Key Takeaways
- Brock Nelson and Sam Malinski are Minnesotan players on the Colorado Avalanche who will face the Minnesota Wild in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, giving them a chance to play “at home.”
- Nelson missed an invitation to the USA Hockey National Team Development Program at age 16, which would have placed him under current Wild coach John Hynes; he embraces his path as a “late bloomer.”
- Both players cherish their Minnesota high‑school hockey memories — Nelson at Warroad High and the state tournament at the Xcel Energy Center (“The X”), Malinski at Lakeville South and his Class AA tournament experience.
- Nelson’s college career at the University of North Dakota produced two WCHA tournament titles (2011, 2012) and successive postseason appearances at The X, while Malinski continued his development at Cornell.
- The Avalanche learned of the matchup after the Wild’s dramatic Game 6 win over the Stars, sparking a flood of supportive messages from friends and family back home.
- Despite the emotional significance of playing in Minnesota’s historic venues, both players intend to treat the series as a normal work trip, saving personal celebrations for the summer.
Brock Nelson’s hockey trajectory could have taken a very different turn had he been invited to the USA Hockey National Team Development Program when he was sixteen. That program would have placed him under the tutelage of John Hynes, who now coaches the Minnesota Wild. Nelson, however, never received that invitation and has come to view the missed opportunity as a blessing. Describing himself as a “late bloomer,” he values the route he took — staying in Minnesota and competing in the state high‑school tournament at the Xcel Energy Center, affectionately known as “The X.” He recalls the experience as the coolest moment of his high‑school career, noting that while the smaller‑school games weren’t sellouts like the Class AA matchups, the venue itself made the occasion unforgettable.
Sam Malinski shares a similar Minnesota pride. He played for Lakeville South, a Class AA school roughly thirty miles south of St. Paul, and helped his team finish third in the 2017 state tournament. That run included an overtime loss in the consolation game to Eden Prairie, a team featuring the future Avalanche center Casey Mittelstadt. Malinski says the prospect of facing Minnesota in the playoffs feels like any other home game; the nerves that once accompanied playing in front of a hometown crowd have faded with time.
The upcoming playoff series pits the Avalanche against the Wild, with Game 1 slated for Sunday night at Denver’s Ball Arena. Should the series extend, Games 3 and 4 will be held at the recently renamed Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul — a setting that carries special meaning for the two Minnesotan players. For Nelson, the chance to finally step onto the ice at The X during a Stanley Cup Playoff game marks a milestone in his thirteenth NHL season. He acknowledges the uniqueness of the moment but intends to treat it as “business as usual,” deliberately setting aside thoughts of seeing family and friends until the summer when the series concludes.
Nelson’s high‑school career at Warroad High School — a town of fewer than 2,000 residents situated about a six‑hour drive from the Twin Cities and just south of the Canadian border — is steeped in local lore. Warroad’s hockey tradition runs deep, and Nelson’s family is a notable part of that legacy: his uncle, grandfather, and great‑uncle are all United States Olympic gold‑medalists. He appeared in the state tournament twice, securing a third‑place finish in his junior year and a runner‑up position his senior season. After high school, Nelson spent two seasons at the University of North Dakota, where he continued to accumulate postseason experience in St. Paul. He captured the WCHA conference championship in 2011 and 2012, defeating the University of Denver in the final both years. Those college campaigns concluded at The X as well — a Frozen Four semifinal loss to Michigan in 2010 and a regional‑final loss to Minnesota in 2011.
Malinski’s path diverged after high school; he enrolled at Cornell University, where he honed his skills away from the Minnesota rink scene. Nonetheless, his roots remain firmly planted in the State of Hockey, and he looks forward to creating fresh memories alongside Nelson during the playoff bout.
The Avalanche learned of the matchup late Thursday night after the Wild clinched a hard‑fought Game 6 victory over the Dallas Stars. The win sparked a raucous celebration at the Grand Casino Arena, marking Minnesota’s first series triumph since 2015. In the immediate aftermath, Nelson’s phone began buzzing with text messages from friends and family back home, while Malinski noted that ticket requests have been manageable so far. An old neighbor even reached out to Nelson shortly after the Wild’s win, posing a rhetorical question about his chance to play at home in the next round.
Personal timelines add another layer of significance: Nelson was born exactly five months after the only Game 1 in Stanley Cup Final history featuring a Minnesota‑based team — the 1991 North Stars versus the Pittsburgh Penguins. Malinski was approaching his fifth birthday when the Wild made their deepest playoff run to date, reaching the Western Conference Final in 2003. He recalls attending a game with his grandfather and two brothers, watching stars like Mikko Koivu and Marian Gaborik — a memory that still resonates.
As the series unfolds, both Nelson and Malinski are eager to translate their lifelong affection for Minnesota hockey into on‑ice performance. While the setting evokes nostalgia and pride, they remain focused on the task at hand, aiming to forge new playoff memories that will linger long after the final whistle.