Nurse to ride shotgun for Oilers
Rugged defenceman likely to play another season in Ontario Hockey League
Newark, N.J. — There wasn’t much Edmonton Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish didn’t like about defenceman Darnell Nurse. He liked his toughness, his competitive streak, his pedigree.
That the Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., product was available when the rookie GM headed up to the podium at the NHL entry draft at the Prudential Center just sealed the deal.
Valeri Nichushkin, a power forward playing in Russia, was also on the board, and on the Oilers’ draft list. They had even interviewed him in New York this week, but it was Nurse who slipped into the team jersey on Sunday afternoon.
“He really gives us an element I feel we’re sorely lacking. He’s the guy who will ride shotgun for a lot of first overall picks and our skilled players for a lot of years,” said MacTavish, who has been watching Nurse’s progress since last summer.
That process started when he was the Oilers’ director of hockey operations.
“The overall package was very difficult to pass up on and, as a manager making his first pick, I was really excited to be able to call his name,” MacTavish said.
The Colorado Avalanche, with the first pick of the day, selected Nathan MacKinnon of the Halifax Mooseheads. It was the first time since 2009 that the Oilers weren’t making the first selection.
The Florida Panthers threw a curve in the proceedings with the second selection, taking Aleksander Barkov, the six-foot-two centre who has been playing in the Finnish Elite League. The Tampa Bay Lightning took MacKinnon’s teammate, Jonathan Drouin, with the third pick, leaving Seth Jones for the Nashville Predators. The Portland Winterhawks defenceman had been pegged as a potential No. 1 selection.
The Oilers, meanwhile, were certain they were going to get a solid player with the seventh selection and were not looking to move up prior to the draft. They brought Nurse, London Knights centre Bo Horvat and Ottawa 67s centre Sean Monahan to Edmonton following the NHL combine.
“Unbelievable. I wish I could describe how excited I am,” said Nurse, the first defenceman the Oilers have drafted with their top pick in the first-round since Jason Soules in 1989.
Oscar Klefbom was the Oilers’ second pick in the first round in 2011, Alex Plante was the second first-round pick in 2007 and Jeff Petry was their first pick but taken in the second round in 2006.
“I’m not going to put any limitations on myself and say I can’t do it next year, but that being said, I have a lot of work to do with my game to get to that point. I’m going to put in as much work as I can in the gym. I’ll have no regrets when the summer is done.”
The six-foot-four, 190-pound Hamilton native will likely need another year in the Ontario Hockey League before he’s ready to turn pro, but he’ll get a good look, starting with the club’s annual prospect camp, which gets underway on the ice on Thursday.
Nurse figures that at his end goal of 210, 215 pounds, he’ll have enough weight to throw around while being able to retain his quickness.
“This doesn’t feel real,” he said. “This is something you work for, but you never know when the day will come. Being a Canadian kid, I grew up watching the Canadian teams. I’m just so excited.
“With a young team, you’re able to learn with the guys. When you’re in a position and growing as players, as people, it makes the group a lot tighter,” he continued.
Nurse is the nephew of former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb and the son of former Hamilton TigerCats receiver Richard Nurse. His mother, Cathy, played basketball at McMaster University and his sisters, Tamika and Kia, are both skilled on the court.
McNabb was among the crowd of 35 who flew into New Jersey with Nurse. He told his nephew to take it all in — several times. They had adjoining hotel rooms in New York.
Nurse had wanted to play football, too, but his parents told him it wasn’t an option. At least he was able to release his aggressive nature on the ice, taking significant pride in the fact that he has some snarl in his game.
“I have a little bit of jam in my game. I’ve always had it,” he said. “It’s always better to give than receive. It creates a little more room for myself in the corners. That said, with the way I play, I do get challenged, but I’ve never been scared to step up.”
One of his first shutdown assignments was Nail Yakupov, who is now a teammate.
“He was someone who was always hard to play against. He never backed down. Even if you gave him little or no space, he’d put one in the back of the net and you’d sit on the bench for a little bit.”
Nurse was the OHL’s scholastic player of the year and said school was a priority. He couldn’t play hockey when he was young unless he kept his grades up.
“If there is a breakdown, I like guys who are responsible. If it goes in your net, they feel worse than the coach. That kid has that mentality,” said MacTavish.
“He’s a very intelligent kid ... and there signs for me all over the place. I got on the plane a couple of months ago, coming back from Europe, and I see his sister on the cover of the sports page. We get to our draft table and he’s sitting three feet from us in the first row. I go to the restroom and I come out and run into one guy and it’s Darnell Nurse’s grandfather. I figured someone was trying to tell me something about this guy.”