The San Jose Sharks defenceman will face the Oilers Saturday

This will be a first for Darnell Nurse.

After spending his first 11 seasons in the NHL with an Edmonton Oilers club that drafted him seventh overall in 2013, the San Jose Sharks defenceman will face the lone team he has yet to, with the Oilers in town Saturday (2 p.m., Sportsnet).

Long dogged by Oilers fans and media for never seeming to live up to the eight-year, $79-million contract he signed in August 2021 ($9.25 million AAV), the 31-year-old native of Hamilton, Ont., got a fresh start in an off-season trade within the division for a pair of up-and-coming prospect defencemen in Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zack Sharp.

But fans and media are one thing, inside the dressing room it was an entirely different feeling altogether.

“An unbelievable friend and teammate, first and foremost,” said Oilers forward Zach Hyman. “A great leader, always led by example, always stuck up for his teammates. Always gave you 100 per cent every night, no matter how he was feeling he was always there and always ready to play for you and play for the team.

“So, I can’t speak highly enough about Darnell, he’s just a phenomenal friend, teammate … Former teammate, I guess, now.”

Nurse is coming off his first goal with the Sharks, netting the winner in a 3-2 overtime victory over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.

He came off the bench to take a cross-ice pass from rookie Ivar Stenberg and sent a wrist shot through the pads of Joel Hofer 63 seconds into the extra frame.

“It felt amazing,” Nurse said on the team website. “It was nice to battle back.

“It took us a little bit in the first, but our team was really resilient and got to our game, and in the third period we really established ourselves. So, it’s fun to win and fun to add into that at the end.”

Hyman, who missed the start of the season due to injury for the second year in a row, was back skating with the team for the first time Friday, and is close to making his return to the lineup.

The 34-year-old forward suffered an undisclosed injury in the pre-season finale against the Calgary Flames on Sept. 26, and had missed the first 19 regular-season games a year ago while recovering from wrist surgery after having been knocked out of the previous playoffs against the Dallas Stars.

“Good skate. First skate with the group in a little bit,” Hyman old the Oilers website following practice in San Jose, while on a three-game road trip through southern California. “So, I’m getting there and it’s always good to skate with the guys.”

Mike Babcock said he doesn’t expect Hyman to play in San Jose.

“I know he wasn’t practising in a regular sweater today, so I’d assume he’s not playing (Saturday),” the head coach said..

Newly acquired forward Filip Hallander caught up with the Oilers and attended his first practice since being traded Wednesday from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenceman Spencer Stastney.

“Great team, great players, great city, great fans, so the whole package coming to a team that wants to win,” said the 26-year-old native of Sundsvall, Sweden. “So, I’m just happy about the chance to be part of this group.

“I think I played good through the pre-season and the games I got there, in Pittsburgh, so hopefully I can bring that. And I’m not going to change anything, just play the way I play.”

Hallander was skating on the second line next to centre Jason Dickinson, who was activated for Wednesday’s 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks off injured reserve with a leg injury held over from last season, and Kasperi Kapanen.

“I liked seeing a confident kid that seemed to make good plays with the puck,” Babcock said. “It’s going to take him a bit just to figure out how we’re playing and what we’re doing but he looks like he’s a worker, and they tell me he’s got some pace and he can make some plays.

“So, we’re excited to have him.”

Bookmark our website and support our journalism:Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.