COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Fighting Irish hockey’s Danny Nelson, a co-captain of the 2025-26 team, has been named to Team USA’s roster for the 2026 IIHF Men’s World Championships USA Hockey announced Thursday afternoon. The team has their first preliminary contest Sunday (May 10) in Germany before they head to Zurich, Switzerland, for the 2026 edition of the tournament, May 15-31.
Nelson is coming off a strong third season with the Irish in which he appeared in 36 of the team’s 37 contests, in which his one game missed was due to international play.
The Maple Grove, Minnesota native amassed 13 goals, 16 assists, and 29 points last season with the Irish and led the team in powerplay goals with seven. The first line center for the program throughout the 2025-26 year, Nelson led one of the top face-off cores in college hockey and finished the season with 371 draw wins for 21st nationally and fourth among all Big Ten Conference centers. He also served as an instrumental piece of the team’s powerplay which finished the season ranked fourth at a rate of 27.5-percent. His seven goals on the man-advantage ranked 12th in the country while his presence on the team’s top unit helped produce 22 of the program’s 30 powerplay goals on the year.
Nelson is no stranger to international play, having participated in numerous tournaments abroad previously. He most recently competed at the annual Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland over the holiday break in December. A member of the U.S. Collegiate Selects team in its inaugural trip to the tournament, Nelson’s play helped advance the team to a berth in the championship game.
With his appearance at the IIHF Men’s World Championships upcoming, Nelson has now represented Team USA and USA Hockey at the world championships at the IIHF U17, U18, and U20 levels including the 2022 U17 World Championships, 2023 U18 World Championships, 2024 World Junior Championships, and 2025 World Junior Championships. In those four competitions he has combined for 23 points off 13 goals and 10 assists.