Welcome to the 2022-23 season review and 2023-24 season preview player-by-player! In this and other articles, we’ll be, well, reviewing the 2022-23 season of Edmonton Oilers players and previewing their 2023-24 season. You can read about the analytics behind my analysis here.
Welcome back, Darnell Nurse.
5×5
NHL GP
TOI + TOI/GP
G – A – P
CF
CA
CF%
SCF
SCA
SCF%
GF
GA
GF%
xGF
xGA
xGF%
PDO
Individual
82
1524.18
24-7-31
1483
1393
51.56
804
745
51.9
73
67
52.14
73.93
67.01
52.46
1.00
Per/60
18.59
0.97-0.24-1.21
58.38
54.84
31.65
29.33
2.87
2.64
2.91
2.64
Per/60, RelTm%
0.76
3.21
-1.17
0.88
3.77
-2.73
-0.06
0.13
-1.74
-0.06
0.14
-1.86
At its core, Darnell Nurse’s 2022-23 season can be split in two. There was before Mattias Ekholm and after Mattias Ekholm. 
Nurse’s year and the first half of the season were not pretty. After a 2021-22 season where the defenceman made significant strides on a pairing with Cody Ceci, both of their games slid back last year. For Nurse, it came from him trying to do too much on the ice, which has always plagued him. 
In my eyes, Nurse is always at his best when he tries to do one thing. Think back to when he and Ethan Bear were a pairing, for example. Bear’s strong suit at the time was the offensive game and transitioning the puck up the ice, allowing Nurse to focus on the Oilers’ zone first. Think back to the 21-22 season, where Ceci played strong defensive hockey, allowing Nurse to focus on jumping up in the rush and transporting the puck.
Now, think back to just last season, where we saw Nurse trying to do all of the above, wherein he looked, more often than not, like a chicken with its head cut off. Ceci dealt with injury for much of last year, limiting his ability on the ice. Instead of doing the simple thing of rearranging the pairings, the Oilers coaching staff trotted the two out together every night. Not ideal!
But when Ekholm came to town, it took a lot of pressure off Nurse. Pre-Ekholm, Nurse was averaging 23:51 per night of ice time, and after post-Ekholm, that number fell to 22:27. A minute and a half may not seem significant, but it very much is.
At that point, it felt like Nurse’s game improved, and heading into this season, I expect a big year from him. He’ll play on the top pairing once again, but this time around with Evan Bouchard on his flank. As I wrote about early in the pre-season, this pairing will excel for the Oilers. 
Nurse won’t have the pressure of being the offensive defenceman having to jump up in the rush all the time with Bouchard being there, and instead will be able to focus on his defence-first game.

NURSE’S CAREER SO FAR

Regular Season
Playoffs
Season
Team
Lge
GP
G
A
Pts
PIM
+/-
GP
G
A
Pts
PIM
2010-11
St. Michael’s Buzzers
OJHL
2
0
0
0
4
2011-12
Soo Greyhounds
OHL
53
1
9
10
61
-15
2012-13
Soo Greyhounds
OHL
68
12
29
41
116
15
6
1
3
4
6
2013-14
Soo Greyhounds
OHL
64
13
37
50
91
1
9
3
5
8
12
2013-14
Oklahoma City Barons
AHL
4
0
1
1
0
-1
3
0
1
1
7
2014-15
Soo Greyhounds
OHL
36
10
23
33
58
18
14
3
5
8
26
2014-15
Oklahoma City Barons
AHL
—
—
—
—
—
—
4
0
4
4
4
2014-15
Edmonton Oilers
NHL
2
0
0
0
0
-2
2015-16
Bakersfield Condors
AHL
9
0
2
2
7
2
2015-16
Edmonton Oilers
NHL
69
3
7
10
60
-13
2016-17
Edmonton Oilers
NHL
44
5
6
11
33
0
13
0
2
2
6
2017-18
Edmonton Oilers
NHL
82
6
20
26
67
15
2018-19
Edmonton Oilers
NHL
82
10
31
41
87
-5
2019-20
Edmonton Oilers
NHL
71
5
28
33
48
-2
4
0
2
2
6
2020-21
Edmonton Oilers
NHL
56
16
20
36
57
27
4
0
1
1
2
2021-22
Edmonton Oilers
NHL
71
9
26
35
54
18
15
2
4
6
26
2022-23
Edmonton Oilers
NHL
82
12
31
43
64
26
11
0
4
4
21
NHL Totals
559
66
169
235
470
47
2
13
15
61
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.