The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today the team has acquired forward Brock Nelson and forward William Dufour from the New York Islanders in exchange for defenseman Oliver Kylington, forward Calum Ritchie, a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a conditional third-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft.
If the 2026 draft pick is transferred to Philadelphia subject to terms of a previous trade, or it is not transferred and is in the top-10 of the 2026 Draft, then Colorado will send its 2027 first-round pick to New York. Colorado’s conditional 2028 third-round pick will be met should the Avalanche win the 2025 Stanley Cup and Nelson plays in at least 50% of his team’s playoff games.
Nelson, 33, has registered 43 points (20g/23a) over 61 games with the Islanders this season, sharing the club lead in assists and points, ranking tied for second in goals as well as pacing the team outright with six game-winning tallies. During his 61 showings, Nelson has produced 11 multi-point games – three of which were three-point nights – to rank second on the club; the Islanders went 9-2-0 in those contests. Nelson suited up in his 900th career game on March 3. He enters Saturday operating at a career-high 52.8% in the face-off dot.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound center was a member of Team USA at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off in February, appearing in all four games (0g/0a) for the Stars and Stripes that finished as the tournament’s runner-up.
Now in his 12th NHL season, Nelson has compiled 574 points (295g/279a) in 901 career regular-season games – all with the Islanders. The centerman has also added 50 points (27g/23a) in 78 Stanley Cup Playoffs contests. Nelson posted career-bests in assists (39), points (75) and game-winning goals (8) in 2022-23 and was named to the NHL’s All-Star Game that season. His 36-goal total were one short of his personal-best in 2021-22 when he contributed 59 points for the Islanders. Nelson entered 2024-25 with three career seasons of 30-plus goals (2021-24) and five career campaigns of registering at least 50 points. He’s also cleared 60 points on two occasions with his career-high of 75 in 2022-23 and a 69-point (34g/35a) output last season.
Included in Nelson’s 78 postseason appearances, he set playoff career-highs in games played (22), goals (9) and assists (9) in 2020 to help New York reach its first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since the 1992-93 campaign. He shared the team-lead in goals and game-winning tallies (3) that postseason, and finished second in points. Nelson chipped in 12 points (7g/5a) in 19 games the following postseason to help the Islanders finish as one of the last four teams remaining for the second consecutive season.
A native of Warroad, Minn., Nelson had suited up in all 61 games for the Islanders in 2024-25. Seven of his 13 career regular-seasons have seen him dress in every New York game that year, while his 82 showings in 2017-18 shared the league-lead. Nelson’s 227 consecutive games played enters tonight in a tie for the NHL’s 25th-longest active “Iron Man” streak.
Originally drafted in the first round (30th overall) by the Islanders in the 2010 NHL Draft, Nelson appeared in 71 regular-season games with the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers over parts of the 2011-14 seasons and tallied 53 points (25g/28a). Prior to turning pro, he competed for the University of North Dakota for two seasons (2010-12) and finished his collegiate career with 68 points (36g/32a) in 84 contests.
On an international stage, Nelson has also competed for Team USA at the IIHF World Championship on five separate occasions (2014-17 and 2024) and won bronze in 2015. Additionally, captured bronze at the 2011 World Junior Championship.
Dufour, 23, has played in 45 games this season for the Bridgeport Islanders (AHL), registering 18 points (8g/10a). His goals and points total both rank seventh on the club. The 6-foot-3, 212-pound forward has suited up in 169 career AHL contests – all with Bridgeport – and has recorded 91 points (44g/47a) from 2022-25. He appeared in one game with the Islanders’ parent club on Jan. 18, 2023.
A native of Quebec City, Quebec, Dufour played four QMJHL seasons for Rouyn-Noranda, Chicoutimi, Drummondville and Saint John from 2018-22. His Major Junior career consisted of 221 points (110g/111a) in 203 games, including a 56g/60a campaign when he led the league in goals and was awarded the Michel Briere Trophy as the league’s most valuable player. That same season with Saint John, Dufour won the Memorial Cup and was selected as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after leading the showcase with eight points (7g/1a).
Dufour was originally drafted by the Islanders in the fifth round (152nd overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Kylington signed as a free agent with Colorado on August 5, 2024 and played in 13 games for the Avs this season, recording four points (1g/3a). Ritchie was Colorado’s first draft pick (27th overall) in 2023 and appeared in the club’s first seven games of this season.
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