Avalanche Journal: Could Brock Nelson’s hot streak help him find a depth role on the U.S. Olympic team?

It s pretty hard to find a projected United States roster for the Winter Olympics with Brock Nelson on it It also might be harder for the Organization USA braintrust to leave Nelson off the club than those people doing to projecting think Nelson who played for the Americans at the Nations Face-Off in February has been an integral part of the NHL s best gang all season but now he s adding high-level offensive production to round out his circumstance Obviously that would be a huge honor to represent your country Nelson noted It s not something that is the main focal point You re just trying to take care of business and play as best I can here and help the crew win Everything beyond that is an added bonus Nelson played in the Nations tournament but it wasn t a great showing He earned the eighth-most ice time among the U S forwards but finished with no points in four games He wasn t alone Vincent Trocheck J T Miller and Kyle Connor three games played not four all finished with zero points while Jack Hughes had a single assist Given Nelson s lack of impact in February his age he turned in October and a slow start offensively to the - NHL season he was an easy name to remove to make room for a younger more exciting option Here s a sampling of new United States roster projections and Nelson isn t on any of them Bleacher Statement The Figure Daily Faceoff NHL com Three weeks ago Nelson had three goals and five points in games Bednar stated he was still creating plenty of offensive chances for himself and for his linemates while his work without the puck and ability to absorb tough minutes was allowing others to flourish Then the production started to come a little easier Nelson has six goals and points in his past games I just pride myself on playing both sides and impacting the tournament in a number of different strategies Nelson explained Sometimes it might not be the flashiest but trying to be responsible But yeah a little bit more offense does help you stand out more He s been one of the best two-way players on the Avalanche roster The Athletic s Dom Luszczyszyn named Nelson a top- candidate for the Selke Trophy earlier this week The numbers on the back of a hockey card are not standout nine goals and points in games but they aren t bad either Given how Avs coach Jared Bednar has deployed him his defensive zone starts and defensive zone faceoffs are tops among the forwards could Nelson fill a similar shutdown role for the Americans Related Articles Avalanche coach Jared Bednar sounds off on controversial goal Goalie interference is a joke Avalanche point streak ends at games with - loss to Patrick Roy s Islanders Keeler While Broncos Nikola Jokic own Denver s eyeballs Avalanche s Nathan MacKinnon quietly putting up best season in Colorado history Nathan MacKinnon Avalanche keep white-hot start rolling with home win against Canucks Another sign of this Colorado Avalanche group s dominance It kept rolling without Valeri Nichushkin Easily easily Bednar explained And he s done it in the past You watch his overall competition the dependability faceoffs power play penalty kill whatever you need he can do it all He might not be the flashiest guy or the preponderance dynamic guy but he does so plenty of things and you can rely on him in so numerous different areas I think he s certainly got to be talked about when those decisions are being made Does Nelson still have a chance to find a spot on the United States roster It s not going to be easy First each band is allowed to carry skaters and three goaltenders That s two extra players from February which should mean one more forward and one more defenseman Let s start with the guys who wellbeing permitting are locks to make the roster Jack Eichel Jack Hughes Mattew Tkachuk Brady Tkachuk Auston Matthews Jake Guentzel Dylan Larkin Matthew Boldy and Kyle Connor are consensus projections They were all the band last year Hughes and the elder Tkachuk are injured right now but should be fine by early February That s nine of spots That could be the top three lines with Eichel Matthew and Larkin down the middle Who are the contenders for the last five spots which will likely include at least two centers The four guys who played on the Nations roster Nelson Trocheck Miller and Chris Kreider are all in the mix The prospective news guys include Jason Robertson who leads all American players with points Cole Caufield Alex DeBrincat and group of guys who played for the gold medal-winning U S group at the IIHF world championships this past summer That includes Tage Thompson Clayton Keller Logan Cooley Shane Pinto and Cutter Gauthier The biggest issue that Robertson Caufield and DeBrincat must overcome is their size and the perception that how they succeed in NHL games won t translate in international competition Keller and Cooley could also fall into that group Agree with it or not it s clear that United States general manager Bill Guerin and Canadian GM Doug Armstrong for that matter watched the Nations tournament and the takeaway was size speed and defensive acumen plays at that level ahead of pure skill They saw games with electric pace and intensity and limited scoring chances They view the possible goals that aren t allowed in that setting to be more valuable than the probable ones a more skill-based lineup might create Thompson has shown specific defensive deficiencies but he s also huge and played a big part at the worlds He s seemingly the largest part likely forward to make it from this group but also more likely to play on the wing than be trusted at center So two more centers and two more wings from that group above Nelson has more goals and points than Trocheck and Miller though the former has missed time with injury The three of them all play about the same amount of time per night on the penalty kill They re all generally considered good defensive players though Luszczyszyn s model says Nelson has been better the other two Will Nelson s role on the NHL s dominant gang help him Will Trocheck or Miller get a nudge because they play for Unit USA coach Mike Sullivan with the Rangers Could the American decision makers decide to take a younger center like breakout stars Gauthier or Cooley Nelson was a pretty easy name to remove from consideration but his excellent play of late might get him back in the mix It just all depends on how they want to build the company Bednar stated I m sure it is like Hey if we re picking Contestant A then Brock might be a really good option If we re playing Performer B then maybe they go with a different option I think there are so several moving parts to building those rosters and so numerous decisions they ve got to make Want more Avalanche news Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis