After the end of World War II John Nicholas began playing ice hockey at the St. Moritz ice rink in Melbourne. From the mid-1940s to the early 1960s Nicholas played for a plethora of teams in the area including the Eastern Suburbs, the Pirates, the Monarchs, and the Blackhawks. At state level he represented Victoria where he won five Goodall Cups (1949–52, 1954, 1962). Despite being a hard and rugged competitor, Nicholas was the inaugural winner of the Presidents Medal as the VIHA’s best and fairest player. In 1964 he represented Australia at the Innsbruck Olympics playing in all six matches for the team. Sadly Nicholas was only 37-years-old when he died in 1966. From his death until 2000 the John Nicholas Memorial Trophy was awarded to the MVP in the Goodall Cup before the cup became the prize awarded to the winners of the Australian Ice Hockey League.
Australia