The 2026 Winter Olympics will be here before you know it, as they start on February 6th and run through the 22nd. For one Minnesotan, it will mark the third time a family member has competed for gold, and what's even more remarkable is that all 3 generations come from the same Minnesota town with a population of about 2000 people.

Brock Nelson Set To Become 3rd Generation Olympian

Brock Nelson, who currently plays in the NHL for the Colorado Avalanche, was named to the 2026 USA Olympic Men's Hockey team, and he would be the third member of his family to compete at an Olympics. The kicker with Brock being named to the team is that he and the rest of his Olympian family hail from Warroad.

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A Family Tradition For Brock's Family

Brock's uncle, Dave Christian, was on the 1980 Olympic Ice Hockey team that was dubbed the 'Miracle on Ice' team and won the gold medal, as well as shocking the world by beating the USSR team in the process.

Dave's father, Bill, was also an Olympic Ice Hockey player, as he won gold in the 1960 games for Team USA.

There's Something In The Water In Warroad

Here is a fun statistic leading into this year's Olympics. Every U.S. Gold Medal won in Men's Ice Hockey has had a player from Warroad on its roster.

So is the expectation this year gold or bust for Team USA? I wouldn't want to put that much pressure on the team, but it certainly feels that way for the team that Bill Guerin has put together for the upcoming games.

You can watch the games this February on the Peacock App or on one of the NBCUniversal channels.

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