Warroad’s Olympic hockey legacy lives on: Could Team USA bring home another gold medal to the Minnesota town?
Minnesota’s hockey hotbed could celebrate a third family gold medal as Brock Nelson skates for Team USA in 2026.
If you’ve never heard of Warroad, in Roseau County, Minnesota, you’re probably not alone. Yet this small city of fewer than 2,000 residents has already produced two Olympic gold medalists and could soon celebrate a third.
Warroad is the hometown of Brock Nelson, the NHL veteran set to represent Team USA in men’s ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. The Colorado Avalanche forward has a chance not only to become the third Olympic champion from Warroad, but also the third member of the same family to win gold in the very same event.
A family legacy of Olympic gold
The pressure is real for Nelson, who has a proud family history to match.
His uncle, Dave Christian, was part of the iconic U.S. men’s ice hockey team that won gold in the “Miracle on Ice” at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, one of the most celebrated moments in American sports history.
Two decades earlier, Nelson’s grandfather, Bill Christian, accomplished the same feat at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley.
Those remain the only two times Team USA has captured Olympic gold in men’s ice hockey. If Nelson can help deliver another title in 2026, he would complete a remarkable three-generation story and become the first of the trio to win Olympic gold outside the United States.
What awaits Team USA in 2026
Team USA opens round-robin play against Latvia on Feb. 12, followed by Denmark on Feb. 14 and Germany on Feb. 15.
In an unusual format, all 12 teams at the 2026 Olympic tournament will advance to the playoff stage, which begins Feb. 17. The top four teams from the round robin will earn direct passage to the quarterfinals, which start Feb. 18. The gold medal game is scheduled for Feb. 22.
If history is any guide, Warroad may once again find itself at the center of American Olympic legacy. And if genetics count for anything, Nelson has as good a shot as anyone.
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