Since James Nicolaidis stepped on the ice at age three, hockey has helped shape who he is today. As the captain of the Poly Prep Varsity Hockey team, Nicolaidis leads and coaches with a tireless work ethic, passion and determination. Nicolaidis said, “I’m really, really proud of it. I love the role. I like to consider myself a leader, especially on that team, and [I] like to be able to use my voice and be the biggest supporter.”
Nicolaidis plays out of Abe Stark Rink in Coney Island both for Poly and for the Greater NY Stars, a club hockey organization. According to the NY Stars website, they have been operating out of Abe Stark Rink since 1967. “My biggest influence is probably my dad. He grew up playing hockey… in the same rink [I play in today]… and we like to go to Rangers games together.” After growing up in the club hockey scene, Nicolaidis came to Poly in third grade and stated, “right away… I knew that was the goal:… playing hockey for Poly.”
Although he began practicing with them in eighth grade, Nicolaidis officially joined the Poly Varsity Hockey team his freshman year, when the sport transitioned from a club to a varsity sport. The team is one of the founding members of the Big Apple Hockey League (BAHL), which consists of New York Catholic and independent schools from Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan, according to the Poly Prep website. Since the establishment of the league, Nicolaidis has evolved into a leader for the young team and was named captain his junior year. Nicolaidis stated, “I think I was chosen as captain because of the leadership skills I’ve obtained… I’m there to have fun through it all, but I’m able to use my voice well.” As a player and as a captain, Nicolaidis said, “I consider myself a very coachable kid. I can adapt to how they want a team to run and better myself as a leader.”
As he’s grown into his captaincy, Nicolaidis has learned what works for his team: a mix of support and accountability. This sentiment was echoed by his alternate captains, Beckett Zrihen ’26 and Max Ruggie ’27. Zrihen spoke to Nicolaidis’s ability to motivate when he said, “he’s definitely a role model for these kids…they follow his lead, whatever he’s doing, but also off the ice, people ask him questions about what they can do to help their game, and what they can do to help him and all the older players on the team.” Ruggie added, “He’ll cut me slack, but he’ll never let me just do nothing if I’m not playing well. He’ll tell me ‘you need to step it up.’”
Nicolaidis shapes the culture of his team through both his critiques and affirmations; however, he believes his impact as captain is most measurable when he brings who he is off the ice, on the ice. “I lead by example… if we’re in a bad spot, I am able to just [display a stronger] work ethic and it usually echoes from the rest of the team,” said Nicolaidis. Zrihen spoke about this leadership, saying “He’s really just the backbone of the team.”
This “work ethic” seeps into habits and practices in his everyday life. On his club team, while players typically arrive an hour before a game, Nicolaidis said, “I get there an hour and 15 minutes before, and I like to zone in. I listen to music, I take my stick before every single game, put on the same wax…and then everyone eventually comes in.”
Freshman Baxton Ling spoke to Nicolaidis’s mentorship and amiability when he said, “I’ve always seen him as someone I can look up to.” Camilla Lyubarov ’29 added, “he was our captain last year, when both [Ling and I] were in eighth grade, so he welcomed us in. He was super nice and friendly, both in the halls and on the rink.”
In his final season, Nicolaidis is particularly motivated to bring home a championship title. The team won the championship in 2020 for the first and only time since the BAHL’s institution, according to the Poly Prep Website. “We haven’t gotten one while I’ve been here…and it would be everything to me,” said Nicolaidis.
When he spoke to other parts of his identity and time spent outside of hockey, Nicolaidis said, “I love golfing [and] fishing,” but then added, “hockey is kind of everything.” While these other interests are necessary and important for him, he views hockey as a representation and extension of who he is. He stated, “Growing up, hockey would be my home base… honestly, it is the best way, I think, to have a childhood. I love every second of this.”
