Nelson comes from a decorated hockey lineage. His family tree includes former members of the U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, his grandfather Bill Christian, his great uncles Roger and Gordon Christian, who founded their own hockey stick company, and a former NHLer uncle Dave Christian. But even with a hockey bloodline, Nelson felt like a small town kid in pursuit of a grandiose dream.
The current Islanders forward, and leading goal-scorer, admits he was a late bloomer, and that getting drafted wasn't on the radar until his junior year of high school. Nelson knew his projected range was anywhere between the 25th pick and the 40th pick, but he had a hunch when the Islanders took action.
"We went with no real expectations," Nelson explained. "I'd had a pretty good interview with the [Islanders] and knew they were kind of interested. [Director of Amateur Scouting] Trent Klatt came up to Warroad and did a little scouting trip. He had me take a little test and check-in. So, I knew there was some interest. When they made the move, there was a little foreshadowing where I thought it could maybe happen. Trent was actually there. He didn't go up with them for the first pick, but then they brought him up there for the second pick."