'Darnell (Nurse) has been awesome': Edmonton Oilers' Alec Regula embracing top-4 defenceman role

As Edmonton Oilers’ defenceman Alec Regula works his way through his first real NHL season, now playing in the second pairing with Darnell Nurse, it’s been a take-a-deep-breath test for him.

Give him a C+ on his report card after playing nary a single minute last season as he rehabbed from knee surgery.

We all know he was playing serious catch-up in training camp to surprisingly make the team, then he got walloped by Vancouver’s Evander Kane behind the net in Game 2 here Oct 11—road-kill for the former Oiler—and he got a concussion.

Then, after missing a month, he took a puck in the face from Tampa defenceman Emil Lilleberg, and fortunately, the puck was on end, and he avoided head issues or any broken bones. But he briefly had to wear a shield over his swollen face.

So Regula has only played 15 games, half the Oilers’ schedule.

But, his play and that of fellow, young righty Ty Emberson, forced the exit of Troy Stecher, who was claimed on waivers by the Maple Leafs.

Not having Stecher means the Oilers are thin in terms of NHL depth, with only Josh Brown in Bakersfield a possibility, but more likely they need another veteran D at the trade deadline because you need eight or nine going into the playoffs.

But the 6’4″, 211-pound Regula continues to make that GM Stan Bowman Boston waiver claim, seemingly out of nowhere last December, look like a stroke of genius.

Again, with Jake Walman hurt, Regula is a top 4 D.

He won’t be when Walman returns, but he is now with the Buffalo Sabres coming to town Tuesday night.

The Kane check was a clearing of the tonsils for Regula, though.

“That was the hardest hit I’ve taken in a long time. He smoked me,” said Regula.

“Those things (concussions) are strange, they’re tricky. A few guys have had them this year as well. But everything’s different.”

“It’s challenging, kind of confusing. I didn’t feel right the next day (Kane hit), then the weeks afterwards, there were ups and downs, lingering headaches,” he said.

After returning, the shot from Lilleberg nailed him in the face in Tampa on Nov. 20. Lilleberg apologized after the incident, one defenceman to another.

“Oh my gosh, I was so lucky. It hurt,” he said.

“My face was really big afterwards. I was worried about my head right then, and I had some stitches in my ear, but I’m very lucky. My jaw was fine, so was my head, my ear was OK. You see what happened to Charlie McAvoy (Boston, broken jaw after a shot by Noah Dobson three weeks ago),” he said.

Student-teacher pairing with Nurse

Regula, with 37 career games, and Nurse, with 745, are a student-teacher pairing much like Mattias Ekholm was with Evan Bouchard a couple of years ago.

“Darnell has been awesome. He helps me a ton. I think our games complement each other well. He’s super-aggressive and kills a lot of plays and covers a lot of ground, which makes it a lot easier for me,” said Regula.

“I think my best attribute is breaking the puck out. If I can get a first touch on pucks, a lot of times I can make a lot of good plays to get it out of our zone.”

Regula is only 25, but he’s been here, there and everywhere, trying to find a home.

Detroit drafted him in the third round while he was playing junior hockey for the London Knights in 2018. But Bowman got him to Chicago nine months after the draft pick for one-time Oiler winger Brendan Perlini, now playing in the Swiss League. Regula played 18 NHL games for Bowman, and four more for his successor Kyle Davidson on a very crowded Hawks’ organizational back-end, before Davidson included him a trade to the Bruins, along with Ian Mitchell, for Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno in 2023.

So, he’s been traded twice and claimed on waivers.

“I played the first four games at the start of that year (2022-23) after making Chicago out of camp, but I didn’t play well and got sent down for the rest of the season (55 games). I was up for a new deal and I could see the writing on the wall.”

“They had a lot of defencemen there. When there’s a GM change, if you’re not a core piece of a team, I don’t think anybody feels safe. If you look at that (Chicago) team since Davidson took over, I think there’s only three players left from when I was there. Everybody else is gone. You want to bring in your own guys … nature of the business,” he said.

Being in the second pair means Regula is seeing first or second-line opposing attackers every game now, so no easy nights. He’s averaging 14 ½ minutes a night o but in the last six games he’s played 21:33, 18:12, 16:10, 16:25, 21:47 and 16:22.

It’s been a steep learning curve for Regula, who spent all of last season doing rehab, with some dark days when it didn’t look like his knee was getting better. The season before, he was in the AHL, playing in Providence. This is the first time he’s had a real run of NHL games, and he took Walman’s spot alongside Nurse with coach Kris Knoblauch not wanting to break up the Ekholm-Bouchard and Emberson-Brett Kulak pairings.

‘He’s been solid,’: Knoblauch

“Regula can move the puck well, making small area plays, short passes to the forwards,” said Knoblauch. “Plus, he’s got a long reach; he covers a lot of ice. Having those two (Regula and Nurse) together makes it tough for the other team to create offence. They’ve done a good job at eliminating space.”

Knoblauch admittedly doesn’t yet know what Regula will become.

“It’s still early. We’re still finding out where he can contribute. Offensively, he hasn’t been on the score-sheet, but ultimately, that’s not why he’s here. Not for goals and assists. It’s about defending, a good first pass. He’s done a good job, and on the penalty-kill, he’s been solid,” said Knoblauch.

Again, he came into this season cold after spending more time in the trainer’s room and gym than on the ice.

“If I had played at all last year, it would have helped (for this season). It’s been really hard, but I think I’ve exceeded my expectations. It’s nice to give yourself a bit of grace,” he said.

“I mean, everyone has their own story, but when the season’s rolling and you’re playing, you’re in the fight. Doesn’t matter what happened before (injuries). You have to be ready,” he said.

This ‘n that

• Noah Philp, who suffered his concussion against Buffalo on Nov. 12, was on the ice for the first time with the team for practice Monday. He’s eligible to come off long-term injury status on the weekend when the Oilers kick off a five-game trip in Toronto, with the Oilers currently with 22 healthy bodies, and one extra forward Connor Clattenburg. Clattenburg might not be ready until the weekend. Philp has to sit out 10 games and 24 days on LTIR.

• Walman, who stopped a shot on his foot in Tampa Bay on Nov. 20, didn’t skate with the team. He’s missed six games and won’t play Tuesday or Thursday here. Maybe sometime on the five-game roadie to Leafs, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Boston and Minnesota. When asked if he has a broken bone there, Knoblauch didn’t answer yes or no. The extent of the injury remains vague. Maybe it’s just a bad bone bruise but this is the second injury for the defencemen since camp started. He has only played 17 of the 29 games. “They’re different issues,” said Knoblauch.

• No sign of winger Kasperi Kapanen (knee) or Jack Roslovic (undisclosed after blocking a shot against Minnesota last week) at practice. Knoblauch said they might return around Christmas. Kapanen hasn’t played in six weeks, hurt against Detroit Oct. 19.

• The Oilers play the Flames here Dec. 23, the fourth time they’ll trot out their cream-coloured third jerseys (3-0, 21 goals scored), and in Calgary Dec. 27.

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