Career
Nolan was drafted 282nd overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1994 National Hockey League Entry Draft, but never managed to play in the National Hockey League. Nolan spent most of his career in the minor leagues of North American hockey, most notably playing with the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League for five seasons before opting to pursue a European career. Nolan joined Graz 99ers of the Austrian Hockey League in 2007. After one season he then moved on to The Human Context Dinamo Minsk in the newly formed Kontinental Hockey League.
He left Minsk after only 12 games on November 27, 2008 and moved to try out with Finnish club, Lukko Rauma.
His trial with Lukko ended unsuccessfully and moved further to Frankfurt Lions without making an appearance before he left on January 9, 2009, to Austrian club the, Vienna Capitals.