Just like the good old days of the mid-2000s, the Oilers will be sending a whole bunch of players off to play in the IIHF World Hockey Championships. We already knew Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins would be representing Canada in Denmark this spring, but Darnell Nurse, as it was reported by the Oilers today, will be joining them.
#Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse to join teammates Connor McDavid & Ryan Nugent-Hopkins competing for @HockeyCanada at #IIHFWorlds next month. https://t.co/chehmRA2aW
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 12, 2018Nurse enjoyed a breakout season on Edmonton’s blueline this year and averaged a career-high 22:15 minutes per game due largely to the absence of Andrej Sekera. He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer as his entry-level deal is set to expire on July 1.
Nurse has experience playing for Team Canada. Back in 2015, he was a member of Canada’s World Junior winning squad along with McDavid. Nurse also played for Canada in the U-18 tournament in 2012, earning a bronze medal.
Canada won gold at the Worlds in 2016 and 2015 and lost to Sweden in the gold medal game in 2017. Before those back-to-back wins, Canada hadn’t won gold since 2007.
