MILAN (AP) — Brock Nelson has quite the international tradition to uphold.
He is the fifth member of his family to play hockey for the U.S. at the Olympics. Great uncle Gord Christian went in 1956, grandfather Bill and brother Roger won gold in 1960, and uncle Dave Christian was part of the “Miracle on Ice” in 1980.
Nelson wasted no time making an impact in his Olympic debut Thursday night, scoring twice in a 5-1 rout of Latvia and showing why he made the team in the first place.
“Brock’s a guy that just brings a complete game,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s got a mature game. He plays on both sides of the puck. He can score goals. He’s having a great year for Colorado. He’s a cerebral player. He’s conscientious defensively. You can use him on the penalty kill. If we needed him on a power play, we could use him on a power play.”
Nelson has 29 goals 55 games into his first full season with the Colorado Avalanche and is on the verge of hitting 30 for the fourth time in his NHL career, which until 11 months ago was spent entirely with the New York Islanders. Many of his U.S. teammates played alongside him at the 4 Nations Face-Off a year ago and know all about his skillset after his decade in the NHL.
“He’s probably been doing it for 15 years," said linemate Jack Hughes, who set up each of Nelson's goals against Latvia. “(This) was another big stage for him."
Nelson skated on the fourth line alongside Hughes and J.T. Miller, with Vincent Trocheck mixed in. It's a testament to the depth of USA Hockey's talent pool that standout players on their NHL teams are relegated to these kinds of depth roles, but such is life at the Olympics.
Sullivan is reluctant to call any of his forward trios the “fourth line,” usually reserved for grinders or energy guys hopping over the boards to give bigger-minute players a breather and flip the momentum with a strong shift. Nelson did so much more than that in the Olympic opener and he actually scored three times, though one was waved off after a coach's challenge by Latvia.
“You never really know how many looks you’re going to get, so you have that happen and you’re like, ‘Oh, man, maybe just not the night,'” Nelson said. “Jack was great, saying, ‘Just keep going, we’re going to get another look.’ He made a couple great plays there and found me.”
Playing for the New Jersey Devils, Hughes spent years facing Nelson on the division-rival Islanders.
“Everyone around the league knows he’s an elite two-way center,” Hughes said. “You know when you’re playing him, you’re getting a hard night.”
Nelson has 636 points in nearly 1,000 regular-season games in the NHL.
“He’s a dangerous guy,” goaltender Connor Hellebuyck said. “He’s got a big, long stick. He’s got poise with the puck. He plays his system very well. He plays two ways with the puck. I just think he’s a full-on complete player, with the vision of scoring.”
The U.S. has preliminary round games Saturday against Denmark and Sunday against Germany before the knockout round. The Americans don't necessarily have to lean too much on Nelson, but it won't hurt if another Olympic hockey player from Warroad, Minnesota, chips in some more scoring along the way.
“He moves so well, and he does all the little things really well and he’s got a great finishing touch," center Jack Eichel said. "No surprise. All of us as players really appreciate his game."
Fourth line or not, Nelson scored two goals in under 14 minutes of ice time.
“One of the biggest things a guy like that has shown, going even back to last year is what makes our team successful and that’s the sacrifice,” winger Matthew Tkachuk said. "It’s really just the sacrifice. That’s what’s going to make our team successful.”
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
