Nelson is in his sophomore season with the Coachella Valley Firebirds and has continued to be a defensive weapon on the team. Across 53 games this season, Nelson has scored seven goals and assisted on 19 goals. His physical style of play translates well on the ice and has shown that he’s willing to work hard to make it to the NHL level. He’s still just a bit too small to really crack the roster but given his current play and willingness to shoot the puck, his time is coming.

Nelson’s rookie season with the AHL Coachella Valley Firebirds was a great start to his professional career. He scored six goals and tallied 26 assists for 32 points in 72 games. Completing the entire season was a good milestone, giving him maximum development opportunity and a chance to show he can handle the grind of the long professional season. He did not get the opportunity to feature much on the powerplay, what with two incumbent AHL veteran blueliners ahead of him on the depth chart, but as with many other Kraken prospects, their time to take the reins is coming. Nelson projects to be more of an all-round presence than the more offensively gifted Lukas Dragicevic, but it won’t be long until those two are the Firebirds’ go-to offensive options on the back end. Nelson likes to shoot the puck, and peppered more than two per night on the opposing net, and isn’t afraid to lay the body. He could end up being another Ryker Evans for the Kraken and your fantasy squad alike.

Nelson appeared to take a step back offensively in 2023-2024 compared to years prior. He still managed 16 goals, 36 assists for 52 points in 54 games and sat eighth in goals by a defenseman. He will graduate to the Coachella Valley Firebirds in 2024-2025 and start gaining reps against men. A knock on Nelson in his draft year was his size, but he’s shown his offensive capability and powerful shot at the junior level. The AHL will show if he can grow his game enough to make the NHL.

Nelson was drafted 68th overall by the Kraken in the early third round.

Selected first overall in the 2020 OHL Draft, Nelson was robbed of his first season as the OHL canceled their season due to the pandemic. He has been making up for lost time, however, playing a prominent role for North Bay and holding a significant points lead among draft-eligible OHL blueliners.