It’s pretty hard to find a projected United States roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics with Brock Nelson on it.
It also might be harder for the Team USA braintrust to leave Nelson off the team than those people doing to projecting think. Nelson, who played for the Americans at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off in February, has been an integral part of the NHL’s best team all season, but now he’s adding high-level offensive production to round out his case.
“Obviously that would be a huge honor to represent your country,” Nelson said. “It’s not something that is the main focal point. You’re just trying to take care of business and play as best I can here and help the team win. Everything beyond that is an added bonus.”
Nelson played in the 4 Nations tournament, but it wasn’t a great showing. He earned the eighth-most ice time among the U.S. forwards, but finished with no points in four games. He wasn’t alone — Vincent Trocheck, J.T. Miller and Kyle Connor (three games played, not four) all finished with zero points, while Jack Hughes had a single assist.
Given Nelson’s lack of impact in February, his age (he turned 34 in October) and a slow start offensively to the 2025-26 NHL season, he was an easy name to remove to make room for a younger, more exciting option. Here’s a sampling of recent United States roster projections, and Nelson isn’t on any of them:
Bleacher Report, The Score, Daily Faceoff, NHL.com
Three weeks ago, Nelson had three goals and five points in 16 games. Bednar said he was still creating plenty of offensive chances for himself and for his linemates, while his work without the puck and ability to absorb tough minutes was allowing others to flourish.
Then the production started to come a little easier. Nelson has six goals and 12 points in his past 10 games.
“I just pride myself on playing both sides and impacting the game in a number of different ways,” Nelson said. “Sometimes it might not be the flashiest, but trying to be responsible. But yeah, a little bit more offense does help you stand out more.”
He’s been one of the best two-way players on the Avalanche roster. The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn named Nelson a top-10 candidate for the Selke Trophy earlier this week.
The numbers on the back of a hockey card are not standout — nine goals and 17 points in 26 games — but they aren’t bad, either. Given how Avs coach Jared Bednar has deployed him — his 60 defensive zone starts and 131 defensive zone faceoffs are tops among the forwards — could Nelson fill a similar shutdown role for the Americans?
“Easily, easily,” Bednar said. “And he’s done it in the past. … You watch his overall game, the dependability, faceoffs, power play, penalty kill – whatever you need, he can do it all. He might not be the flashiest guy or the most dynamic guy, but he does so many things and you can rely on him in so many different areas.
“I think he’s certainly got to be talked about when those decisions are being made.”
Does Nelson still have a chance to find a spot on the United States roster? It’s not going to be easy.
First, each team is allowed to carry 22 skaters and three goaltenders. That’s two extra players from February, which should mean one more forward and one more defenseman.
Let’s start with the guys who, health permitting, are locks to make the roster:
Jack Eichel, Jack Hughes, Mattew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk, Auston Matthews, Jake Guentzel, Dylan Larkin, Matthew Boldy and Kyle Connor are consensus projections. They were all the team last year. Hughes and the elder Tkachuk are injured right now, but should be fine by early February.
That’s nine of 14 spots. That could be the top three lines, with Eichel, Matthew and Larkin down the middle.
Who are the contenders for the last five spots, which will likely include at least two centers?
The four guys who played on the 4 Nations roster — Nelson, Trocheck, Miller and Chris Kreider are all in the mix. The potential news guys include Jason Robertson, who leads all American players with 36 points, Cole Caufield, Alex DeBrincat and group of guys who played for the gold medal-winning U.S. team at the IIHF world championships this past summer. That includes Tage Thompson, Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley, Shane Pinto and Cutter Gauthier.
The biggest issue that Robertson, Caufield and DeBrincat must overcome is their size and the perception that how they succeed in NHL games won’t translate in international competition. Keller and Cooley could also fall into that group.
Agree with it or not, it’s clear that United States general manager Bill Guerin (and Canadian GM Doug Armstrong, for that matter) watched the 4 Nations tournament and the takeaway was size, speed and defensive acumen plays at that level ahead of pure skill.
They saw games with electric pace and intensity and few scoring chances. They view the potential goals that aren’t allowed in that environment to be more valuable than the potential ones a more skill-based lineup might create.
Thompson has shown some defensive deficiencies, but he’s also huge and played a big part at the worlds. He’s probably the most likely forward to make it from this group, but also more likely to play on the wing than be trusted at center.
So, two more centers and two more wings from that group above. Nelson has more goals and points than Trocheck and Miller, though the former has missed time with injury. The three of them all play about the same amount of time per night on the penalty kill. They’re all generally considered good defensive players, though Luszczyszyn’s model says Nelson has been better the other two.
Will Nelson’s role on the NHL’s dominant team help him? Will Trocheck or Miller get a nudge because they play for Team USA coach Mike Sullivan with the Rangers? Could the American decision makers decide to take a younger center like breakout stars Gauthier or Cooley?
Nelson was a pretty easy name to remove from consideration, but his excellent play of late might get him back in the mix.
“It just all depends on how they want to build the team,” Bednar said. “I’m sure it is like, ‘Hey, if we’re picking Player A, then Brock might be a really good option. If we’re playing Player B, then maybe they go with a different option. I think there are so many moving parts to building those rosters and so many decisions they’ve got to make.”
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