World Juniors: Blackhawks top prospect snubbed from Canada, Several others make USA Roster and More

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Joshua Deeds
December 2, 2024 (6:15 PM)

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The Chicago Blackhawks have one of the best prospect pipelines in the NHL, and it's not surprising that quite a few will make the trip to the IIHF World Juniors in 2025.

However, one Blackhawks prospect, Nick Lardis wasn't afforded the same opportunity as players like Oliver Moore and AJ Spellacy, who both received invites to camp from Team USA.

We expected Oliver Moore to get invited back by USA Hockey, and he did. AJ Spellacy, who opened a lot of eyes at the summer camp and again in the Blackhawks' training camp and preseason, also made the list.

For some reason unknown to us, Hockey Canada determined that Lardis was better left in the OHL with the Brantford Bulldogs. He's had a great season in the OHL, scoring 24 goals, and 40 points in 20 games.

Here's the final camp roster for Hockey Canada:

This is Lardis' 5th season in the OHL and his third season where he's scored 20+ goals

The snub is surprising, as the Bulldog is one of the Blackhawks' best prospects who is a skilled forward, and can shoot the puck with accuracy. A legitimate goal scorer.

Outside of Connor Bedard, the 19-year-old Lardis may be the Blackhawks' best bet for an elite goal scorer in the years to come. As much hype as Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore and other prospects have been creating, most of them would lean more toward playmakers than goal scorers. Lardis is a pure goal scorer.

Even he knows how to improve his game himself, and knows what it takes to get dirty goals too.

«I think just keeping doing what I'm doing in junior, but I think it's important for me to kind of learn the habits more, just kind of getting to the net,» Lardis said. «I think like 85 percent of the goals are scored right around the crease, so it's important for me to get to the net. I thought in the first scrimmage I did that and got rewarded there, too. I just want to keep continuing to do that more and kind of have that as a habit in my game.»

It isn't a matter of a lack of skill, or is it a matter of politics coming into play with Hockey Canada? Did he kick someone's dog?

How do we make sense of this one?