Canada won gold yesterday and the Oilers only Blue Chip prospect at the tournament factored large as Darnell Nurse won Player of the Game honours for Canada. Additionally he was also named to the WJC All-Star team. He was +8 during the event and was never on for an Even Strength goal against the entire time.
This past week has been sweet redemption for Nurse and Oiler fans as just one year ago the Oil sent Nurse back to Jr with this competition in mind. He was passed over, not even invited to the selection camp. Team Canada’s lead scout told reporters that they opted not to take Nurse because “he couldn’t play a simple game.… At the time it was a ridiculous statement as Nurse was touted as one of the best Defensemen in the country and Canada was subsequently let down by their blueline.
This year Nurse was a no-doubter for Canada. He was easily in their top 4 to start the tournament, though not in an offensive role. It was obvious after the first couple games that Groulx was going to use Morrissey in the offensive zone and Nurse in the Defensive zone. The only problem there is that Canada was so dominant early that it seemed as though Nurse wasn’t getting enough ice. As competition became better we saw more of Nurse out there.
In just a matter of 12 months he took the improbable journey of being too risky for Canada to even bring to the WJC to being their top shutdown option. And he played fantastic in that role. He was easily Canada’s most physical defender. He always played the body, not the puck, and closed in fast on puck carriers. Nobody skated to Nurse’s side with the puck without picking up a few extra bruises along the way. In some instances his intensity even resulted in a penalty against, but that’s going to happen in IIHF tournaments.
His skating is sublime. He skated the puck out of the zone with authority and he possesses speed we normally associate with small wingers. I am cautious to project what he can do when he’s 25 and has man-strength because today he is clearly a beast among his peer group. For my money he was Canada’s best Defenseman during the tournament.
Now that’s still a far cry away from being ready for the NHL, but it’s a great indication that the Oilers made the right decision when they kept Nurse away. I would not be sad to see him start next year on the Barons playing 20+ minutes a night against grown men. It’s one thing to dominate against 18-19 year old kids and another to do it against 30 year olds with families to feed. There is no question now with Klefbom seemingly cementing himself in the NHL that the best defensive prospect in the organization is Darnell Nurse, but the Oilers and their fans should still expect him to spend time developing.
Staying in the world of Junior Hockey, Kelowna officially traded for Draisaitl, sending a Swiss import D-man and 1st Round pick to PA for the German. He will play his 1st game for them tomorrow. I hope he can relax and just play his game. I have no doubt that the things he does well will translate well in the WHL. Maybe next year both he and the team will be better prepared to accommodate him. As it was constructed, too much of the team’s success depended on him.
Draisaitl said this morning that his focus will be on increasing foot-speed and Defense. As you might already know, Draisaitl won the Oilers’ fastest skater competition, so his top-end foot-speed might not be the problem so much as his natural tendencies in-game to use it. He’s a player who wants to slow the game down to control it. That’s going to be great once he figures out how to do it at the NHL level. There’s nothing wrong with slowing the game down, but there’s no question it’s easier to do in the WHL than the NHL. As for his defense, every player can work on that and playing with more speed can help that out too.
LINEUP
We should expect largely the same roster as the last game, it’s tough to break up a winning group even if management wants them to start losing pronto. Pitlick, whose insides exploded against Calgary and was forced to stay in an area Hospital, was finally released and allowed to return home. I have no idea what recovery time will be for him but a cursory Google search suggests that it could be a 3-6 month time frame. This would effectively be a death sentence on Pitlick’s season. Fasth is in net tonight and it might just be for about 10 minutes if he cant start playing better.
Hall RNH Eberle Pouliot Roy Purcell Fraser Lander Yak Hendricks Gordon Klinkhammer
Ference Petry Klefbom Fayne Nikitin Schultz
Fasth
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Yak Attack. The fact that Yak continues to struggle continues to boggle the minds of a lot of people who ignore the fact that he’s playing with 2 AHL players and for only 12 minutes a night. This is the next major topic under the heading “Development… for the Oilers. Yakupov not scoring is a big problem. Nobody acknowledging that placing him on what is effectively the 4th line with the 2 least established players on the roster is a problem. Even when he’s dancing with the puck and making things happen he can’t earn more ice time in another lost season. His trade value is likely garbage and I have no idea what to make of his usage at this time.
2) Jump. That’s what the new players have apparently brought to the Oilers, a little jump. There’s no doubt that the team was feeling the effects of losing a hojilion games in a row and the energy was gone. How much longer this team can keep it up is a question I have. The team looked like it was actually having fun playing Hockey. Imagine.
3) Structure. The Oilers will need to play an honest game against a very well-coached Red Wings team. The Wings still boast Zetterberg and Datsyuk (who is still a point per game player) and the scoring is shared by Tatar and Nyquist with Franzen and Kronwall right behind them. There’s enough scoring by committee to suggest that Detroit will take advantage of mistakes made against any line. They are 2nd in the NHL in terms of Fenwick Against per 60 so they will smother out a lot of chances more so than make an abundance for themselves. This will be a real test of discipline.
PS: Last we heard Babcock wanted to remain a Red Wing, even if the Oilers and the Leafs are doing everything they can to prove they want to sign him without putting up Neon signage.
Puck drops tonight at 7:38 PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet West. Tank On!
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