FEATURE: Nurse's feats of strength

EDMONTON, AB - Festivus Dinner has yet to be served but Darnell Nurse threw Jets forward Bryan Little to the ice on Sunday like it was time for the Feats of Strength.
The game was just over two minutes in when Little gathered the puck in the left corner of the Oilers D-zone - the side of the ice Nurse was securing since he was paired up with righty Matt Benning. The Jets forward attempted to sweep and spin his way around the 6-foot-4 defenceman but Nurse had none of it, releasing his left hand from his stick, grasping onto Little's chest and downing the veteran of 11 NHL seasons to the ground with ease.

OILERS MAIN CAMP

DAY 10 CONTENT
PRACTICE | Monday at Rogers Place
THE PANEL | Lineup Movement
BLOG: Yamamoto proving he belongs
BLOG: McDavid's GQ shoot
RELEASE: Oilers trim training camp roster
CAMP RAW | McDavid
CAMP RAW | Klefbom
CAMP RAW | Kassian
CAMP RAW | Head Coach McLellan
"That was one of my first shifts when that happened," Nurse, who finished the game with one assist and three hits, recalled on Monday. "I don't know if it's like a macho meanness but it's a good way to get into games early. You want to be out there, you want to play strong and never be easy to play against."
When that wasn't enough, the 23-year-old imposed his 221-pound weight on Dennis Everberg behind Edmonton's net, crunching the forward hard enough to make his shoulders touch.
"Sometimes I surprise myself," said the Hamilton, ON, product. "You work so hard all summer, you try to count on your strength and being able to be strong in your battles and 1-on-1 areas."
Following an extended off-season due to contract negotiations, Nurse has come to Camp a year older, wiser - and evidently - stronger, which he attributes to his summer training.
The 2013 seventh-overall selection didn't do any heavy lifting in the first month of off-season exercises. That came later in the summer and was followed by quick circuit routines. The end result is a lean and mean Nurse, who now - more than ever - is unafraid of engaging physically.

"Strength is part of every off-season program and it's no exception with what we do in Toronto," he said. "You try to bring those things into the game now. I definitely feel stronger and I want to continue to build on that strength in my game."
With a first-hand view of Nurse's mean streak since they shared the ice together, Benning said he noticed his partner's toughness on Sunday. The right-shot rearguard shares a mutual interest with his partner in playing inside the equipment of opponents - the lingo Benning uses for hitting.
"Throwing around guys that have been in the League for a while is a sign that you're a strong player," Benning said of Nurse.
"If you can make that play and eliminate the guy from the puck, that means we're going on offence and it makes our job easier. It's an effective way of defending."

But Nurse's early pre-season performance has not only shown his capability to separate player from puck. The defenceman exuded more trust in his ability as the game wore on, jumping into the play in an effort to manufacture offence, which he did in the final minute of the game.
After receiving the puck at his own blueline, Nurse spun past a checking forward, juked a skater in the neutral zone and rushed the puck into the offensive zone, dishing a backhand pass to Kailer Yamamoto for a tap-in.
"I actually looked up and saw the play before I made it," he said. "Sometimes in the past, I'd just be guessing and throw it across but to look up and see a play, it adds confidence.
"I know what I'm capable of I just have to do it more and more."