Brock Nelson will need to cancel his vacation plans for mid-February.
Instead, he’ll be in Montreal, then Boston, as a member of Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Nelson, who straddled the bubble for a roster spot, ended up on the right side of it in the final announcement, becoming the only Islander to be named to any of the four teams competing at hockey’s first best-on-best tournament since 2016.
Noah Dobson and Mat Barzal, both seen as potential candidates for Team Canada, were left off the roster, with Barzal’s exclusion likely due in large part to the injury which has kept him out for the last month.
Nelson, who has 10 goals and seven assists so far this season, made the team over flashier options at forward such as Canadiens winger Cole Caufield and Sabres center Tage Thompson, with his experience and two-way play winning out.
When asked about making it in the leadup to Wednesday’s announcement, Nelson maintained his focus was on the Islanders.
But for a player whose chance at a 2022 Olympic spot was lost when the NHL pulled out of the Beijing Games due to pandemic concerns, the chance to represent the stars and stripes will be extraordinarily meaningful.
“To have those opportunities and go play for Team USA, it’s special,” he told The Post last month. “These big ones, obviously you track it and follow it cause you want to see the guys, whoever’s representing the country, to win another gold. Add to that history.”
Nelson’s extended family has deep ties to Team USA. His grandpa, Bill Christian, and his great-uncle, Roger Christian, won gold at Squaw Valley in 1960 while his uncle, Dave Christian, was part of the Miracle on Ice team at Lake Placid in 1980. Another great-uncle, Gordon Christian, won silver at Cortina d’Ampezzo in 1956.
The perpetually underrated Nelson played for Team USA at numerous World Championships, including last summer, and won bronze at World Junior Championships in 2011.
But best-on-best international competition — not seen since Team Canada defeated Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey — is a different animal.
Team USA last won a best-on-best trophy at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and last won Olympic gold in 1980.
On a depth chart that also includes Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck as options down the middle, Nelson’s role is likely to be in Team USA’s bottom six, and he could potentially move to the wing, depending on how coach Mike Sullivan sets his lines.
