Avalanche coach Jared Bednar didn’t want to throw too much at Brock Nelson after he was acquired at last season’s trade deadline.

Early this season, he’s throwing everything but the kitchen sink at him.

Through four games, Nelson is averaging 20 minutes, 38 seconds, of ice-time per game, over 3 minutes more than he averaged at the end of last season. That number is even a bit deceiving, as the center had to leave Monday’s game against Buffalo for most of the third period due to a skate cut on his wrist. What’s fascinating is his deployment, because he’s actually playing far less at even strength than he did for the team just six months ago.

Special teams is more than making up the difference.

Nelson was always going to be a part of the power play in some capacity; it was just a matter of which one. Early in the season, the Avalanche have placed him on the top power play unit, which remains on the ice for the majority of each man-advantage. That skews everyone on that unit’s ice-time a bit, especially early in the season. Where the Avalanche are really utilizing Nelson is somewhere they really didn’t try last season.

The penalty kill.

Prior to training camp last season, Bednar said he might try Casey Mittelstadt on the penalty kill to keep him more involved. Because of all of Colorado’s early-season injuries, that never came to fruition. With a (mostly) healthy team to start this season, Bednar hasn’t been afraid to utilize Nelson while the team is shorthanded — a lot.

Early on, only Parker Kelly has played more shorthanded among Colorado forwards than Nelson. The New York Islanders did use Nelson a bit shorthanded during his time there, but it wasn’t a large role. During his 12 seasons on Long Island, his average shorthanded time-on-ice comes out to 48 seconds per game. While the season is still very young, he’s currently averaging over 2 minutes per game with the Avalanche shorthanded.

Bednar explained his reasoning for using the veteran so much in that role.

“(He’s) big, long, strong, smooth, fast, covers a lot of ice, and he’s a good left-handed centerman too,” Bednar said. “We had a group last year that we really trusted on the penalty kill, it was one of the best in the league last third of the season … but this year, new opportunity for a lot of guys in different roles.”

For a player, more ice time means you’re more involved in the game, so Nelson is enjoying the extra responsibility at the moment.

“(Penalty) killing is great. I think it’s a nice way to get in the game a little bit more,” Nelson said. “You have a block or a big kill to get momentum for the team. I think it’s a good way to springboard yourself with a little bit of energy, a little bit of momentum, and kind of lean into that to get into five-on-five and offense. It all ties together as a player, getting out there and getting into the flow of the game.”

At five-on-five, the Avalanche are still waiting for Nelson and that second line to make a big impact in a game. As a trio, they’ve been OK, but haven’t hit the level they found last postseason, although Bednar is giving them some tough defensive matchups. Through the first four games together, their expected goals-for percentage is just 44.96%, the lowest among all four Avalanche lines by a fair bit. They finally contributed a goal against the Sabres, but it came mostly off the back of a horrendous giveaway from Buffalo’s captain, Rasmus Dahlin.

The fact the Avalanche have gotten off to a strong start without much of a contribution from Nelson, Gabriel Landeskog, and Valeri Nichushkin is encouraging, but they won’t be able to hit their full potential until those guys get going.

What I’m hearing

• Erik Johnson is still going to be doing some work with Altitude, but ESPN hired him to work as an analyst during the 2025-26 season. It’s only been a few broadcasts, but he’s a natural at the gig. If he wants to continue down this path, he could be really good at it.
• At the NHL Board of Governors meeting, commissioner Gary Bettman expressed concern over the fact that the arena where NHL players will be competing at for the Olympics hasn’t even been built yet. “We’ve had a concern for the last two years on the progress of the rink — both rinks, but mainly the main one — but it’s the IOC’s responsibility,” Bettman said. The IOC says it will be done in time, and they will have test events before, but not an ideal situation for the NHL, and it raises concerns about player safety.

What I’m seeing

• No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer looks like the real deal for the Islanders. Unfortunately, the rest of the team is not good at all. It’s hard to imagine coach Patrick Roy lasting there beyond this season, if he even makes it through all 82 games to begin with.
• Former DU star Zeev Buium falling to 12th in his draft class never made sense at the time and looks even more ridiculous now. He’s currently quarterbacking the top power play in the NHL in Minnesota and has five points in four games. Sure, he has work to do defensively, but what 19-year-old doesn’t? There are a few teams that picked in front of the Wild that are going to be kicking themselves for not taking a high-end talent like Buium.

What I’m thinking

• This Buffalo mess has to be killing the NHL. It’s a huge market for the league. Whenever the playoff ratings come out, Buffalo is always near the top, despite the team not having been relevant for over a decade. The fans love hockey and just want to support a good team. Unfortunately, all their problems begin at the top with ownership, and until something happens there, it’s unlikely that much changes.
• It wouldn’t surprise me if the Los Angeles Kings completely miss the playoffs. As for which team replaces them, the Anaheim Ducks have been a lot of fun to watch early in the season.