Chicago Blackhawks prospect Nick Lardis is torching the OHL with his goal scoring

Most of the players who will likely help the Chicago Blackhawks get back into the playoffs someday are currently skating in the juniors, college, or the KHL.

Nick Lardis is one of those players.

He is a goal-scoring machine right now for the Brantford Bulldogs of the OHL. He has been so impressive this season that it is not crazy to think Lardis could make the Hawks opening night roster next season.

If there were no age-eligibility rules in the AHL, Lardis would likely be skating in Rockford right now since he signed his entry-level contract last year. Since he is still a teenager, he is ineligible to skate for the IceHogs until next season.

Instead, he is absolutely torching the OHL right now with his scoring.

The Hawks 2023 third-round pick has now reached 50 goals on the season. He is also the first player on the Bulldogs to ever reach 50 goals in a season.

He scored his 50th goal in the Bulldogs' 49th game. There is still another month and change left to go in Brantford's season that he might flirt with breaking the OHL single-season record for goals.

Lardis is considered the Hawks seventh-best prospect according to our Ethan Gawronski. The Athletic's Scott Wheeler just released his updated Blackhawks prospect rankings and he ranks Lardis at No. 8 in the Hawks farm system (a subscription is required to access content linked).

2023 first-round pick Oliver Moore has always been envisioned to be the perfect running mate for Connor Bedard on the top line of the Hawks next great team. Lardis' goal-scoring ability should not rule him out for that role either.

He is a natural athlete whose shot just keeps finding ways to get past opposing netminders. Although, Wheeler projects Lardis being more of a scorer on the second or third line.

CHGO's Blackhawks beat reporter and podcast co-host Mario Tirabassi has Lardis in his tier three level of prospects. That classification is reserved for good prospects who project to be complimentary players in the NHL. Think guys like Andrew Shaw and David Bolland.

However, the last Blackhawks prospect to lead the OHL in scoring was Alex DeBrincat and he went on to be a great linemate with Patrick Kane.

At least, Lardis is not naive to think he will make the jump to the NHL and automatically become a point-per-game player. He knows he has areas to work on if he is going to make in the NHL according to Chicago Sun-Times beat writer Ben Pope.

‘‘[I’m trying to] be more consistent getting to the net, being a little more physical around the net and making sure I’m in good position to be open for scoring chances,’’ Lardis said.

Pope checked in with Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson who is impressed with Lardis' OHL season, but knows Lardis has to work on his game to become a viable NHL forward.

‘‘He’s getting into those high-danger scoring areas,’’ Davidson said. ‘‘Now, as you move up the ranks, you have to learn how to get to those areas because it becomes harder against better defenders. But the fact there’s a concerted effort to get closer to the net, and [he’s] also creating shot opportunities that are either one-touch or very quickly off his stick . . . that’s what he’s done really well this year. You hope that progresses.’’

What Lardis is doing this season at least provides hope that better players are on their way and that hopefully means better days are coming for the Blackhawks.