NY Islanders Forward Brock Nelson Joining Team USA at World Championships

The 2023-24 season is over for the NY Islanders but Brock Nelson will continue playing this summer with Team USA at the World Championships in Czechia.

Coming off a 34-goal season with the Islanders, Nelson is one of Team USA’s leading scorers from the NHL season and will likely earn top-line and first power play minutes for the Stars and Stripes.

Nelson is no stranger to international competition at the World Championships, participating in the annual tournament four times from 2014-2017. This will be his first time back on the American roster in seven years and the first Islander to represent the franchise at the tournament since Kieffer Bellows in 2022.

Playing in 32 all-time games at the World Championships, Nelson has totaled 28 points (16 G, 12 A), with his best performance coming in 2015, scoring six times and adding four assists. He walked away with a bronze medal at the 2013 edition held in Sweden and Finland.

Nelson is joining a team led by Brady Tkachuk, Johnny Gaudreau, Matt Boldy, and Cole Caufield while being joined by youngsters Will Smith and Ryan Leonard. 

Known as one of the top hockey nations in the world, Team USA doesn’t typically bolster their strongest lineup at the World Championships, allowing their younger players to represent their country. Because of this, the USA has only won the Gold Medal twice, and hasn’t done so since 1960! But with the lineup heading to Czechia this year, it appears they’ll have as good an opportunity to medal as any other nation. 

The US is potted into Group B and will be the co-favorites to win the group along with Sweden. The two nations will face off against one another in their opening games on May 10th - a game that could decide which team ends pool play as the top seed.