Nick's early hockey days were spent in his place of birth, Shrewsbury, a sleepy market town in England with a population around 75000. The British Isles youth scene was producing some talented players, but the talent across the board wasn't too great, so in Nick's early days in youth hockey he tended to stand out above the rest. He was bigger than most kids, more physical than the bigger kids in his age group, and was still routinely the fastest skater on the ice despite his size.

At the age of 10, Nick scored 150 goals in 30 games for the Shrewsbury Blues, who were a team for 11 and 12 year olds that Nick was advanced into due to his skill level. The Blues beat better youth teams in London and Manchester to become national champions for their age group, which led to Nick's parents deciding on a move to Canada in order to further Nick's potential career. This led to the Grande Prairie Gryphons in an elite Alberta bantam league, then the Colorado Raptors, and the rest is history.

Part of Nick's development as a hockey player was also aided by the fact he was a fair rugby and soccer player, doing well for school teams in both sports. Hockey will always be his first love, but some of the training he did in both sports when he was a kid is still done by him to this day....