In 1995, Nichols played for Newfoundland at the Canada Games, placing eighth. Between 1999 and 2011, Nichols lived in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, where he played third for the Brad Gushue rink. It was with Gushue where he represented Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics. With Gushue, Nichols has been to three Canadian Junior Curling Championships and fourteen Briers. He also qualified for the 2013 and 2014 Brier with Manitoba's Jeff Stoughton rink. He won the World Junior Curling Championships in 2001 with Gushue as well. He also won Gold in the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, at which he threw a spectacular shot - running back a guard onto another stone which picked another rock that was sitting in a dead zone - in the 6th end of the final against Finland, helping Canada to score 6. Certainly one thing to aid their victory was the fact that Nichols shot a blistering 97 percent in the gold medal final. "When he’s playing that way, we don’t lose very much," said Gushue. He is also the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier Champion, again as third for Gushue, defeating Kevin Koe 7-6 in the final, helping Gushue to win the Brier in his 14th appearance. This was an especially sweet victory for Nichols who had lost 3 Brier finals previously- with Gushue to Glenn Howard in 2007, with Stoughton to Brad Jacobs in 2013, with Gushue to Kevin Koe in 2016. The 2017 Brier was also in St. John's, where the Gushue team is from. The team went undefeated at the 2017 World Men's Curling Championship, defeating Niklas Edin in the final. At the 2018 Brier he went back-to-back as brier champion, but this time he was a member of Team Canada defeating Brendan Bottcher of Alberta 6-4 with fellow skip Brad Gushue. At the 2018 World Men's Curling Championship they would lose the final in a rematch against Sweden's Edin. They couldn't win three Brier's in a row, losing the 3 vs. 4 game of the 2019 Tim Hortons Brier to Brendan Bottcher. Nichols has won a career total of twelve Grand Slam of Curling events, ten with Gushue and two with Stoughton. He won his first at the 2010 The National, defeating Randy Ferbey in the final. He also won the National in 2013 and 2015. He won two Masters, two Canadian Open's, two Elite 10's and one Tour Challenge, Players' Championship and Champions Cup. He briefly retired from curling after the 2011 Brier, although he always suggested he might return at some point, which he did for the 2012-2013 season as Jeff Stoughton's lead. He would play 2 whole seasons with Jeff, winning a silver at the 2013 Brier, and in the middle of the 2013-2014 season moved to throwing second stones for Jeff, missing the playoffs at the Canadian Olympic Trials, but winning a bronze at the 2014 Brier. He left the Stoughton rink to reunite with Brad after the 2014 Brier. He won the Ford Hot Shots shot-making competition at the 2005 Brier, winning a two-year lease on a new Ford vehicle. Nichols also skipped team Newfoundland and Labrador with Shelley Nichols, Brent Hamilton and Jennifer Guzzwell to a Canadian Mixed Curling Championship in 2005.
