Eight years ago, Jaxon Nelson was a bit of a hockey curiosity. A farm kid from Magnolia in southwestern Minnesota, Nelson played high school hockey at nearby Luverne and racked up points by the bushel for the Cardinals at a young age.
- He had 32 goals and 42 assists as an eighth-grader in 2013-14 — and led Luverne to its first state tournament appearance.
- A year later, the then-6-1, 180-pound freshman amassed 45 goals and 47 assists — numbers that led to a scholarship offer from Don Lucia and a verbal commitment to the Gophers.
- He wrapped up his prep career with 78 goals and 46 assists in 28 games as a sophomore in 2015-16 before embarking on a three-year stay in the USHL.
Eight years later, Nelson is a Gophers senior who's playing key roles as a leader and two-way center for a team that's ranked No. 1 in the country and carries national championship aspirations. Nelson and the Big Ten regular-season champion Gophers begin their postseason against Michigan State at 8 p.m. Saturday at 3M Arena at Mariucci in a one-game semifinal in the Big Ten tournament.
"It's a great group of guys,'' Nelson said of the Gophers. "It's been fun to lead this team, and I think we've got a good strong playoff run here.''
At 6-4 and 225 pounds, Nelson has methodically developed into a dependable performer for the Gophers. He's posted career highs of seven goals and 14 assists this season, but it's his willingness to do the dirty work — winning faceoffs, blocking shots, killing penalties — that define his all-around game.
"He works his tail off and is always about his teammates,'' Gophers coach Bob Motzko said. "He's having his best year since he's been here. He's always had the talent, but now he's putting it together.''
Nelson and linemates Mason Nevers and Bryce Brodzinski have become a strong complement to the highly productive line of Logan Cooley centering Matthew Knies and Jimmy Snuggerud. The Nelson line has combined for 31 goals and 35 assists, and Nevers believes the center's offensive improvement is a big reason why.
"He was always this big, strong, two-way defensive center,'' Nevers said. "As he's progressed here at the U, he's gotten a lot more offensive-minded in his game. … He finds little spots; he makes little plays that don't go unnoticed when you play with him.''
Nelson also has shown a knack for coming up big in important situations, such as scoring the winning goal in the 2021 Big Ten tournament championship game against Wisconsin and assisting on the overtime winner against Massachusetts in last year's NCAA tournament.
