{"id":407220,"date":"2026-01-14T13:35:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T13:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/407220\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T13:35:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T13:35:15","slug":"nick-lardis-getting-comfortable-a-month-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/407220\/","title":{"rendered":"Nick Lardis getting comfortable a month in"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a wild 24 hours for Chicago Blackhawks forward Nick Lardis<\/a> on Dec. 13. Connor Bedard had gone down with a shoulder injury<\/a> the day before in St. Louis, and the Hawks suddenly needed a forward who could score.<\/p>\n

The Rockford IceHogs were getting ready for a road trip to the Grand Rapids Griffins in a big-time matchup versus the best team in the AHL. They ended up without their offensive juggernaut in that game because, well, the Hawks\u2019 desperate times called for desperate measures.<\/p>\n

Lardis was called up from Rockford to join the Hawks on the second half of a back-to-back against the Detroit Red Wings. He led the team on the ice, took a rookie lap and created a memory that was just a dream hours prior.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were heading to Grand Rapids (that) night, we were about 15 minutes out and I got a call, so we had to turn the buses back around,\u201d Lardis said after the Detroit game. \u201cI didn\u2019t go to bed until 3 or 4 a.m. It was hard to sleep, but it was a cool memory.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hawks lost 4-0 to the Red Wings, but it was a night Lardis will never forget. Add in playing Patrick Kane, and it was a marquee NHL debut.<\/p>\n

A month later, Lardis is getting settled and learning the ways of the NHL. He\u2019s played against Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and Connor McDavid up to this point, so there\u2019s no shame that he still gets a little starstruck.<\/p>\n

\"ChicagoChicago Blackhawks’ Nick Lardis shoots on goal during the first period against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Dec. 28, 2025, at the United Center. (Dominic Di Palermo\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up, watching all those guys, playing (Ovechkin) a couple games ago and Crosby, and even playing the (Toronto Maple Leafs), that was pretty special,\u201d Lardis said. \u201cI feel like as the games go on, it feels a little more normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 20-year-old from the Toronto area has played 15 games since being recalled from the AHL. He has five points (four goals, one assist) in that span.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s letting the puck fly, exactly like he did in Rockford and with the OHL\u2019s Brantford Bulldogs. He scored 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) with the IceHogs this year and 117 points (71 goals, 46 assists) in Brantford in 2024-25.<\/p>\n

The NHL is a different beast, though, something that Lardis quickly learned. Everyone\u2019s faster, stronger and doesn\u2019t give their graces to opposing rookies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest (adjustment) is system-wise, the first chunk of games I played, you\u2019re thinking a little more than you\u2019re playing,\u201d Lardis said. \u201cYou play almost every day, so there\u2019s not really a practice day where you get to learn it all.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve gotten into a good rhythm here the past couple of games. More flowing and playing with my strengths and those systems feel a little more natural now.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was placed in a line with Teuvo Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen at left wing and Oliver Moore at center. The group of forwards has impressed with the vast amount of scoring chances they\u2019ve created, and it seems to be a picture-perfect spot for Lardis.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all fit each other\u2019s playing styles,\u201d Lardis said. \u201c(Moore), he drives it with his speed and Teuvo, the way he thinks the game out there is so smart.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe could find us in any situation when he has the puck on his stick, so I just try to get open for a good shot. I think we complement each other really well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The adjustment is smoother thanks to a young Hawks locker room, where the mood is better than in recent years. Lardis has been speaking with Bedard when it comes to shooting and how to create better shots for himself and his teammates.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot as much like the shot itself, but finding lanes for shots, we\u2019ve talked a lot about that, even last game on the bench we were talking about it,\u201d Lardis said. \u201cIt\u2019s cool to pick his brain a little bit to see what he\u2019s done at this level and how he\u2019s been successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lardis\u2019s magnum opus with the Hawks so far was his game-winning goal<\/a> on Dec. 27 at American Airlines Arena versus the Dallas Stars. In the fourth round of the shootout, the rookie sent a shot past goaltender Jake Oettinger for the huge road win.<\/p>\n

He got cheers from the United Center crowd on Dec. 30 when he led the shootout attempts against the New York Islanders. Fans have been eager for his call-up from Rockford, and he\u2019s becoming a fan favorite.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cheers you get, not just me but all the players, it gets us going,\u201d Lardis said. \u201cIt was pretty special against the Islanders, hearing the cheers when I was going off for that shootout.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was a wild 24 hours for Chicago Blackhawks forward Nick Lardis on Dec. 13. Connor Bedard had…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407221,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5115],"tags":[521,37,96,5263,508,5,3140,4,292,20307,492],"class_list":{"0":"post-407220","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-blackhawks","8":"tag-blackhawks","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-blackhawks","11":"tag-chicagoblackhawks","12":"tag-connor-bedard","13":"tag-hockey","14":"tag-jeff-blashill","15":"tag-nhl","16":"tag-nhl-hockey","17":"tag-nick-lardis","18":"tag-rockford-icehogs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115893720171763352","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407220\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}