Howdy y'all! I need some suggestions on what everyone has been doing without their normal NHL intake. Do I watch something else on TV, go out to the movies, spend time with my kids (just kidding, I'm a good dad, I do that sometimes already).

Over the next three weeks, we're going to dive into some of the different players on Olympic squads and let you know how we think they will finish their NHL season after returning from representing their country and playing some extra puck. This week we will focus on forwards.

Brock Nelson (Colorado Avalanche) – Nelson is having a career year in terms of goals and points in a season which is odd for a 34 year old who is almost at 1,000 career games, but he plays for the Avs. When Nate MacKinnon is on your team and you play with him on the powerplay, you're bound to get nice matchups and some good looks on the man advantage. 

After playing in the 2024 IIHF World Championship, the 4 Nations in 2025, and now the Olympics, Nelson has played a lot of extra hockey recently. Colorado's ultimate goal is another Stanley Cup and they need a 2C behind MacKinnon so to keep Nelson healthy for a deep run, I could see him going on some sort of "load management" schedule down the stretch to keep him fresh. He has had a relatively healthy career, playing in at least 80 games in eight of his 12 seasons, so while I don't expect this tournament to completely damage his body, the extra travel and the desire to play hockey into June will probably see him take at least a few games off.

Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado Avalanche) – There are a number of players who are going to Italy dinged up (heck, players play hurt most of the year anyway) because this is the first Olympics that the NHL is participating in in over a decade. And ever since training camp started with guys getting hurt early in the season (Connor Bedard, Victor Hedman, etc), I have been saying they are putting off major surgery for the chance to wear their countries sweater and then the player will figure it out after they return home. 

Landeskog is the first guy on my list of skaters who will probably not finish their regular season because of lingering injuries. Landy has earned the right to go play for his country after all of his sacrifices to the Avs organization and if they shut him down for the rest of the season, he should focus on being healthy if he is needed in the playoffs and for life after hockey.

Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche) – Not much to say with Nate Dogg. Winning is everything to him and he trains hard 24/7. He'll be ready to go down the stretch and will want to be the ninth player in history to have won a Stanley Cup and Olympic gold in the same season.

Roope Hintz (Dallas Stars) – The Finnish center is one of seven players to go to Italy for the Stars and he will play with two of his teammates, Mikko Rantanen and Esa Lindell. Roope Hintz and Rantanen will most likely be on the top line for the Suomi and thus, will be logging a lot of tough minutes throughout the tournament. Hintz is not what I'll call a band-aid boy, but he does seem to have some unfortunate injury luck over the years. Be cautious if trying to acquire him before your league's trade deadline.

Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) – Much like MacKinnon, I don't have much to say here. He is the best skill player in the game and even though he has played a ton of extra hockey the last few years, he'll be prepared. If you're an Oilers fan, you should be thankful Zach Hyman wasn't called as a replacement and Evan Bouchard got snubbed. Winning a Stanley Cup along with an Olympic gold will be enough fuel to keep him producing down the stretch.

Macklin Celebrini (San Jose Sharks) – The youngest player in the tournament has taken the NHL by storm in his second season. If this were 10 years ago, I would be cautious of the amount of hockey he has played the last year and a half, coming out of college where he played in less than 40 games. But nowadays, these kids train non-stop so I don't think he'll have a burnout the last quarter of the regular season. In fact, the Sharks are fighting for a playoff spot so he'll probably be tapped on the shoulder a lot for the remainder of this campaign.

Clayton Keller (Utah Mammoth) – The Mammoth are in the thick of a playoff hunt for the first time since 2020 and they'll need their leading point scorer for the remainder of the season. I don't think Keller will play a top-six role for Team USA, but I could see him missing Utah's first game back as they play on the first day that the NHL resumes.

JJ Peterka (Utah Mammoth) – Another member of the Mammoth, Peterka has the opportunity to play a big role for Team Germany. I don't think anyone is expecting Germany to get a medal, so he should be back in the states with plenty of time for their first game post break. 

Mark Stone (Vegas Golden Knights) – I believe Stone's nickname is "Mr. LTIR" so any extra hockey he gets to play will give us anxiety. Luckily, he will probably be playing a bottom-six role with Team Canada and strictly focused on the defensive side of the puck. However, it would have been nice for him to take three weeks off before lacing them up again, but the Golden Knights are in a tight division race this season and will need their stars to play down the stretch.

Jack Eichel (Vegas Golden Knights) – Eichel is another Golden Knight who has a long injury history. The American has already missed seven games thus far and much like Stone, Golden Knight fans and fantasy owners would like for him to take some time off. With all of the injuries to Vegas centers this season, Eichel has been relied on for a lot down the middle. If the coaching staff can do it, they'll try and get him as much rest as they can to end the year.

I hope you enjoy the games, being on the West Coast, they will be super early for me so I am going to have to set the ole coffee maker up with a timer. Have a great week!