Without any Playoff games on the TeeVee last night I was able to turn my attention completely to the Erie vs Sault St Marie game. The Oilers have or will have both of the teams' Captains playing in the organization this coming fall and this matchup did not disappoint.
NURSE IN CONTROL
Watching the game last night between the Greyhounds and the Otters it was as close to an Oiler prospect highlight package played live as one could get. Darnell Nurse is a smooth skater and he was capable of attacking much more than he did but he was focused on limiting McDavid and the other Otter scorers as best as he could. He’s playing as close to a Pro game as you’re going to see a Defenseman play in the OHL. When McDavid wasn’t on the ice you could see Nurse join the rush on several occasions, even carrying the puck up from one end and across into the attacking zone himself.
He’s a smooth skater, much better than I think he even gets credit for. He can move up his with ease but he can also keep up with rushing players like McDavid while moving the other way. Even though his team was victimized on the scoreboard, Nurse showed very well. He’s mean. He doesn’t just go about his business like a robot. He is emotionally invested in doing his job and it must be killing him to be down in the series the way he is.
There is every opportunity that this young man makes the Oilers team in the Fall. In a perfect world the team would be so deep that he could continue his apprenticeship in the AHL, but I’m not so sure even Peter Chiarelli can make over the Defense so much that Nurse wouldn’t be an upgrade over several options. As of today the Oilers have Klefbom, Marincin, Ference and Nikitin as left shot defensemen and Nurse could probably out-battle Ference and Nikitin at least.
MCDAVID HELD GOALLESS
The Greyhounds can at least hang their hats on the fact that they kept McDavid from scoring a goal last night. Unfortunately for them McDavid was still responsible for 4 assists and if his linemates were actually on their games he could have had 7 or 8 of them. He was a scoring chance machine with Oilers President and GM Peter Chiarelli in the building.
Playing one of the OHL’s best teams, playing against one of the OHL’s best defensemen, Connor McDavid still creates chances at will. His skating is unreal. His vision is just as good. It’s not that he does something incredible every game, it’s that he’s doing something on every single shift.
Hockeybuzz’s own Todd Cordell tracked the game for McDavid, Strome, Speers, and Senyshyn. You can see that work here. One thing that stood out to me was how McDavid’s dominant speed and puck handling ability showed up in Controlled Zone Entries. Controlled entries have been proven over and over again to lead to more and better scoring chances. The other 3 players Todd tracked had 2 controlled entry attempts each. Connor McDavid had 10. Ten! He was stopped on one but he attempted 5 times the number of controlled entries as the next best Draft eligible players in the game, including the OHL’s leading scorer.
It’s hard not to imagine what he can do with NHL caliber wingers like Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, or Nail Yakupov playing beside him and vice versa because with all respect, his current linemates are not even in the same area code as him as far as talent/anticipation is concerned.
As of today McDavid has 18 goals and 18 assists for 36 points in just 13 playoff games.
SAM GAGNER AND CONNOR MCDAVID
Listening to the TSN 1260 Nielson and Fraser show on my way to work this morning I was able to catch their interview with Jeff Jackson, Connor McDavid’s agent. I enjoyed that they didn’t add any fuel to the “Will he Lindros the Oilers… idiocy by asking if McDavid would report to the team, because there’s no question he would. The most interesting revelation there was when Jackson told the story of the first time he saw McDavid play. I will try to relay the story as best as I can.
McDavid was a 14 year old not yet playing Major Junior (he would be granted exceptional status and play as a 15 year old) and he requested the opportunity to get on the ice with “Mr. Gagner… and Gagner obliged him. After the on ice session was over Sam Gagner called his agent Jeff Jackson and said “You’ve gotta see this David O’Connor kid. He’s doing things with the puck that I can’t do.… Jackson quickly found out that the kid’s real name was Connor McDavid and he got in a viewing as soon as he could. The agent said it took him 1 shift to see that this kid was the real deal.
So it was then current now former Oiler Sam Gagner who effectively "discovered" Connor McDavid. I’m sure if someone had waited 15 minutes another agent would have come along and scooped him up, but it’s a pretty cool tie in with the Oilers.
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