Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse was playing the Ottawa Senators in his home province, which meant he was playing within driving distance or a really short flight from his native Hamilton, Ontario. So with the Oilers nearby, Nurse’s parents came out to watch their son.
The rookie defenseman has had a pretty strong showing in his first NHL campaign, playing some big minutes in Edmonton and getting some tough assignments. He’s also a big, physical player so occasionally that presses him into dropping the gloves.
It had only happened once so far this season, with Nurse picking Los Angeles Kings power forward Milan Lucic as his first NHL combatant. However, with his mom and dad in the crowd, Nurse had to throw down with Senators forward Max McCormick.
This turned out to be a bad idea for McCormick, as the 21-year-old Nurse handled himself quite well in this bout. The only people more jacked up after the scrap than the Oilers defenseman? His parents, who were going nuts in the stands.
Nurse’s father Richard, a former Canadian Football League player, was on his feet cheering on his son. And mom Cathy looked pretty excited as well.
Now, if you polled parents from around the NHL about how they feel about their son fighting, you might get some mixed reviews. However, this youngster sure seems to know how to handle himself in these rough and tumble situations.
