This in from the Edmonton Oilers, news they have recalled ferocious tough guy Josh Brown in the wake of Ryan Reaves’ mugging of Darnell Nurse.
Brown got in a fight in his most recent games, pounding the hell out of San Diegoi’s big Nathan Gaucher.
1. There’s still no news on how long Darnell Nurse might be out, so it’s no surprise to see the Edmonton Oilers make this move given they play games on Monday and Tuesday. Even with Nurse in the line-up, Edmonton was one of the least physical teams in the NHL. If he’s out, there’s a real lack of toughness, so no surprise to see tough right shot d-man Josh Brown get the call, especially as there’s not many left shot d-men who are NHL-ready in Bakersfield, just small Cam Dineen.
2. Brown struggled mightily in-preseason in Edmonton. He was slow and iffy with the puck, not much better in terms of his positional play. As I noted in late September, Brown was outplayed in the pre-season by Ty Emberson, Troy Stecher, try-out candidate Travis Dermott and Ben Gleaso (who has since been traded away). Brown struggled to move the puck crisply and made some iffy reads as well.
Perhaps he’s worked some issues in his game in the AHl these past six weeks.
