Brock Nelson returned to the Colorado Avalanche with a gold medal and some forever memories after helping the United States win the men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Nelson spoke before the Avalanche’s game Wednesday night at Delta Center against the Utah Mammoth. He will be in the lineup for the Avs, and will still be sporting a a bubble shield because of a high-stick to the face he took against Germany in the final round-robin game of the Olympic tournament.
“Unbelievable, hard to describe everything — the excitement and the emotions,” Nelson said. “Just a great time. So many good stories. … It’s something I’ll remember forever. A great group of guys. To be a part of history is fun.”
This was the first time the United States has won gold in men’s hockey since 1980, and the third time ever along with 1960. Nelson has a family connection to both of those teams. His uncle, Dave Christian, was on the “Miracle on Ice” team in 1980 in Lake Placid, N.Y.
His grandfather, Bill Christian, and great-uncle, Roger Christian, were part of the 1960 team that won in Squaw Valley, Calif. Shortly after the Americans’ 2-1 overtime victory against Canada in the gold-medal game, Nelson told reporters in Milan that he was looking forward to speaking with his grandfather back home.
“I FaceTimed him. He was emotional,” Nelson said. “It was a quick one. He was just at our winter house with some of my family. It was just super fun to see him, see his emotion and share that.”
Nelson said he isn’t sure where his gold medal is going to end up in his house, but his kids have already enjoyed showing it off to their friends at school. They’ve also been reliving the moment in games of mini-sticks.
His family — Nelson’s wife and four children were with him in Italy — also played a significant role in Nelson’s decision to skip the U.S. men’s team’s trip to Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. Twenty of the 25 players toured the White House, the U.S. Capitol building and attended the State of the Union address.
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Nelson was asked if he had any thoughts about the reaction and the criticism from the past couple of days since the tournament ended.
“Crazy, lots of noise and a whole lot of different things being said,” Nelson said. “I think the main thing is I think both of the men’s and women’s teams should be extremely prideful and proud of what they accomplished, winning gold. It’s a huge honor. And I think for the guys being invited to the White House, I heard the women’s team was invited to the White House as well, it’s everyone’s right to kind of choose if they wanted to go or not.
“For me, it just didn’t work out schedule-wise. My family coming back, the schedule of our games — five in seven days. There’s a lot to be made about it, but no one actually knows the real truths with everything. Everyone is entitled to their own decisions. I would love to check out the White House. I think it’s an incredible honor. Everyone that’s an American, if you have that opportunity, it’s an incredible one. So kind of bummed that I missed it, but for me it just didn’t work out. I wanted to help my family get home and that was it.”
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