Brock Nelson returned to the Colorado Avalanche with a gold medal and some forever memories after helping the United States win the men\u2019s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics.<\/p>\n
Nelson spoke before the Avalanche\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnbelievable, hard to describe everything \u2014 the excitement and the emotions,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cJust a great time. So many good stories. \u2026 It\u2019s something I\u2019ll remember forever. A great group of guys. To be a part of history is fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
This was the first time the United States has won gold in men\u2019s 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 \u201cMiracle on Ice\u201d team in 1980 in Lake Placid, N.Y.<\/p>\n
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\u2019 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI FaceTimed him. He was emotional,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nelson said he isn\u2019t 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\u2019ve also been reliving the moment in games of mini-sticks.<\/p>\n
His family \u2014 Nelson\u2019s wife and four children were with him in Italy \u2014 also played a significant role in Nelson\u2019s decision to skip the U.S. men\u2019s team\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The men\u2019s team has received significant criticism in the past three days since winning gold, in part because FBI director Kash Patel was in the locker room celebrating with the team shortly after Jack Hughes\u2019 overtime golden goal and because President Donald Trump\u2019s congratulatory call included a joke about feeling obligated to invite the U.S. women\u2019s team, which also won gold, as well.<\/p>\n
Nelson was asked if he had any thoughts about the reaction and the criticism from the past couple of days since the tournament ended.<\/p>\n
\u201cCrazy, lots of noise and a whole lot of different things being said,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cI think the main thing is I think both of the men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams should be extremely prideful and proud of what they accomplished, winning gold. It\u2019s a huge honor. And I think for the guys being invited to the White House, I heard the women\u2019s team was invited to the White House as well, it\u2019s everyone\u2019s right to kind of choose if they wanted to go or not.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it just didn\u2019t work out schedule-wise. My family coming back, the schedule of our games \u2014 five in seven days. There\u2019s 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\u2019s an incredible honor. Everyone that\u2019s an American, if you have that opportunity, it\u2019s an incredible one. So kind of bummed that I missed it, but for me it just didn\u2019t work out. I wanted to help my family get home and that was it.\u201d<\/p>\n