Zizing ‘Em Up: Nelson on scoring tear for Avalanche ahead of Olympics

NHL.com staff writer Mike Zeisberger has been covering the NHL regularly since 1999. Each Monday he will use his extensive network of hockey contacts for his weekly notes column, "Zizing 'Em Up," to preview the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

TORONTO -- Who has the most goals of any American-born player in the National Hockey League since Nov. 29?

Not Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, who ranks second on the list in that span with 16 and will be on Team USA in Italy.

Not forwards Alex DeBrincat of the Detroit Red Wings, Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens and Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars, who are tied for third with 15 and were controversially passed over to represent their country in Milano Cortina.

The answer: Brock Nelson.

Yes, that Brock Nelson, the former New York Islander who now is entrenched as the second line center for the Colorado Avalanche.

Believe it or not, no American goal-scorer is hotter heading into the Olympics than Nelson, the 34-year-old who is playing the best hockey of his career at a time in his career when many players begin to slow down.

Not Nelson. Anything but. In fact, the only player who has scored more goals over that period is Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid, who has 22.

Nelson was at it again on Sunday, registering the fifth hat trick of his career in a 4-1 victory against the host Toronto Maple Leafs. He now has 27 goals this season and is on pace to surpass his career high of 37 set with the Islanders in 2021-22.

In the process, he’s muzzling any suggestions that he doesn’t belong on Team USA, a common theme among critics when the full roster was announced on Jan. 2.

Any doubts about his inclusion should have been erased by the high level he’s playing at right now. Argue for the likes of DeBrincat, Caufield, Robertson all you want if you feel that way. But not at Nelson’s expense.

He’s earned his spot. And then some.

Just ask Avalanche coach Jared Bednar.

“The thing with Brock is, he does a lot of things away from the puck too that are pretty special,” Bednar said after Colorado’s win Sunday. “He’s a big, long, strong guy (6-foot-4, 205 pounds) that can skate and covers a lot of ice, so we rely on him in a bunch of defensive situations including penalty kill. So, when you’re talking about well-rounded players that can score, he’s scoring this year. And his checking game is impeccable. So that’s a guy I don’t see how you can leave off.

“There’s a lot of goal-scorers out there who are still rounding out the rest of their game. But he certainly deserves to be there. There’s no question for me. And I think he’s going to have a great Olympics.”

Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, a member of Team Canada, wouldn’t be surprised if he does.

“There’s a lot of confidence in his game right now,” Makar told NHL.com. “He’s a shooter. And when he’s shooting, he’s going to find a way to connect and score goals.

“It’s amazing to see the way he’s playing right now. He’s finding good spots, guys are getting him the puck, and he’s putting it in the back of the net.

“So, it’s fun.”

Competing against superstars Makar and Nathan MacKinnon, another member of Team Canada, at Avalanche practice almost every day has helped him elevate his game, Nelson said. So, too, was the confidence he gained by being selected to play for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, which was a controversial pick at the time.

Despite going pointless in four games at that event, Nelson said the experience he accrued playing against some of the world’s best players was invaluable.

“That was obviously unbelievable to see all those guys up close and personal, trying to just learn and soak it all in as much as you can,” Nelson said. “It definitely makes you feel good about the state of your game for sure, just to be part of that. And any time you get named to a team like that, not to mention it happening again, I mean, that’s such an added bonus.

“Seeing (Nate, Cale) on a regular basis and what they do, it helps your own game. And on the American side, getting to practice with them last year, seeing a guy like (Zach) Werenski, seeing how he moves, Jaccob Slavin, Brock Faber, how they defend. And up front too, watching Matthews, (Jack) Eichel, a number of those guys, how they command the game and how they play. So just trying to learn.

“The pace and execution is clean and at a high level. So, you have to do that at a high level.”

With the Olympic tournament start date of Feb. 11 quickly approaching, Brock Nelson is doing exactly that.

KELLY’S HEROES

For those NHL general managers not involved with their respective national teams for the upcoming Olympics, watching the games will be a double-edged sword.

On one hand, you become a cheerleader behind closed doors, both for your native country.

On the other, you’re fretting that the NHL players from your team who are playing from Italy don’t get hurt.

Where do you draw the line?

Let’s use the Vegas Golden Knights as an example of the dilemma the Olympics pose for these potentially fretting NHL executives.

As Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon points out, the Golden Knights have nine players heading to Milano Cortina: forwards Jack Eichel (USA), Mark Stone (Canada), Mitch Marner (Canada), Tomas Hertl (Czechia), Jonas Rondbjerg (Denmark), defensemen Noah Hanifin (USA), Shea Theodore (Canada), and goalie Akira Schmid (Switzerland).

As a result, as a fan of the sport, he’ll be spending plenty of time glued to the tournament as the rest of us will who love the game. Only in his case, he has a vested interest, both positively and negatively.

“We actually would have had 10 guys over there, but William Karlsson (lower body) is hurt,” McCrimmon said during a sitdown with NHL.com on Friday. “Otherwise, he would have been on Team Sweden.

“I think, at this point of the process, we’re really proud of our players who’ve been selected and are going. We’re really happy for them. And it’s a feather in the cap of the organization.”

But…

“Well, we’re obviously like all teams with players there, we’re hopeful they’ll come back healthy. And that’s the mindset you have to have. You have to think they’re going to go over there, play great, and come back intact, you know?

And if they don’t?

“If we’re disappointed on that, we’ll have to deal with it,” he said. “We’ve had injuries all year, so it’s just something that, like I said, you have to deal with. But ideally, you don’t want to see anyone get hurt. And not just for your own team. For all these players.

“It’s such a special event for them.”

Injuries aren't the only issues facing GMs.

Players participating in the Olympics will barely have time to cross the Atlantic Ocean back to North America before the regular season resumes in what will be a sprint to the finish in the hunt for Stanley Cup Playoff spots. Given the compressed schedule, those Olympians will have played a lot of hockey already entering the stretch drive.

“It’s a big sacrifice by teams to have [their players go],” McCrimmon said. “And it’s not just about having them come home healthy. There’s the schedule. With so many games packed into a shorter time period, any coach or GM you talk to this year is telling you how different it is in a difficult way.

“Think about it. The gold medal game is Feb. 22. The NHL schedule resumes on Feb. 25. That’s a piece of it too, right? The fatigue factor. Not just physically, but also emotionally.

“It’s such a great event. But there are a lot of layers to it.’

Especially when you’re an NHL GM.

TRADE WINDS

McCrimmon’s Golden Knights got a jump on a lot of teams in the trade market by landing defenseman Rasmus Andersson from the Calgary Flames before the NHL’s imposed Olympic break roster freeze, which starts Feb. 4 and runs through Feb. 22.

At the same time, he doesn’t expect a flurry of swaps to take place until teams reconvene after the Olympics. That’s because, with so many teams squeezed together in the NHL standings, there are very few who want to become sellers at this point.

Not with aspirations of a Stanley Cup Playoff berth still going strong.

“At one time, I thought there would be a number of moves before the Olympic break,” McCrimmon said. “But the standings being what they are right now, I’m less likely to think that. I think there’ll be more post-break.”

He offered two reasons for that conclusion.

“One, teams trading players away don’t want to send that message to their fan base that they’re not going to keep their expiring contracts, for example. And, secondly, I don’t think you want to send that message to your team, right?

“Think about it. There are a lot of teams that haven’t been playoff teams in the recent past, and they’re right there now. They’re either at the cut line or just above the cut line. So, when you look at the standings, what are there, 22 teams still in it? Probably more, to be honest. So that’s probably going to play itself out a bit going into the break.

“And then, I think coming out of the break is going to be a real busy time.”

Will the Golden Knights be part of that action heading into the NHL Trade Deadline on March 6, even after acquiring Andersson?

“I don’t feel we’re desperately chasing anything, but you never know what’s going to happen between now and that day,” McCrimmon said.

He has a point. After all, with Trader Kelly, you never know.

OLYMPIC STOCK WATCH

A look at who's hot heading into the Games next month:

Mark Stone, F, Canada (Vegas Golden Knights)

How’s this for a hot streak? Prior to a 7-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Sunday, Stone had a 14-game point streak, during which he’d accrued 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists). The 33-year-old isn’t the fastest skater, nor does he have the hardest shot. But, as Golden Knights teammate Jack Eichel of Team USA noted: “He’s got sick hands.” The Team Canada brass hopes they stay that way when he gets to Italy.

QUOTE/UNQUOTE

“It seems like it’s still so far away, still just in the back of your mind. And, I mean, it’s going to take a lot to get there. It’s not like the tournament is starting on that day. So, it still seems like it’s so far away.” -- Team Canada’s Makar about the fact that the Olympic gold-medal game is exactly four weeks from Sunday

THE LAST WORD

You can never have enough preparation for an event as big as the Olympics.

As such, Team Canada assistant Pete DeBoer is heading to Milan on Friday to make sure things are in order for both the players and management when they arrive in Italy. Among his duties: ensuring suitable work areas for the staff, where computers will be set up, meeting space, and even such details as setting up suitable Wi-Fi if need be.

“You have to remember, it’s going to be a whirlwind when the team gets there,” he said. “The players are supposed to arrive on (Feb. 7), we have practices scheduled for the 8th, 9th and 10th, and then it’s our first game on the 11th.

“We have to be ready. It’s coming very quick.”

Indeed it is.