It's his to-the-millisecond proficiency in reading and reacting to the play that sets Ryan Murray apart from his peers.
There's also his skating, which may be the most graceful and powerful out of any WHL defenseman. His shot, which registered at 94.3 miles per hour at January's CHL Top Prospects Skills Competition, isn't exactly a muffin.
But it's the constant decision-making of reading the play — adjusting, adapting, looking to advance the puck, eyes seemingly everywhere on the ice at once — that puts the Everett Silvertips captain at the top of a remarkable crop of WHL-based draft eligible defensemen and one of the first three players likely to be selected at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
"When you're out there, it's just kind of all about reaction," Murray said. "Every play is different, so whatever happens, you've just kind of got to try to make the right decision. It just kind of comes naturally, too."
"When you've played the game for so long, for so many years, it's just kind of like breathing. You just kind of know where to go, and you don't really have to think about it."
One of five WHL defensemen among the top 10 North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings and ranked third overall, Murray's name has been placed alongside forwards Nail Yakupov of Sarnia and Mikhail Grigorenko of Quebec, who many expect will be selected first and second at Pittsburgh's Consol Energy Center on June 22.
There has been no shortage of scouting reports on the 6-foot-1, 195-pound defenseman. Held back in the 1994 draft class with a late-1993 birthday, western-based scouts already well familiar with the White City, Saskatchewan, native were afforded an extra year to put a microscope to his game, picking apart minor shortcomings that they'd had three seasons of WHL action to identify.
Except that there haven't really been any nagging blemishes, and his late birthday suggests that he's ready to vie for a spot in an NHL lineup as a newly turned 19-year-old this fall. He debuted in the playoffs as a 15-year-old defenseman with Everett in 2009, captained Canada's summer U-18 team to a gold medal at the 2010 Ivan Hlinka tournament as its youngest player, made Canada's World Junior team as an 18-year-old and served as the youngest captain in Silvertips history. His stock has only risen in the scouting community, with particular attention to his on-and-off ice poise and the respect with which he treats his teammates, according to Silvertips head coach Mark Ferner.
"Everything that he does on the ice is great, but he's a better person off the ice, and he wants to be a pro," said Ferner, a former NHL defenseman who played for Ken Hitchcock in Kamloops and alongside player-coach Joel Quenneville with the AHL's Baltimore Skipjacks and St. John's Maple Leafs.
"He's so far ahead of the curve, from junior hockey, from everybody that I've seen at this level as far as defensemen are concerned. So it's just a matter of continuing to get better, and that's what he does. He doesn't take any days off in the gym or on the ice or during video. He wants to get better, and that's why he'll be a great pro."
It's the steadiness and unflappability along with his advanced skating ability that has drawn skill-set comparisons to Scott Niedermayer, and it's not a coincidence that Murray wears number 27. "He was definitely one of my idols growing up," Murray said of the four-time Cup winner. "I've never met him, never talked to him. I've just kind of watched him play. He's won pretty much everything there is to win in hockey."
"I think that he's just a great role model for any hockey player."
White City is a small suburban community several minutes east of Regina off the Trans-Canada highway. Murray's only background with fellow Reginian Jordan Eberle came when their WHL careers overlapped in 2009-10. Considering Edmonton will be holding a draft pick around which Murray is likely to be selected, it's not entirely out of the question to think of the two of them playing together at some point.
Instead, it was another local product who drew a scouting report by Murray, with whom he played for the Moose Jaw Jr. Warriors at the midget level. Derrick Pouliot, from Weyburn, Saskatchewan, is a defenseman and current major junior rival with the Portland Winterhawks. He is ranked 10th by Central Scouting among North American Skaters and offers terrific vision and offensive zone acumen, according to Murray, and also projects as a high draft pick.
"Whenever he's got the puck, you've always got to keep your head on a swivel, because he can find guys and he can make plays," Murray said of Pouliot. "He's an extremely skilled defenseman, and he can really make you look silly if you don't keep an eye on him."
There must have been something in that fertile prairie land in 1993 and 1994. Western Canada, with a reputation for cultivating large, sturdy
defensemen, is producing an impressive crop — Murray and Pouliot, and fellow top-10-rated North American defensemen Mathew Dumba, Morgan Rielly and Griffin Reinhart.
When chatting by phone Wednesday, Murray recalled the anxiety experienced while making his WHL debut on the road as an underaged, 15-year-old defenseman in the first game of a playoff series. He recorded a power play assist in his first shift, allowing the nerves to settle. As far as his temperament is concerned, there hasn't been much that has rattled him since.
"I remember I was so nervous for the first game that I couldn't even handle the pucks in warm-ups," Murray said. "I remember just not even being able to shoot out there, and I just had the jitters worse than I've ever had for any game."
"After my first shift, I just kind of settled in. I just kind of blocked everything out, and I just tried to play as hard as I could that night, and everything just kind of went well for me. I was pretty lucky that I got the opportunity to play in those games."
Come June 22, one NHL team will be thrilled with the opportunity to call his name.
Carter traded; where does Nash stand?
As analyzed on FOX Sports, Jeff Carter's trade to the Los Angeles Kings is the league's first major trade during the regular season and the precursor to what should be a collection of moves prior to Monday's 3 p.m. ET trading deadline. Sixteen trades were made on Feb. 28, 2011 — last year's trading deadline — marking the least amount of deadline movement in over a decade.
With Carter out of Columbus, attention now turns to Rick Nash, who, according to Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times, may not have been too keen on joining the team that ended up trading for Carter. With speculation that San Jose, Toronto and New York have engaged in discussions to land the six-time 30-goal scorer, it is assumed that a first-round draft pick, a first line-caliber forward and either a prospect or a depth forward have been requested by Columbus to secure the services of Nash, a $7.8-million cap hit through 2018. Teams able to package a young, starting goaltender to build a defense around would likely step to the front of the line, as Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson appeared content with his team's blue line when speaking to reporters after trading for Jack Johnson on Thursday.
"I think we now have a very good defense if you go with Tyutin and Nikitin and Wisniewski and Johnson and Methot and Moore and Savard and Clitsome. I think we're shaping up to have a nice defense," Howson said.
Considering they're also likely to land the offensive services of either Nail Yakupov or Mikhail Grigorenko as the top pick at June's NHL Draft, the rebuilding plan has already begun in central Ohio.
As for whether or not Nash will be moved, it appears less than 50/50, considering the Sharks and Rangers don't seem entirely motivated to move several young pieces that form a part of their nucleus and identity. Because New York boasts some of the best defensive depth in hockey, it will be interesting to see how Columbus' acquisition of Jack Johnson affects trade discussions. San Jose appears to be the more likely target for Nash, with Joe Pavelski's name surfacing as one who would be included should San Jose opt for their first major in-season overhaul since trading for Joe Thornton in December 2005.
"We're a team that's looking to add, more than anything," Pavelski said to Sharks Insider Kevin Kurz on Thursday. "That's what we expect, and we believe in everyone in here. We've seen how everyone can get the job done throughout the season, and we just need everyone to step up their game and find that spot where they're comfortable, and they're contributing."
Another player weighs in on Buffalo
Hockey players continued their public relations assault on the city of Buffalo this past week, with the Bruins' Brad Marchand discussing his distaste for The City of Good Neighbors with WEEI Boston Thursday morning.
"Yeah, Buffalo would be the worst place in the NHL, so I'm not too excited to go there, but I'll be pretty excited to leave," Marchand said, later admitting to John Vogl of the Buffalo News that he was "just playing around."
With Anaheim Ducks prospect Emerson Etem's Twitter declaration during the 2011 World Junior Championships that Buffalo is the "worst city ever" and that it makes his junior home of Medicine Hat, Alberta "look like paradise" fresh in our mind, it's time we revisit the rules of offering disparaging opinions in the social networking era. Which is, to say, "don't."
1) Don't Swear
-This should be obvious, but swearing on Twitter or on sports radio or generally any instance that requires elocution and composed thought is tacky. Don't ever swear around any microphone. Be a role model.
2) Don't Tweet from a Bar
-You're at a bar at the time bad decisions are made, and why are you even glued to your phone at a bar anyway, nerd? Are you also playing Words With Friends with the people sitting across from you?
3) Don't disparage a rival team's city, even if it's Newark or Detroit
-No hockey player has ever made public, critical remarks about the league's less glamorous centers, clapped their hands together and walked away from the situation without having to answer questions about it. You want to knock Buffalo? Here come four reporters who want to know why you knocked Buffalo. Let sleeping dogs lie.
To Marchand's defense, the question regarding Buffalo came at the end of the interview. While slightly weighted in such a way to fish for a negative response, what range of responses could you reasonably expect when you ask someone casually, "Do you like Buffalo as a roadtrip spot?"
If it's difficult to remember these rules designed to avoid public embarrassment, simply consult Will Ferrell's guidelines from Semi Pro -- Everybody Love Everybody.
Game of the Weekend
Saturday, 2 p.m. ET
St. Louis Blues at Winnipeg Jets
FOX Sports Midwest / CBC Hockey Night in Canada
Yes, the Winnipeg Jets are currently seeded third in the Eastern Conference, never mind their minus-17 goal differential. Relatively healthy and the proprietors of a 19-9-3 home record, an already excitable MTS Centre crowd will be even more amped up with the possibility of raising a divisional banner in their homecoming season on the line. (To be clear, we're deeply in favor of honoring the Southeast Division with a banner hanging in central Manitoba, seven hours northwest of Minneapolis.) The Blues have won seven out of 10, and while their questionable 11-13-3 road record is of concern in such a raucous environment, they've outscored the Southeast 12-4 this season while defeating Carolina, Tampa Bay, Florida and Washington in order. They'll be successful in their bid for a clean sweep as presumed starting goalie Jaroslav Halak posts a 35-save afternoon to further his underappreciated 2011-12 campaign. We're going with 3-2 St. Louis; a shootout might be needed to decide this one.
