admit that was a bit aggressive.
Nurse is a hell of a skater for someone who's 6'4, on the bouw/pietrangelo/Seth Jones level for skating and he is far more physical then all of them. As has been brought up he is an extremely gifted athlete. I have also compared him to guys like Phanuef and Bogosian, but he is clearly a better skater than either of those guys.

The thing that scares me is when he leads the rush he looks like Cumiskey/Hunwick who just beasts it past the blue line, then looks like a deer cought in headlights when they hit the red line. As well his pinches are often ill timed, in junior he can get back because of his skating, however I think in the NHL he'll get cought a lot more often.

Yes he does have a coachable game due to all of his gifts, and yes he seems to have a good drive. But there are things that will take time, and I don't know that he will ever add everything to his game.
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Same could be said about Burns before he came to San Jose. Now look at him. He anchors San Jose's Dmen and pinches in the forward zone every now and then. I don't think it's out of the realm of Nurse being a Burns IMO. And the fact Edmonton and the same exact coaches Burns had, I bet you he will be able to max out his potential easily. I got faith in Mclellan and his assistants.
 
avsman said:
Ok guys sorry about the Cam Barker comparison, I admit that was a bit aggressive.
Nurse is a hell of a skater for someone who's 6'4, on the bouw/pietrangelo/Seth Jones level for skating and he is far more physical then all of them. As has been brought up he is an extremely gifted athlete. I have also compared him to guys like Phanuef and Bogosian, but he is clearly a better skater than either of those guys.

The thing that scares me is when he leads the rush he looks like Cumiskey/Hunwick who just beasts it past the blue line, then looks like a deer cought in headlights when they hit the red line. As well his pinches are often ill timed, in junior he can get back because of his skating, however I think in the NHL he'll get cought a lot more often.

Yes he does have a coachable game due to all of his gifts, and yes he seems to have a good drive. But there are things that will take time, and I don't know that he will ever add everything to his game.
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Well you're right. If this wasn't the case he'd be right up there with the best D prospects ever.

I've watched more games live of him than probably anyone on this board, he's got a lot of work to do mentally. Physically he's an absolute beast. He'll make it as a #1 D over time, I have no doubt... But there will be horrible decisions made early on. Expect them, us Greyhound fans learned to embrace it and overtime they became more and more infrequent.

EDIT: I guess what I'm trying to say is he's not going to follow the mold of a typical horse on D. He's no Keith. He's more Karlsson/Subban, minus the offensive prowess. What I have to consider with him though when I start building him up is that when DeAngelo came, he (DeAngelo) showed he was better at all aspects of the game. Nurse is not among the most elite group of D prospects, but he's not far behind.
 
Bigras is a very good skater, Nurse is a better skater then Bigras. Anyday anytime.
 
Anth93 said:
Well you're right. If this wasn't the case he'd be right up there with the best D prospects ever.

I've watched more games live of him than probably anyone on this board, he's got a lot of work to do mentally. Physically he's an absolute beast. He'll make it as a #1 D over time, I have no doubt... But there will be horrible decisions made early on. Expect them, us Greyhound fans learned to embrace it and overtime they became more and more infrequent.

EDIT: I guess what I'm trying to say is he's not going to follow the mold of a typical horse on D. He's no Keith. He's more Karlsson/Subban, minus the offensive prowess. What I have to consider with him though when I start building him up is that when DeAngelo came, he (DeAngelo) showed he was better at all aspects of the game. Nurse is not among the most elite group of D prospects, but he's not far behind.
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I see Nurse more of a guy who has thus far excelled in a defensive role, but gets in trouble when he starts pinching for offense. The WJC vs the OHL playoffs is a perfect example. In the WJC he was more stay at home because there were so many weapons around him, and he was the most dominant force on the ice as a result. For the OHL playoffs, he tried carrying his team more, and maybe tried showing up McDavid a bit too much. He looked good, but his team lost, and the next opponent did a better job because their top D committed to shutting down Eerie more.

I don't think that means he won't find offense in the NHL though. I view his playing style as more suited to the NHL than other young offensive defensemen prospects. With his skating, and with an improved shot, the offense will come for him.
 
commie said:
He is an Oilers prospect, and the skin color makes a big difference.
People don't want to go there, but it definitely has an impact.
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I'm honestly not sure what this means. Are you saying that because he is black he is going to be more well-loved or less well-loved?

Edmonton has a history of a lot of diversity on their roster. At one point in the 90s, I think Edmonton more or less employed every black player in the NHL. Not to mention guys like Grant Fuhr in the dynasty and crowd favourites like Laraque.

Nurse's playing style and demeanour (he is a really likeable kid off-ice, not a shred of entitlement or attitude) will have him absolutely adored in this market. He works hard, he plays hard (on the ice).

If he winds up pulling a Justin Schultz (constantly gaffing resulting in goals against) he may eventually become a goat but I don't see that any time in the first couple of years. He will be granted plenty of breathing room based on his tough style - thats the Edmonton way.

Fans loved Peckham until coaching/management sewered him. Never turned on him despite his on ice faults.
 
commie said:
He is an Oilers prospect, and the skin color makes a big difference.
People don't want to go there, but it definitely has an impact.
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It really doesn't, not to anyone with relevant opinions. Ask anyone in this picture if it mattered to them.
canadian-players-and-officials-pose-with-the-trophy-as-they.jpg
 
commie said:
He is an Oilers prospect, and the skin color makes a big difference.
People don't want to go there, but it definitely has an impact.
Click to expand...

This has been a suspicion of mine, even on my own board sometimes i wonder, there's a few people that no matter the achievemente, comparables, won't mention m Nurse in the same breathe as much lesser prospects.
 
Bryanbryoil said:
I don't see him as a big time offensive defenseman, but a solid 2-way guy with tons of intangibles.
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For me--if we are looking for offence from him we are off base--he will be.once he learns the nhl game along the lines of Braden Coburn--a guy--while not racking up lots of pts--will haul lots of minutes and cause the other teams headaches
 
McManningite said:
This has been a suspicion of mine, even on my own board sometimes i wonder, there's a few people that no matter the achievements, comparables, won't mention m Nurse in the same breathe as much lesser prospects.
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Unfortunately some people are *******s, however the vast majority of people don't care about a person's skin colour, but rather the person as a whole.
 
Aceonfire said:


Nurse is going to be a monster.
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Hell be a big kid in the NHL. I think he's almost NHL ready right now, he looked go briefly in the ahl, both offensively and defensively. So if he looks good in camp and first 10 games, I expect hell make it. I actually believe a solid landing spot would be with Schultz in uber easy minutes on 3rd pairing. Preferably playing with mcdavid too. That'd give him solid offensive chances for him to develop

I see him playing at 225 in the future tho. But as massively strong 225
 
ChaoticOrange said:
players typically drop some weight during the season, but if he can play at 210-215 consistently, he's going to be an absolute force.
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He'll probably add a little more mass before the season starts and maybe up to 220 by then. Regardless, he looks strong enough now to play a mans game at the NHL level.
 
avsman said:
Ok guys sorry about the Cam Barker comparison, I admit that was a bit aggressive.
Nurse is a hell of a skater for someone who's 6'4, on the bouw/pietrangelo/Seth Jones level for skating and he is far more physical then all of them. As has been brought up he is an extremely gifted athlete. I have also compared him to guys like Phanuef and Bogosian, but he is clearly a better skater than either of those guys.

The thing that scares me is when he leads the rush he looks like Cumiskey/Hunwick who just beasts it past the blue line, then looks like a deer cought in headlights when they hit the red line. As well his pinches are often ill timed, in junior he can get back because of his skating, however I think in the NHL he'll get cought a lot more often.

Yes he does have a coachable game due to all of his gifts, and yes he seems to have a good drive. But there are things that will take time, and I don't know that he will ever add everything to his game.
Click to expand...

I see a lot of Bogo/ Jack Johnson in him.

a lot of tools (big, very fast) but not sure if he will put it all together mentally to be that top D.

Seems like a focused kid and hopefully he will learn a lot in his first few seasons.
 
Mctopchowda said:
Hell be a big kid in the NHL. I think he's almost NHL ready right now, he looked go briefly in the ahl, both offensively and defensively. So if he looks good in camp and first 10 games, I expect hell make it. I actually believe a solid landing spot would be with Schultz in uber easy minutes on 3rd pairing. Preferably playing with mcdavid too. That'd give him solid offensive chances for him to develop

I see him playing at 225 in the future tho. But as massively strong 225
Click to expand...

No such thing as easy minutes when you're playing with Schultz.
 
alphahelix said:
I'm honestly not sure what this means. Are you saying that because he is black he is going to be more well-loved or less well-loved?

Edmonton has a history of a lot of diversity on their roster. At one point in the 90s, I think Edmonton more or less employed every black player in the NHL. Not to mention guys like Grant Fuhr in the dynasty and crowd favourites like Laraque.

Nurse's playing style and demeanour (he is a really likeable kid off-ice, not a shred of entitlement or attitude) will have him absolutely adored in this market. He works hard, he plays hard (on the ice).

If he winds up pulling a Justin Schultz (constantly gaffing resulting in goals against) he may eventually become a goat but I don't see that any time in the first couple of years. He will be granted plenty of breathing room based on his tough style - thats the Edmonton way.

Fans loved Peckham until coaching/management sewered him. Never turned on him despite his on ice faults.
Click to expand...

That is exactly what I am implying. Not so much for the city that he plays for. Edmonton has it own share of 'colour' players in the past and they were some of the most loved players, like Big George.

But if you look at the other cities, or the media, or even the scouting or internal Hockey Canada/USA institutions. Do you not think his colour or that of other minority players make a difference when they were coming through the ranks?

That is all I am saying. There is still a systematic bias against the non-traditional Hockey types. Just look at the bias that Yakupov have been receiving from day 1 after the draft.
Media types from all over NA have been attacking him.

BTW - I am an Oilers fan and highly value Nurse. And I think he is not getting the proper respect from other fans and media types. Two things holding Nurse back from being viewed fairly, he is an Oilers prospect, and until the Oilers start doing well, their players don't get respect, and lastly, there are still people out there that judge people based on their skin color or nationality. Bias does exist, especially in the old boys network of hockey. Unfortunately, Nurse has to put up with 2 biases.
 
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Nurse is an unbelievable skater. He honestly skates faster but less fluid than Bouwmeester while being a lot bigger and meaner.

I think it is being terribly understated just how fast he is. Watch his games from the OHL or World Juniors. He was the fastest player on the ice in every circumstance, and the biggest too. The only player I've seen who gave him trouble was McDavid who is seen to be one of the best skaters in the NHL right now.

Here are some of his 2015 WJC highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcC3WP-ZlTo

The last clip especially shows off his speed.
 
McDuul said:
Nurse is an unbelievable skater. He honestly skates faster but less fluid than Bouwmeester while being a lot bigger and meaner.

I think it is being terribly understated just how fast he is. Watch his games from the OHL or World Juniors. He was the fastest player on the ice in every circumstance, and the biggest too. The only player I've seen who gave him trouble was McDavid who is seen to be one of the best skaters in the NHL right now.

Here are some of his 2015 WJC highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcC3WP-ZlTo

The last clip especially shows off his speed.
Click to expand...

The series against eerie really showcased his skating. Mcdavid was blowing by nearly everyone but there was a couple rushes where mcdavid got the puck on a one on one vs nurse and they were pretty even, mcdavid tried to blow passed him but nurse matched him step for step speed wise, then he tried to go inside and nurses mobility and lateral work cut him off. Almost 99% of chl D and a majority of NHL D would have been burnt. But Nurses skating is on another level than most prospects. And for a big guy is simply unreal
 
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