Some things are bigger than hockey, and that’s never more evident than the birth of a child.
Brock Nelson’s wife, Karley, was back home in Minnesota while his New York Islanders team was trying to stay alive during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Islanders were in Raleigh, N.C., the day of Game 4 and trailing 3-0 in the series.
Nelson found out during the afternoon that Karley was going into labor with their second child. The season was on the line that night, but Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello had something more important to arrange. He caught up with Nelson just before the game to put his star center’s mind at ease.
“I had spoke with Lou before. He kind of knew the situation,” Nelson said. “He was unbelievable. He said, ‘No matter what happens, I have a plane, we have everything ready for you to go be there with your family.’ I feel like every team, you always hear good stories of them making sure that everything’s going to be taken care of. Then you can do whatever you, and more importantly, what your wife is most comfortable with. It’s such an important event for everyone.”
The Nelsons have four kids now, and the Colorado Avalanche locker room is just starting the process of welcoming a bunch of new members to its family.
Scott Wedgewood’s wife, Brittany, welcomed their second child to the world on Thursday. She is the first, but three other Avalanche wives are all expecting in the coming weeks.
“You’ve got to be flexible,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “That’s what it comes down to. We’re going to have a few more of these coming before too long. You’ve just got to stay flexible and keep your phone on.”
Devon Toews’ wife, Kerry, is expecting their fourth child in early February. Toews has been selected to play for Canada in the 2026 Winter Olympics, but the Avs defenseman said he’s not joining his countrymen in Milan until the baby is born and his wife is settled.
They don’t expect it to be an issue, other than possibly he shows up a day or two late for pre-tournament practices. Victor Olofsson’s wife, Taylor, is expecting their second child a few weeks later.
Her current due date is Feb. 25, which is the day of Colorado’s first post-Olympic break game at Utah.
“It’s tough,” Olofsson said. “You obviously don’t want to miss games, but this is bigger than hockey, so you’re probably going to miss a game or two. If it happens during the break, that would be nice. Get to spend a little bit more time at home with the baby and help out.”
Samuel Girard’s wife, Jacklyn, is also pregnant. Navigating the NHL schedule and the birth of a child in-season can be tricky, but teams are typically accommodating for whatever their players and their partners need.
The Avs are an older team, and therefore have more players with young families. It can help them get settled in new places — Nelson credited Toews with helping to recruit him to Colorado and noted that having their kids play together was a cool experience, as an example.
Olofsson knew Wedgewood from a season together in the AHL, and now this year they’ve had chances to hang out at their daughters’ gymnastics and dance classes. Now they’ve also gone through pregnancies together.
“It can be pretty lonely sometimes for the wives and girlfriends to be away from their family and friends,” Olofsson said. “It’s not easy to go see everyone. I think having a couple other people in the same position as you helps a lot. It helps kind of create … maybe not a new family, but closer friends you can hang out with who are in similar situations.”
Wedgewood had the morning off Friday as the Avs prepared to face the Philadelphia Flyers. He was expected to be at Ball Arena and able to back up Mackenzie Blackwood.
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He has been enjoying watching his quartet of teammates get ready for such an important moment in their lives.
“I feel like it’s fun when you have that,” Avs forward Brock Nelson said. “There were a couple times on The Island where three or four of us were all expecting a child. It is a lot of excitement. It’s such an unbelievable miracle, to watch the whole process and go through it. To have a couple of guys and their wives go through it at the same time is a nice little support system. You can kind of bounce things off each other, see how they feel, check in with each other and just enjoy everything.
“It sounds like everything went well for (the Wedgewoods), which is great. Healthy little girl. Can’t wait to meet her.”
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