The first &#8220;best-on-best&#8221; international competition since the 2016 Sochi Olympics will be held in Montreal and Boston this February. <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2024/10/25/sidney-crosby-on-being-teammates-with-connor-mcdavid-at-the-four-nations-im-really-excited/">Canada</a>, Finland, Sweden, and the United States will compete in the NHL&#8217;s <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2024/10/04/team-canada-four-nations-roster-predictions/">Four Nations Faceoff</a>, aiming to give hockey fans high-quality international play.

Heading into the 2024–25 NHL season, it was expected that many Edmonton Oilers players would have the chance to represent Canada at the event. <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/connor-mcdavid-returning-to-edmonton-to-be-evaluated-oilers-will-recall-replacement-from-ahl">Connor McDavid</a> was already named to the roster, leading fans to believe that Zach Hyman might play on his wing after a 50-goal season. Evan Bouchard was also named to several projected rosters, along with <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2024/10/23/frank-seravalli-thinks-the-perception-of-stuart-skinner-is-higher-among-oilers-fans-than-the-rest-of-the-nhl/">Stuart Skinner</a>.
Now, as October nears its end, the spots for Oilers stars on the roster are in question. Zach Hyman has yet to score a goal, Stuart Skinner has a save percentage below .900, and Evan Bouchard hasn’t had the offensively dominant start he hoped for to strengthen his candidacy. Additionally, <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-fall-6-1-to-the-blue-jackets-but-all-anyone-cared-about-was-what-happened-to-connor-mcdavid">Connor McDavid left last night’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets</a> after his first shift with a lower-body injury, putting his availability in doubt.
A name not initially considered in the roster conversation was <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2024/10/25/watch-oilers-darnell-nurse-fights-penguins-marcus-pettersson-after-ugly-hit/">Darnell Nurse</a>. On <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA8MrdiPCrE">Oilersnation Everyday with Tyler Yaremchuk</a> yesterday, Anthony DiMarco from Daily Faceoff hinted that Nurse’s inclusion on the roster isn’t out of the question.
<blockquote>&#8220;Darnell Nurse is in the conversation to play on the third pair and in a penalty-killing role Another name is Travis Sanheim from the Philadelphia Flyers. Both Nurse and Sanheim are competing for that third-pairing, shutdown, penalty-kill role.
Subjectively speaking, your top four is (Devon) Toews, (Cale) Makar, (Shea) Theodore, and (Alex) Pietrangelo, and after that, it’s anyone’s ball game.
One executive did mention the question of how many power-play defencemen Team Canada can have. You need players who can play defensively and fill two-way roles. That’s where Darnell Nurse and Travis Sanheim may be playing their way into a top-six or top-seven role with the team.&#8221;</blockquote>
Nurse is a controversial player in Edmonton, to say the least. During the Oilers’ run to the Stanley Cup final last season, Nurse was one of only two defencemen to play over 30 minutes on the penalty kill without being on the ice for a goal against. The other was his penalty-kill partner, Cody Ceci. Additionally, their unit limited opponents to only 26 shots, with only Charlie McAvoy and K’Andre Miller on the ice for fewer shots against. Neither McAvoy nor Miller played more than 16 games.
That was last season, however. Back in the present, the Oilers’ penalty kill has struggled, and Nurse’s numbers are less impressive. Edmonton’s penalty kill is last in the NHL at 62.1 per cent and has allowed a power-play goal in seven of ten games to start the year. Nurse has played 22:06 on the penalty kill and has been on the ice for eight of the 11 goals allowed, tying him for the most goals against with four other defencemen.
Nurse wasn’t a player many would have considered for Team Canada, and he is still a long shot to make the team. However, his playoff numbers shouldn’t be dismissed so easily, and in a short tournament like the Four Nations Faceoff, it makes sense why he’d be in the conversation. He’s athletic, a strong skater, and isn’t afraid to join the rush. He’s a unique player, with both strengths and weaknesses.
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Does Darnell Nurse crack Team Canada&#039;s blueline?" width="1424" height="801" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d3tE6bByCIY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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The first "best-on-best" international competition since the 2016 Sochi Olympics will be held in Montreal and Boston this February. <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2024/10/25/sidney-crosby-on-being-teammates-with-connor-mcdavid-at-the-four-nations-im-really-excited/">Canada</a>, Finland, Sweden, and the United States will compete in the NHL's <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2024/10/04/team-canada-four-nations-roster-predictions/">Four Nations Faceoff</a>, aiming to give hockey fans high-quality international play.



Heading into the 2024–25 NHL season, it was expected that many Edmonton Oilers players would have the chance to represent Canada at the event. <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/connor-mcdavid-returning-to-edmonton-to-be-evaluated-oilers-will-recall-replacement-from-ahl">Connor McDavid</a> was already named to the roster, leading fans to believe that Zach Hyman might play on his wing after a 50-goal season. Evan Bouchard was also named to several projected rosters, along with <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2024/10/23/frank-seravalli-thinks-the-perception-of-stuart-skinner-is-higher-among-oilers-fans-than-the-rest-of-the-nhl/">Stuart Skinner</a>.

Now, as October nears its end, the spots for Oilers stars on the roster are in question. Zach Hyman has yet to score a goal, Stuart Skinner has a save percentage below .900, and Evan Bouchard hasn’t had the offensively dominant start he hoped for to strengthen his candidacy. Additionally, <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-fall-6-1-to-the-blue-jackets-but-all-anyone-cared-about-was-what-happened-to-connor-mcdavid">Connor McDavid left last night’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets</a> after his first shift with a lower-body injury, putting his availability in doubt.

A name not initially considered in the roster conversation was <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2024/10/25/watch-oilers-darnell-nurse-fights-penguins-marcus-pettersson-after-ugly-hit/">Darnell Nurse</a>. On <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA8MrdiPCrE">Oilersnation Everyday with Tyler Yaremchuk</a> yesterday, Anthony DiMarco from Daily Faceoff hinted that Nurse’s inclusion on the roster isn’t out of the question.
<blockquote>"Darnell Nurse is in the conversation to play on the third pair and in a penalty-killing role Another name is Travis Sanheim from the Philadelphia Flyers. Both Nurse and Sanheim are competing for that third-pairing, shutdown, penalty-kill role.

Subjectively speaking, your top four is (Devon) Toews, (Cale) Makar, (Shea) Theodore, and (Alex) Pietrangelo, and after that, it’s anyone’s ball game.

One executive did mention the question of how many power-play defencemen Team Canada can have. You need players who can play defensively and fill two-way roles. That’s where Darnell Nurse and Travis Sanheim may be playing their way into a top-six or top-seven role with the team."</blockquote>
Nurse is a controversial player in Edmonton, to say the least. During the Oilers’ run to the Stanley Cup final last season, Nurse was one of only two defencemen to play over 30 minutes on the penalty kill without being on the ice for a goal against. The other was his penalty-kill partner, Cody Ceci. Additionally, their unit limited opponents to only 26 shots, with only Charlie McAvoy and K’Andre Miller on the ice for fewer shots against. Neither McAvoy nor Miller played more than 16 games.

That was last season, however. Back in the present, the Oilers’ penalty kill has struggled, and Nurse’s numbers are less impressive. Edmonton’s penalty kill is last in the NHL at 62.1 per cent and has allowed a power-play goal in seven of ten games to start the year. Nurse has played 22:06 on the penalty kill and has been on the ice for eight of the 11 goals allowed, tying him for the most goals against with four other defencemen.

Nurse wasn’t a player many would have considered for Team Canada, and he is still a long shot to make the team. However, his playoff numbers shouldn’t be dismissed so easily, and in a short tournament like the Four Nations Faceoff, it makes sense why he’d be in the conversation. He’s athletic, a strong skater, and isn’t afraid to join the rush. He’s a unique player, with both strengths and weaknesses.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3tE6bByCIY
<h2>PRESENTED BY GREAT CLIPS</h2>
<img class="size-full wp-image-161242 aligncenter" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2099/02/54669-002-GC-Logo-727x404-CA3.jpg" alt="" width="727" height="404" />

<a href="https://www.greatclips.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Great Clips</a>, the world’s largest hair salon brand, is a 100% franchised company with more than 150 hair salons across Canada that are owned and operated by Canadians. Great Clips prides itself on making it easy for customers to get a great haircut at a great price at a time and place that’s convenient for them. They’ve also made it easy for customers to make Great Clips their hair salon of choice with services like <a href="https://www.greatclips.com/online-check-in" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Online Check-In</a> and <a href="https://www.greatclips.com/clip-notes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Clip Notes®</a>. From bobs and layers to kids’ haircuts, bald fades and more, Great Clips has a look that’s great for you.

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