The Chicago Blackhawks have to be feeling good about Nick Lardis.
A third-round pick (67th overall) by Chicago in 2023, Lardis is in the midst of one of the best offensive seasons in recent OHL history.
The Brantford Bulldogs star recorded his seventh hat trick of the season on Sunday to lead his team to a 5-1 win over the Ottawa 67's.
Lardis, 19, now has a whopping 63 goals in 56 games and is second in the league with 103 points. He has three or more goals in four games this month and became just the eighth OHL player to score 50 goals in less than 50 games since 2000 earlier in February.
The native of Oakville, Ont. already has the most goals in an OHL season since current Detroit Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat potted 65 in 63 games with the Erie Otters in 2016-17 — and the Bulldogs still have nine games left this season.
"It's impressive," Blackhawks coach Anders Sorensen told reporters on Sunday, per Phillip Thompson of the Chicago Tribune. "We saw him a little bit last year in (AHL) Rockford for a game. He came in for the last two weeks of the season. You could really see the potential and ceiling of his talent level and it seems like he's really put it together this year."
Ernie Godden's OHL record for goals in a season is still safe, as he scored 87 times in 68 games for the Windsor Spitfires in 1980-81.
But Lardis has a very real shot to become the eighth player in OHL history to hit the 70-goal mark.
He also has a chance to make a title run. The Bulldogs entered Sunday night one point ahead of the Kingston Frontenacs for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
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