Could The Acquisitions Of Nurse And Trouba By The Sharks Be ... Good?
I, like many out there and apparently especially Sharks fans was taken by surprise by the acquisitions of both Nurse and Trouba when they happened. For me more so Trouba than Nurse as I feel Trouba, on the ice anyways has always been very overrated and well... I still do. However, I have been a huge supporter of the way Mike Greer has built this team. From excellent drafting to fantastic veteran pickups in Wennberg and Toffoli who are very solid defensively aware players that are a great model for young players who often need some time to learn the ropes in that area and having vets that can model that on the ice is huge. The other thing about those 2 forwards? They are replaceable and do not block young players from taking their spots. If you can not take their spots though? Well you are not ready to do so.
Now let's apply this same theory to both Trouba and Nurse.
Trouba is a player that has really played over his head his whole career. He seems to have a reputation for being a shutdown defenseman when really, he has never been so. Trouba consistently gets played as such though with high defensive zone starts and P.K. minutes that he seldom does well at. However, he has been not a bad play driver do to his strong skating and solid passing ability. I have often wondered how much better he would look if he received more of a second pair deployment. However, Jacob is very physical and is more than willing to standup for his teammates. He is also able to log a lot of minutes without wearing down as well as having a boomer for a shot. From what I have gathered Trouba is exceptional in the room as well. Loved by teammates for his sharp wit and his willingness to protect them. He brings accountability when it comes to being a responsible teammate. Trouba is also in phenomenal shape and his dedication to his off ice conditioning tends to be infectious from what I understand, which for young players that are learning how to be prepared for an 82-game schedule and hopefully playoffs is huge.
Nurse to me is actually the better player on the ice, Kind of given a bad rap in Edmonton for some very poor eye test play, much of it was really a product of some poor forward depth that he was mostly deployed with and bias created from the fact that he was very much overpaid in relation to his on-ice value. Last year I think the pressure and noise of disappointment got the best of Nurse but when at his best Nurse is a solid second pair D-man that can skate the puck out and make solid passes out of the zone. (when there are players to pass to). Darnell, like Trouba, is willing to standup for his teammates and is mor than capable of handling himself physically. Nurse, like Trouba, also takes his conditioning seriously. Both players are reliable to show up every game and are seldom out of the lineup do to injury
Conclusion:
Although I am still not sure that Trouba is the one ice model that one wants to have young defensemen emulate as far as defensive awareness, I do see the value in having D men can show what it means to play for one another and be able to log big minutes while younger players learn the ropes. I honestly think Nurse can be more of the leader with his on-ice ply especially when it comes to positioning defensively in all three zones. Having vets that know what it takes to be able to play an effective full 82 as far as life style and attitude is huge for a young team and both players have that in spades. Like Toffoli and Wennberg neither player is really standing in the way of a player like Dickenson when they are ready to take top minutes, but they can play well enough to challenge them while they get to that point. There seems to be a method to what seemed like madness, it just took some doing to find it.
