It has been a very promising first rookie season for Blackhawks prospect Nick Lardis. A strong showing with AHL Rockford has now been rewarded as the team announced that they’ve recalled the winger from the IceHogs. With the move, their roster is now at the maximum of 23 players.
It’s the first recall of his young career. The 20-year-old was a third-round pick by Chicago back in 2023 and has quickly surpassed that draft standing. Lardis had a dominant showing last season in his final year of major junior, collecting a league-high 71 goals and 46 assists in 65 regular season games with OHL Brantford before averaging more than two points per game in the playoffs.
While Lardis hasn’t been able to produce at quite the same rate with Rockford, he has still been quite productive. Entering play today, he sits sixth in AHL scoring and tops among rookies with 13 goals and 13 assists in 24 outings. In a league where only a handful of veterans typically surpass the point-per-game mark, having a first-year pro do so like Lardis is particularly impressive.
Considering how impactful he has been in the minors, it will be interesting to see how Chicago chooses to deploy Lardis. It wouldn’t make sense to pull him up to simply be an extra forward so it stands to reason that he should get his first taste of NHL action soon, perhaps as soon as tonight against Detroit.