The namesake meant more than the actual award for Thor Nelson.
The National Collegiate Hockey Conference honored Nelson in September as the winner of the Mark Rudolph Officiating Achievement Award.
The award is presented to an individual “who, through dedicated effort and service, both on and off the ice, has achieved a distinguished accomplishment during the previous NCHC season, and who by his actions has significantly enhanced the NCHC and its officiating program.”
Rudolph, a long-time official and administrator, established USA Hockey’s National Officiating program, which helped many officials get their start, including Nelson.
“It was unexpected, but to me this is an honor because of Mark,” Nelson said. “Mark was the guy that got me started way back when, I got my feet wet in the development program because of him, so to get honored with an award named after him, that’s about as meaningful as it can get.”
When Nelson first got into officiating, trying to stay in the game after his playing days were over, he got to know Rudolph, who helped guide him through the officiating ranks.
What followed was a distinguished career as NHL linesman. Nelson worked more than 1,000 career NHL games and officiated in the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics. Nelson also worked the NHL playoffs in seven different seasons and was selected to officiate the 2004 NHL All-Star Game.
His on-ice career as an official came to a premature end in 2013 for concussion-related reasons, but Nelson has continued to work as North Dakota’s referee-in-chief for USA Hockey. Since 2022-23, he has also been a supervisor for the NCHC officiating staff.
In his roles with both the state of North Dakota and the NCHC, Nelson says the most rewarding thing has been helping other officials, similar to how Rudolph helped him early in his career.
“You know, just being able to give guidance to young officials and helping them learn their way through the system,” Nelson said. “I’ve got a position now where I can help others work to try and reach whatever their goals are in the game in the officiating space. Hopefully through that I can help the next generation of officials reach their goals.”
One of those younger officials is Nelson’s son, Odin, who is an ECHL linesman and will also be working his first AHL games this season.
“I’m so proud to see him climb through and go through the North American [Hockey League] and then the USHL to keep working his way up to where he is now,” Nelson said. “Seeing him chase the dream, that to me is pretty rewarding.”
When talking to Nelson, one of the first things that stands out is how much he’s supportive and wants to talk about others – like his son’s current career or the namesake for his recent award. One of the last things Nelson wants to talk about is himself, which is one of the reasons he was honored.
“Thor has been a great addition to the NCHC officiating staff over the last few years,” NCHC Commissioner Heather Weems said. “As a long-time NHL linesman, he has been beneficial to our on-ice officials and has increased officiating expertise and credibility within the conference.”
Weems added that Nelson is one of the most selfless people she knows, as he’s always willing to give his time to youth and adaptive sports in North Dakota. She described Nelson as a “consummate team player and community advocate.”
The Mark Rudolph Award has been around since 2013-14. By winning it this year, Nelson joined his good friend Mike Schmitt, who won the award in 2021.
Schmitt, fittingly, was the person that first introduced Nelson to Rudolph.
Intended or not, it all comes full circle.
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.
