[2] After his freshman year of high school, Nardella decided to drop baseball, basketball and golf to focus on hockey.
[4] He began the following season with the team but was unable to compete in the 2013 USA Hockey National Championships after suffering a knee injury in October.
[9] In his rookie season at Notre Dame, Nardella broke-out onto the collegiate scene tying fifth most points scored overall on the team and was ranked 13th for points-per-game nationally.
[13] In his senior year with the Irish, Nardella became the 54th player in program history to record 100 points as he reached a new career high.
[17] A few days later, he signed an amateur tryout agreement with the Capitals American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hershey Bears.
Following two further seasons with the Bears and helping the club capture the Calder Cup in the 2022–23 campaign, Nardella left as a free agent in the off-season and returned to Sweden and the SHL, signing a one-year contract with HV71 on July 31, 2023.
His great uncle Mike worked for the Chicago Blackhawks organization[3] and his second cousin Frank played NCAA hockey for Dartmouth College.