Scott Nichol concedes that his nose remains sore after getting a stick facial wicked enough to require a few stitches last week.  He’s not certain if it’s broken because it wasn’t X-rayed.  After all, he said, what could they do about that anyway? 

But because he stands at everybody else’s elbow level, the 5-foot-9 Nichol added, his nose keeps getting popped. 

“I guess it’s one of the job hazards,” Nichol said with a shrug. 

He wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Nichol, a crash test dummy on skates, has become a Shark Tank fan favorite for the way he throws his 180-pound body around — and at opponents — with reckless abandon.  While Nichol averages a modest 13:10 of ice time a game, the veteran center makes the most of those minutes by dishing out, and receiving, one entertaining hit after another. 

He plays bigger than his actual size. 

“This is how I made it to the NHL,” said Nichol, 35, of his full-bore style. “ You lay your body on the line.” 

And on the ice, and into the boards and “… well, you get the idea. 

“When I had to play against him, you always had to make sure where he was,” Sharks captain Rob Blake said. “ You had to know because he would be coming at you as soon as you touched the puck.  That’s the effect he can have on you.  Every team has to account for him, and that’s what makes you appreciate him now that he’s on our side.” 

Nichol has earned admiration inside the Sharks room for the sort of mayhem he participated in a week ago.  He traded knuckles with Anaheim’s Kyle Chipchura — despite giving up six inches and several pounds — and then a few games later put his face in front of an opponent’s stick against Phoenix when he dropped to the ice to clear a puck. 

Afterward, he provided what thus far is the Sharks’ quote of the season: “I’ll take a broken nose for getting the puck out of the zone.” 

Dany Heatley may have been the marquee offseason acquisition and perhaps the player who ends up determining how far the Sharks go in the playoffs.  But it’s a testament to how much the Sharks valued Nichol that they reached out to him July 1, which was the first day teams could contact free agents. 

“We wanted to change the dynamic of our third and fourth lines with abrasive players, and Scotty fit that role,” Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. “ He’s not big, but every last ounce of him is used, night in and night out.” 

Nichol’s signing was intended to act as a sort of defibrillator and help jolt the Sharks’ heart — which had been diagnosed as weak after a painful series of playoff disappointments. 

“I play with a lot of jam and energy,” Nichol said. “ This is my first year here, so I can’t say this for sure, but maybe it’s not something that they’ve been used to.  I just try to be a guy who can change the momentum.” 

There’s a reason the Alberta native plays so hard every shift.  It took him years to crack an NHL lineup.  An 11th-round draft pick in 1993, he spent seven seasons in the minors.  He was with Rochester of the AHL so long (six years) that he was made captain. 

“It’s a kiss of death,” Nichol said. “ That means you’ve been there for a while.  But you don’t want to be in the minors.” 

He only had a couple of cups of coffee with the Buffalo Sabres by 2001, and he was in danger of becoming a hockey version of career farmhand Crash Davis.  But that year he was the final player to make the Calgary Flames roster. 

Since then, Nichol has treated each game like he’s in mortal fear of being sent back down — playing with Calgary, Chicago and Nashville before arriving in San Jose. 

Nichol’s numbers aren’t gaudy with one goal, six assists and 47 penalty minutes.  But he’s more than just a scrappy presence.  He’s a key member of the Sharks’ penalty-killing unit, which is rated No.  3 in the NHL.  He’s also stellar on faceoffs, winning 60.6 percent of his draws, good for third in the league. 

His checks draw the most attention, although sometimes to Nichol’s detriment.  He twice has been suspended for blindside hits.  He also taken his lumps with two concussions, including one that kept him out of 38 games last season. 

“I do get under people’s skin,” he said. “ Sometimes I do cross the line, but I would never go out there and try to hurt someone.  I play with emotion, and sometimes it gets the best of me.” 

If he does bite off more than he can chew against bigger opponents, Nichol added, teammates will jump in to bail him out of trouble. 

But, he added, “If you break your nose or get a knot on your head, hey, that’s happens.” 

At least the way he plays. 

Contact Mark Emmons at 408-920-5745.