Brock Nelson 2010-11 SEASON REVIEW:

Brock Nelson
Date of birth: October 15, 1991 (2010-11 Season Age: 18/19)
Place of birth: Minneapolis, MN, USA
Height: 6'3
Weight: 205
Shooting Hand: Left
NCAA Season: Freshman
Drafted: New Jersey Islanders in the 1st round (30th overall) of the 2010 Draft
Acquired: Originally Drafted By The Isles

2010-11 Season Stats:

United States            WJC:  GP: 5   G: 0 A: 1   P: 1   PIM: 0

U Of North Dakota       WCHA:  GP: 42 G: 8 A: 13 P: 21  PIM: 27

Short-Term Status:
Heading into his second season at the University of North Dakota, Brock Nelson is going to be expected to be a key contributor on both sides of the puck, but primarily he needs to step up offensively.

Long-Term Status:

He has a huge amount of raw potential and I am confident he will reach most of it. He is a huge center who in my opinion will be a terrific source of secondary scoring in the future, unfortunately its not in the near future as he needs a lot of work refining his game before he can even begin to contemplate signing an Entry Level Contract. Down the line, I expect him to be a premier two-way, big body, 2nd line center.

Contract Status:

NO SIGNED TO AN NHL CONTRACT

Review:

If hockey runs in the blood as they say, then Brock Nelson is destined for greatness. His Grandfather is Billy Christian, a Minnesota hockey legend who won Gold at the 1960 Olympics, and his uncle is ex-NHL'er Dave Christian, who played a key role on the 1980 USA Olympic 'Miracle on Ice' Gold Medal win at Lake Placid. With that type of family history, you would think the pressure of meeting those expectations would get to Brock Nelson, but as of now he has handled them well. Despite having very limited ice-time at UND  (only because he was a freshman) and getting healthy scratched once or twice, he was able to put up a few points and really displayed a good defensive game that was crucial to the role he was used in (checking forward). That willingness to play a versatile game and adapt to whatever role the coach asked him to be in, really came in handy with Team USA at the WJC. He made the roster by taking a 4th line checking role, and did hell of a job playing a physical, hard-working style game. That hard-working style of play at the WJC's and with UND, earned him more ice-time down the stretch with North Dakota and he took full advantage of it as he finished the last 8 games of the season with 8 points. Unfortunately his season ended a little bit earlier than it should have due to a broken tailbone that he suffered in one of UND's playoff games. As a freshman, its expected that he would have some rough times throughout the year and most of those times happened early on. Once he was able to adapt to the faster pace and different style of play, his performance improved. Of the 2 games of his last 8 that I watched there were a few things that impressed me mightily. His vision and hockey sense are just off the charts, its obvious he has been around the game all his life as he can read a play better than a lot of people playing in the NHL. He also is very good with the puck, so those two characteristics together really make for a dangerous combo. I am very excited about him and I am sure we will see him in the NHL in a few years. 

Season Grade (A+ to F-): B

His stats weren't great, but the fact that he was able to earn more ice-time as the year went on proves to me that he was working hard enough and impressing enough to earn some more respect from his coach. UND's hockey program is one of the best in the country and to be able to earn more minutes as a freshman is something that should be noted. I also was very happy with his WJC performance, which in my opinion made me realize how willing he is to adapt to different and new situations which for a freshman in college, is an important aspect if he is going to develop the right way.

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