Brock Nelson’s return to UBS Arena comes as a link to a now bygone Islanders era

Kyle MacLean did not know Brock Nelson personally while climbing through the Islanders organization.

Still, the Islanders’ forever No. 29 — apologies to Jonathan Drouin — left the same sort of impression on the undrafted free agent as he did on the fan base, which rapturously welcomed Nelson back to UBS Arena on Thursday night as a member of the Avalanche.

“Just when you thought of the Islanders, what an Islander is,” MacLean, who spent three seasons in the AHL before a January 2023 call-up, told The Post on Thursday morning, “I think he represented that really well.”

Nelson was always understated, always underrated, always there.

His 901 games as an Islander rank fifth in franchise history, and his 65 goals at UBS Arena — including the first scored by an Islander — are more than anyone.

Amid the post-Lou Lamoriello roster turnover, there are suddenly few links remaining to the halcyon days of the mid-2010s — the Islanders’ Game 6 triumph over the Panthers in 2016, the stint at Barclays Center, the return to the Coliseum, even the pandemic teams that came so tantalizingly close to the Stanley Cup Final.

Nelson, who scrapped his way up the lineup playing as the No. 3 center behind John Tavares and Frans Nielsen, finally getting his first 30-goal season at age 30 and first All-Star selection at 31, was as good an avatar for the franchise as anyone, save perhaps the Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas, Cal Clutterbuck trio.

There soon will be even fewer links left to that time, with Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau both on expiring contracts and facing decision points soon.

Nelson, after getting in from Denver on Wednesday, met up with Josh Bailey and Clutterbuck at the latter’s house.

Bailey is on the team’s radio broadcast; Clutterbuck is fast becoming a fixture on its MSG broadcast.

“Kids ran around, having a good time,” said Nelson, who brought his family along for the Avs’ swing through the tri-state area. “It’s fun to get the kids and families together, too, outside the game. Obviously, they act like no time has passed. They start running around, having the best time ever, so that was fun.”

Adults know better.

When Nelson was traded last March, having failed to agree on a contract extension with Lamoriello, he was torn away from an outing to the driving range with his Islanders teammates in San Jose, Calif., his phone ringing too often to bother trying to stay.

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That was the end of something.

Later that night, with the deal finalized but Nelson unable to get on a plane to meet the Avalanche until the morning, he met his suddenly former teammates one last time.

“We were expecting it, but when it did happen, it sets in that you’re losing a teammate and a really good guy,” MacLean said. “A big piece of the locker room. So I remember that out in San Jose, we got to spend a little bit of a night together back at the hotel. A lot of the guys. It was a good little sendoff.”

For most of the time leading up to the deal, Nelson remained stoic about the whole thing, steadfastly insisting on going about business normally.

The mask was up Thursday morning, too.

Mostly.

“It’s more fun to see everybody,” Nelson said. “Walk in Garden City, go and get a coffee. I went and got a coffee with [Kyle Palmieri]. I remember the workers there a little bit. Just a little bit of everything.

“It’s still so familiar. Obviously, it’s not home right now, but it was for a long time. A lot of great memories. It’ll be fun. It’s fun being here, reminiscing about different times. Guys asked me about when the building opened. I was telling them about how we had the 13-game road trip to open up [in 2021-22] and how crazy that was.”

That is just one of the moments which bubbled up for Nelson being here again.

“Opening night here, when UBS first opened up. First goal. A lot of different memories,” he said. “Beau’s goal back in the Coliseum against Tampa. Bails’ OT goal [against Pittsburgh in 2018]. There’s a number of different moments and times that stick out.”

It’s a thin line between feeling like an era is ending and knowing that it’s over.

Nelson leaving the Islanders, maybe even more than Lamoriello leaving the Islanders, signified that the era was over.

Nelson, whose name will one day adorn the Islanders’ Ring of Honor, is much like everyone else in that he is still getting his head around that fact.

“It’s crazy how much time has flown,” he said. “But I’m fortunate to spend a great portion of my life here and call it home.”