Brock Nelson Relishing the Moment to Play for Team USA

The Four Nations Faceoff between Team Canada and Team Sweden got underway Wednesday night. Team USA will face Finland on Thursday night, and one forward—New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson—has a long family history of representing Team USA at the highest level.

Nelson has been in the news and rumour mill because he is a pending unrestricted free agent. There are questions about whether he will sign an extension with the club or whether the team will trade him at the deadline, which is highly unlikely.

However, as he told RG Media, he understands the importance of finishing his career with the Islanders. He knows, thanks to his relationship with General Manager Lou Lamoriello, everything will work out.

“And only knowing Long Island and being an Islander and how much history the team has and the legends that have played her before, what they’ve done,” Nelson told RG exclusively. “I understand how special it would mean to finish my career with the Islanders. Again, that is something my agent and Lou will handle, and I know everything will work itself out.”

While Nelson was willing to discuss his pending free agency and contract negotiations, what brought a smile to his face the most was talking about his uncle and grandfather representing Team USA at the 1980 and 1960 Olympics.

“I was fortunate. I mean, my uncle played on the 1980 team, actually, with those guys, Dave Christian,” Nelson said when he asked about the meaning of having those guys at the dinner on Monday and when he first became aware of 1980. “I remember when I was younger, I saw his medal for the first time and Heard about it as you’re saying. I never knew him other than Uncle Dave at the time. But then the movie comes out to hear the story and hear more about what those guys did for country and hockey it is incredible and special.”

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While talking about “Uncle” Dave Christian was special to Brock Nelson, his grandfather, Bill Christian, means the most to him. Nelson’s grandfather influenced him the most, and he shares a special bond with him.

“My grandpa, yeah, he text me, too. He’s another one. Yeah. He won it in 60, and him and Roger played together. Then they started the stick factory Christian Brothers,” Nelson said. “And again to have two family members that did that for the game it meant a lot for the game, is just a bonus for me, because I still view them as family members and my support system, and my grandpa still to this day watches every game, text me all the time. He’s just a great guy. So, yeah, fortunate to have those people in my life, and like I said, they meant a lot to the game and an awesome story that Father Son accomplished both winning gold medal, right.”

So when Brock Nelson was called to represent Team USA, the first person he called was his grandpa, and it was emotional.

“Yeah, it definitely was when I got the news, and he called me Like I said, he means a lot to me, so don’t really think too much about it when you’re playing, but it’s cool to have him share it with him and it means a lot,” Nelson said.

While it is not the Olympics, Nelson is looking to add to the family legacy at International best on best hockey. Nelson helped Team USA capture a bronze medal in the 2015 World Championship with 10 points (six goals and four assists) in 10 games. In the 2024 World Championships for Team USA, Nelson had seven points in eight games, including three goals.

That is why USA GM Bill Guerin has him on the team for his goal-scoring. He has been a perennial 30-goal scorer for the past three seasons for the Islanders. So even though he is a veteran and part of the bottom six for Team USA, Brock Nelson has the ability to come up with big goals for the Americans.

Nelson hopes his performance at the Four Nations Faceoff will lead to something more next year so he can join his family members as Olympic Gold Medalists.