Former NY Islanders star Brock Nelson now part of an elite family gold medal club

From the moment New York Islanders fans heard the name Brock Nelson called on draft day back in 2010, they knew he carried something special. Not just size. Not just a shot. A legacy.

Warroad, Minnesota isn’t just a hometown — it’s hockey royalty. Nelson grew up in the shadow of Olympic greatness. His grandfather, Bill Christian, won gold in 1960. His great-uncle Roger Christian did the same. And his uncle, Dave Christian, was part of the “Miracle on Ice” in 1980. Islanders fans knew the history long before the rest of the hockey world revisited it.

So when Nelson captured Olympic gold in 2026 — even while wearing a Colorado Avalanche sweater — it still felt personal on Long Island.

“To be an Olympic champion, you really can’t describe how special it is,” Nelson said via NHL.com.

We knew how hard he worked to become the team's leading scorer, to become an All-Star, and eventually make Team USA last season and represent them in the Four Nations Tournament. All of it was leading to the opportunity in Milan, and Nelson rose to the occasion.

For more than a decade, Islanders fans watched him grow from a quiet prospect into a pillar of consistency. Big goals. Big moments. Quiet leadership. He wasn’t flashy, but he was ours. And seeing him skate 14:50 in a 2-1 overtime gold-medal win against Canada — anchoring a perfect penalty kill — felt like watching one of our own reach the summit.

After the game, Dave Christian embraced his nephew and welcomed him into the family fraternity.

“Hey, Brock, welcome to the club.”

For Islanders fans, he’s always been part of ours too.

He talked about calling his 88-year-old grandfather, about bringing the medal back to Warroad to place beside the family’s three others, about his son Beckett living every shift with raw emotion.

“He means the world to me,” Nelson said. “It’s incredible.”

And even if the gold came elsewhere, the pride was unmistakably shared. Long Island watched, smiled, and said the same thing: That’s our guy.