Quote:
Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan
With regards to Nurse and defensive acumen: Show me a fresh out of junior defenseman who doesn't need to work on that. This is why defensemen are rarely ready as 18 or 19 year-olds, and also another reason why someone like Ekblad is incredibly rare. Both physically and mentally ready as an 18 year old on defense is hard to find.
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I don't think anyone denies that... but the fact remains: anointing him as a "great" defenseman for Edmonton down the road is extremely premature. There is a long list of big players with great tools who don't put it together. That's why there's just no need to be paying any kind of praise at this point. A promising prospect? Sure. But in no way does that automatically translate to a sure thing for them down the road. There is no bigger "wait and see" than a young deneseman. It's an extremely difficult position to grow into and excel at.