Things were weird at the start of Nick Lardis’s professional career.
It began outside of the United Center with his assignment to Rockford. He spent the first couple of months of the 2025-26 season playing for the IceHogs.
Connor Bedard went down with a right shoulder injury on Dec. 12, sidelining him for 12 games. In response, the Hawks called up Lardis for the first time.
Lardis made the most of his initial NHL games, including a game-winning shootout goal against the Dallas Stars on Dec. 27. After his production slowed — caused mostly by a questionable fourth line placement — he returned to Rockford.
On March 7, he was called up to the Hawks for good. In 41 games, he scored 15 points (10 goals, five assists) with 12:40 average time on ice.
Blackhawks left wing Nick Lardis scores past Wild goalie Calvin Pickard during the first period of the preseason game at the United Center on Sept. 21, 2026, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
“I think I learned a lot, not just on the ice, but also on how to be a pro off the ice,” Lardis said on April 16. “There are a lot of great leaders here, and even in Rockford too, when I was down there.
“I think a big thing for me in my first pro year is learning, there are a lot of little details that (coach Jeff Blashill) wants me and the other guys to improve on. I think for this summer (it’s) my overall strength, I want to be a lot stronger and win more puck battles next year.”
Lardis looks to have taken those lessons to heart. As Year 2 zooms on, the 21-year-old wing is setting up for a potential breakout season.
He bulked up to 185 pounds — a 20-pound jump from his junior weigh-in and “just under” a 10-pound increase from the summer. His shot is stronger than ever and the confidence is aligned with it.
“Coming to my second year of camp, you’re feeling a lot more comfortable with the guys, coaching staff, management (and) trainers,” Lardis said on Friday. “It’s nice to come in here and have more confidence and swagger.
“What (Blashill) talked about is something I focused on throughout the summer, making sure I was consistently showing my speed. I feel like I didn’t do that enough last year and (I) want to make sure that I’m using and showing that on the ice.”
Blashill, who’s entering his second year as the Hawks coach, has noticed the new Lardis.
“I’d say Lardis had a pretty good first couple days,” Blashill said. “He looks stronger, more confident (and is) scoring at a pretty good rate.”
The scoring transferred to the United Center on Thursday, as the wing sounded the horn against the Wild in a preseason game on Monday. In the first period, he continued a solo breakaway despite being tripped, showing off fancy stick moves before securing the goal. The Hawks won the preseason game 4-3 in overtime with the help of Lardis and Bowen Byram’s hat trick.
“This summer, I thought I wanted to take big strides with my speed, show that more consistently, put on some strength, win more battles, and improve my two-way game,” Lardis said postgame. “I think if I could consistently improve on that every game, every practice, then hopefully those totals will go up.”
He should see an abundance of scoring chances in his presumed second line. Based on the last few practices, the second line will be Anton Frondell in the center with Tyler Bertuzzi and Lardis as the wings. If he keeps the early surge up, he’ll stay in the top six when Bedard returns.
“Frondell’s a great centerman, he plays really good in the middle of the ice, good on the face-off, really good in the offensive zone,” Lardis said. “Bertuzzi is a really good two-way player as well, I feel like he’s pretty underrated in the defensive zone.
Added Blashill: “I thought Frondell and Bertuzzi played really well together last year. Frondell has such efficient skill, but he also doesn’t overcomplicate the game. I think he plays a fairly direct style and so does (Bertuzzi), and then I thought with Nick, it gives them some added skill on that line and a guy who has the ability to finish.”
As the preseason concludes, he’ll take one more important lesson into his second pro season.
“Making sure I’m not cheating for offense,” Lardis said. “I’ve done a pretty good job at that, so (I) want to continue that into this year.”