Warroad native Brock Nelson has been named to the United States men’s ice hockey team for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, marking a rare third-generation appearance for his family in the Games. Nelson, 34, is playing in his first Olympics while extending a rich American hockey lineage that includes his grandfather, Bill Christian, and great-uncle Roger Christian, members of the 1960 U.S. gold medal team, and his uncle Dave Christian, a member of the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” gold-medal squad.

Nelson played Warroad Hockey, then starred at the University of North Dakota before spending more than a decade with the New York Islanders, where he became one of the franchise’s most consistent scorers. Since joining the Colorado Avalanche this season, he’s continued that production, adding veteran leadership to one of the NHL’s top contenders.

NHL players return to the Olympic hockey tournament for the first time since 2014, with the U.S. hoping to end a decades-long gold-medal drought.

The U.S. men open their Olympic campaign against Latvia on Thursday, Feb. 12, at 2:10 p.m. Central Standard Time. The game will be televised live on USA Network and streamed on Peacock in the United States