<p id=”par-1_72″>Darnell Nurse was selected by the Edmonton Oilers with the seventh pick in the 2013 NHL entry draft. He comes from a <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/sports/?swcfpc=1″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>family of athletes</a> as his father, Richard Nurse, was a wide receiver for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League, while his mother, Cathy Nurse, was a basketball player in college for the McMaster Marauders. Moreover, Darnell’s uncle is former <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/philadelphia-eagles-legend-nfl-hall-famer-brian-dawkins-raising-awareness-chronic-kidney-disease.html/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Philadelphia Eagles</a> star <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/celebrity-athletes/?swcfpc=1″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>quarterback</a> Donovan McNabb, who in the past has been spotted at Oliers game supporting his nephew. </p>
<p id=”par-2_22″>Now fans want to know more about the woman Darnell is married to. Here’s what we know about his wife, Mikayla. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-darnell-and-mikayla-are-high-school-sweethearts”>Darnell and Mikayla are high school sweethearts</h2>
<p id=”par-3_20″>Darnell and Mikayla have been together since 2011, when they were teenagers attending the St. Mary’s in Ontario, Canada. </p>
<p id=”par-4_53″>After dating for several years, the two got engaged in October 2020 and said “I do” on Aug. 7, 2022, at the historic Graydon Hall in Toronto. Several of Darnell’s Oilers teammates, including Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Cody Ceci were on hand for the big day with Draisaitl and McDavid serving as groomsmen. </p>
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<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-width=”550″ data-dnt=”true”><p lang=”it” dir=”ltr”>Congrats, Darnell & Mikayla! <img src=”https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72×72/1f499.png” alt=”💙” class=”wp-smiley” style=”height: 1em; max-height: 1em;” /><img src=”https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72×72/1f9e1.png” alt=”🧡” class=”wp-smiley” style=”height: 1em; max-height: 1em;” /> <a href=”https://t.co/dio6PPwo9X”>pic.twitter.com/dio6PPwo9X</a></p>— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) <a href=”https://twitter.com/EdmontonOilers/status/1556300003303256065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>August 7, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
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<p id=”par-5_18″>Mikayla has become close with other NHL WAGs including actress Celeste Desjardins who is now married to Draisaitl. </p>
<p id=”par-6_50″>Before they tied the knot, Mikayla attended Desjardins’ bachelorette party and <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DKxZl2WuQ44/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>posted a few photos</a> about that night and being in her friend’s wedding, writing, “I fear I danced too hard. Laughed too much. Slept too little. But holy am I honored to walk down that aisle with you shortly.”</p>
<p id=”par-7_46″>Following Draisaitl and Desjardins’ big day, Mikayla <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DND7fncAMT3/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>shared several snaps</a> from the ceremony in France including pics of with Darnell, other bridesmaids, and the beautiful scenery. She captioned it, “The most amazing weekend celebrating the best people. Honored to have stood beside you through it all.”</p>
<p id=”par-8_11″>Desjardins responded, “Best friends in the world. Love you so much.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-what-is-mikayla-s-profession”>What is Mikayla’s profession?</h2>
<blockquote class=”instagram-media” data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DGMEAblzDf_/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” data-instgrm-version=”14″ style=”background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;margin: 1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:99.375%;width:-webkit-calc(100% – 2px);width:calc(100% – 2px)”><div style=”padding:16px”> <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DGMEAblzDf_/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” style=”background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”> <div style=”flex-direction: row;align-items: center”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;flex-grow: 0;height: 40px;margin-right: 14px;width: 40px”></div> <div style=”flex-direction: column;flex-grow: 1;justify-content: center”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;margin-bottom: 6px;width: 100px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;width: 60px”></div></div></div><div style=”padding: 19% 0″></div> <div style=”height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px”></div><div style=”padding-top: 8px”> <div style=”color:#3897f0;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:550;line-height:18px”>View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style=”padding: 12.5% 0″></div> <div style=”flex-direction: row;margin-bottom: 14px;align-items: center”><div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px;flex-grow: 0;margin-right: 14px;margin-left: 2px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px”></div></div><div style=”margin-left: 8px”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;flex-grow: 0;height: 20px;width: 20px”></div> <div style=”width: 0;height: 0;border-top: 2px solid transparent;border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom: 2px solid transparent”></div></div><div style=”margin-left: auto”> <div style=”width: 0px;border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right: 8px solid transparent”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;flex-grow: 0;height: 12px;width: 16px”></div> <div style=”width: 0;height: 0;border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left: 8px solid transparent”></div></div></div> <div style=”flex-direction: column;flex-grow: 1;justify-content: center;margin-bottom: 24px”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;margin-bottom: 6px;width: 224px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;width: 144px”></div></div></a><p style=”color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center”><a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DGMEAblzDf_/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” style=”color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>A post shared by Mikayla Nurse (@mikayla.nurse)</a></p></div></blockquote>
<p id=”par-9_13″>Mikayla grew up in Northern Ontario in the town of Sault Ste. Marie.</p>
<p id=”par-10_38″>She is a professional dancer and grew up dancing competitively in her home country. She trained with some prestigious programs in both Canada and the U.S., including Interlochen Center for the Arts and Debbie Allen’s summer intensive. </p>
<p id=”par-11_58″>Mikayla graduated with honors from the Ryerson University (now known as Toronto Metropolitan University) BFA dance program, where she worked with renowned choreographers. She was also a member of the Toronto Blue Jays dance squad and toured across Canada with the Toronto dance company Gadfly. In addition, Mikayla has appeared in the films <em>Stage Fright</em> and <em>Work It</em>, per Studio Dance Art. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-how-many-children-they-have-together”>How many children they have together</h2>
<blockquote class=”instagram-media” data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DS_AEr0Escs/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” data-instgrm-version=”14″ style=”background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;margin: 1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:99.375%;width:-webkit-calc(100% – 2px);width:calc(100% – 2px)”><div style=”padding:16px”> <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DS_AEr0Escs/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” style=”background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”> <div style=”flex-direction: row;align-items: center”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;flex-grow: 0;height: 40px;margin-right: 14px;width: 40px”></div> <div style=”flex-direction: column;flex-grow: 1;justify-content: center”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;margin-bottom: 6px;width: 100px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;width: 60px”></div></div></div><div style=”padding: 19% 0″></div> <div style=”height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px”></div><div style=”padding-top: 8px”> <div style=”color:#3897f0;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:550;line-height:18px”>View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style=”padding: 12.5% 0″></div> <div style=”flex-direction: row;margin-bottom: 14px;align-items: center”><div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px;flex-grow: 0;margin-right: 14px;margin-left: 2px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px”></div></div><div style=”margin-left: 8px”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;flex-grow: 0;height: 20px;width: 20px”></div> <div style=”width: 0;height: 0;border-top: 2px solid transparent;border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom: 2px solid transparent”></div></div><div style=”margin-left: auto”> <div style=”width: 0px;border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right: 8px solid transparent”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;flex-grow: 0;height: 12px;width: 16px”></div> <div style=”width: 0;height: 0;border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left: 8px solid transparent”></div></div></div> <div style=”flex-direction: column;flex-grow: 1;justify-content: center;margin-bottom: 24px”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;margin-bottom: 6px;width: 224px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;width: 144px”></div></div></a><p style=”color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center”><a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DS_AEr0Escs/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” style=”color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>A post shared by Mikayla Nurse (@mikayla.nurse)</a></p></div></blockquote>
<p id=”par-12_8″>Today, Darnell and Mikayla have two sons together.</p>
<p id=”par-13_24″>Their first son, Aiden Nurse, was born in May 2021, followed by their second son, Chase Nurse, who they welcomed in Sept. 2023. </p>
<p id=”par-14_24″>The couple has shared family snaps with their little ones via social media giving fans a glimpse into their life beyond the rink and stage.</p>
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