The pursuit of a gold medal that has eluded the U.S. men's hockey team since the “Miracle on Ice” in 1980 appears to be on sound footing.
The return of the NHL players after their absence from the last two Winter Games ought to provide a significant boost, but the inclusion of one of player in particular checks a unique box.
Brock Nelson, the 34-year-old center for the Colorado Avalanche and first-time Olympian, hails from Warroad, Minnesota. He is the eighth Olympic hockey player native to the tiny lakeside town a few miles from the Canadian border that has supplied players for both of the previous men's teams to win gold.
Nelson's grandfather, Bill Christian, and great uncle, Roger Christian, were first-line forwards on the 1960 squad that beat the Soviet Union and Canada to take the title in Squaw Valley, California. Nelson's uncle, Dave Christian, led the famed 1980 team in assists on the way to the improbable semifinal victory over the Soviet Union and gold medal win over Finland in Lake Placid, New York.
“It’s hard to explain Warroad, just the environment there. You just grow up playing hockey. Hockey is a way of life," Nelson recalled before a recent Avalanche game. “Thinking back to my early memories of the game, it’s just growing up with the same guys and playing outside on the river at a buddy’s house or my grandparents' house.”
Living in a harsh winter climate with fewer than 2,000 people will naturally steer a youngster toward the ice. It's all over town, of course.
From the mouth of Lake of the Woods, the Warroad River snakes through the middle of the city limits, a few blocks from the headquarters of Marvin Windows and Doors, the employer as synonymous with the town as the sport of hockey. The river is regularly groomed for skating for miles by a network of volunteers. If the outdoor conditions are unfavorable, chances are someone around will have a key to one of the two indoor rinks.
“It’s pretty cold up there, so not a whole lot going on. I feel like it’s hunt, fish or hockey. You get involved in it early and have that camaraderie with the group, the families,” Nelson said. "It holds a special place in my heart. I feel like hockey’s life up there, and everyone’s kind of involved in some capacity.”
Another one of Nelson's great uncles, Gord Christian, played on the Olympic team in 1956. Bill Christian and Roger Christian also were on the 1964 team. They started the Christian Brothers hockey stick manufacturing business after that, an equipment line that provided jobs for dozens of aspiring players in the area over five decades until it was eventually bought by a Canadian company.
“Growing up, we all worked for Brock's grandpa,” said David Marvin, who also had Bill Christian as his bantam level coach as a middle-schooler and is now the girls hockey coach for Warroad High School. “They were our neighbors and our friends. We didn’t need NHL idols or people to look up to. We had them here, and we continue to have them here, and I think that's what sets Warroad apart.”
Marvin's niece, Gigi Marvin, won a gold medal with the U.S. women's team in 2018 and played in three Olympics. She recently retired from the Professional Women's Hockey League.
Her high school classmate, T.J. Oshie, had a 16-year career in the NHL, but he was probably best known for his four shootout goals in six attempts to beat host Russia in the 2014 Winter Games. The U.S. team took fourth place that year, making him the only Warroad native who didn't leave the Olympics with a medal. Gord Christian (1956) and Henry Boucha (1972) brought silvers back to town.
There's a reason Warroad has branded itself as Hockeytown USA, even though the title originated in Detroit.
Including the current squads, Minnesota has supplied the Olympic men's teams with 130 different players to factor in multiple selections since the first U.S. entry in the Winter Games in 1920, according to an Associated Press review of the all-time Team USA rosters. The women's competition began in 1998, and Minnesota has produced 15 players for that program.
For a place with such a miniscule slice of the population, Warroad has sure provided an outsized boost. The next town over, Roseau, can't be forgotten, either. Including Neal Broten from the 1980 squad, Roseau has supplied the men's teams with seven Olympians. That means 15 players coming from within a 25-mile radius of a region about a six-hour drive from the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area.
Being so close to Canada, the people of Warroad have plenty of friends across the border. When the Olympics or any international competition is ongoing, the banter and needling will kick in amongst the fans of the two rival squads. Regardless of rooting interest, an area with so many rink rats makes Olympic hockey appointment viewing.
One of David Marvin's assistant coaches is Blayke Nelson, the younger brother of Brock Nelson. He has been closely examining schedules for months, with the Warroad girls aiming for the state tournament on the same weekend as the men's medal games in Milan.
“Wouldn't it be cool if Brock won a gold medal in the morning and we won a state championship in the afternoon? You dream about that scenario,” David Marvin said. “What a wonderful story it is for Brock. This has been a goal of his for a long time, to represent the U.S. in the Olympics. It's going to be really special for their family. I just marvel at genetics sometimes."
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AP Sports Writer Pat Graham contributed from Denver.
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