Scott B. Nichol (born December 31, 1974) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

player. On June 5, 2013, he announced his retirement to accept a job as the director of player development for the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

, where he played from 2005 to 2009. In 2018, he was promoted to the general manager of the Predators'

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the lea ...

affiliate, the

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They are affiliated with the NHL's Nashvil ...

Playing career

Nichol was drafted in the 11th round, 272nd overall by the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, alon ...

in the

1993 NHL Entry Draft The 1993 NHL Entry Draft was the 31st NHL Entry Draft. It took place on June 26, 1993, at the Colisée de Québec in Quebec City, Quebec. First overall pick Alexandre Daigle is widely regarded today as one of the all-time greatest draft bust ...

. Nichol has represented the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are the third major professional ice hockey te ...

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Divisio ...

, and

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertain ...

during his NHL career. During the NHL lockout season of 2004–05, Nichol played for the London Racers in the

British Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...

, scoring 28 points in 24 games. In 1996 Nichol won the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

with the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...

. On December 21, 2006, Nichol made headlines when he blindsided

defenceman

Jaroslav Spacek Jaroslav (also written as Yaroslav or Jarosław in other Slavic languages) is a Czech and Slovak first name, pagan in origin. There are several possible origins of the name Jaroslav. It is very likely that originally the two elements of the na ...

with a punch to the head, after he thought Spacek made a dirty hit on him. The act earned Nichol a 9-game suspension. On December 3, 2007, he was suspended for five games for

cross-checking Cross-checking is an infraction in the sports of ice hockey and ringette where a player checks an opponent by using the shaft of their ice hockey stick or ringette stick with both hands. This article deals chiefly with ice hockey. In the rules of ...

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

forward

Patrice Brisebois Joseph Jean-Guy Patrice Brisebois (born January 27, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman for the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche, playing nearly 900 games with the former and 1,009 games overall. Brisebois was re ...

in the back of the head in a game December 1. Nichol was declared a repeat offender under the terms of the

NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement The NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is the basic contract between the National Hockey League (NHL) (32 team owners and NHL commissioner) and the NHL Players' Association (NHLPA), designed to be arrived at through the typical labour– ...

. Nichol signed a one-year deal, US$750,000 deal with the

on July 15, 2009. On March 4, 2010, Nichol was injured when

forward Maxim Lapierre hit him on a late and dangerous hit, leaving him with an upper body injury for seven days. On June 20, 2011, Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson announced that Nichol, and teammate Jamal Mayers, would not be resigned for the 2011–12 season. On July 5, 2011, Nichol was signed to a one-year contract with the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

. Nichol announced his retirement following the lockout shortened 2012–13 season on June 5, 2013. He was appointed the head of player development with former club, the

, a position that had been filled by former Predator and ex-teammate Martin Gelinas. In 2018, he was named the general manager of the Predators' affiliate in the

, the

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nichol, Scott 1974 births Living people Buffalo Sabres draft picks Buffalo Sabres players Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey centres Chicago Blackhawks players Detroit Vipers players Ice hockey people from Alberta London Racers players Milwaukee Admirals players Nashville Predators executives Nashville Predators players Portland Winterhawks players Rochester Americans players St. Louis Blues players San Jose Sharks players Sportspeople from Edmonton Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in England