Color of Hockey: ‘Mighty Ducks’ franchise boosts Nelson’s off-ice career

Facing a Connor McDavid slap shot is a daunting task under normal circumstances. Try doing it wearing goalie gloves on the wrong hand.

That’s what Chris Nelson did when he was in goal for a BetMGM commercial featuring the Edmonton Oilers center and Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky that began airing in early October.

“Wardrobe assumed that all goaltenders catch with their left hand and not their right,” said Nelson, who is left-handed and catches with his right hand. “So now I’m playing opposite hand than what I normally play, and I’ve got Connor McDavid taking slap shots from the hashmarks — 15-20 feet out — and I have the whole world watching. A little bit of pressure.”

The wardrobe malfunction was all good with Nelson. The commercial is part of a busy streak for the former University of Wisconsin defenseman and New Jersey Devils prospect who is seemingly everywhere in Hollywood these days, both in front of the camera and behind it.

In addition to the BetMGM ad, Nelson appears in a hockey-themed T-Mobile commercial where he and an opposing player take a face-off using foam pool noodles.

He has a role and was as technical adviser for “Your Place or Mine,” a romantic comedy starring Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher that’s scheduled to be available on Netflix on Feb. 10, 2023.

But Nelson’s biggest role in this run was as hockey technical advisor for the second season of “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers” series on Disney+. The 53-year-old Philadelphia native trained the actors and choreographed all the on-ice scenes.

“Chris was an absolute MVP on our staff,” said Josh Goldsmith, a “Game Changers” executive producer and showrunner with his wife, Cathy Yuspa. “There was no way we could have done the show without him. He brought incredible ability to help us understand what goes on on the ice and help stage it and choreograph it in really visually interesting ways.”

Melissa Kosar, the show’s co-executive producer and director for three episodes this season, appreciated having Nelson on the set for the action scenes and to just talk hockey.

“Being able to speak the same sports language as Chris, we were able to push each other creatively to incorporate some really fun and special hockey sequences,” said Kosar, a diehard Chicago Blackhawks fan and an avid recreational hockey player who wore her skates while directing on-ice scenes for the show. “For directors who might not have that background, they were able to lean on Chris’ expertise.”

So were the actors, who Nelson…