This has been an incredible season for former Oakville Ranger Nick Lardis - he's been a goal scoring machine for the Brantford Bulldogs, and he's a huge reason why his team is one of the best in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
Lardis' goal-scoring has continued all season and this weekend he broke the Brantford Bulldogs single-season record for goals in a season with 52 and currently leads the OHL in goal-scoring.
🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨#BFD | #Blackhawks | #OHL https://t.co/ezhduaHAbu pic.twitter.com/RiKLZIsdEz
— Brantford Bulldogs (@BulldogsOHL) February 9, 2025
The record was previously held by current Los Angeles Kings forward Artur Kaliyev.
"It was cool," Lardis said on breaking the goal-scoring record. "Obviously it was pretty surreal and a big honour."
Goal scoring has always been Lardis' strength and his shot specifically is one of the most lethal releases in his age group. His combination of pin-point accuracy and shot power has made his shot nearly impossible to save.
But all goal scorer's need to be set up, and Lardis has spent his entire Bulldogs career playing with another Oakville player Patrick Thomas.
Both Thomas and Lardis have been a dynamic duo like Brett Hull and Adam Oats for several seasons and are continuing to flourish.
"It's so much fun getting to play with him every night," Lardis said about Thomas.
"The way he thinks on the ice is pretty fun to watch and special to see. He's always one step ahead of everyone else on the ice and I'm really lucky to have him on my line."
Lardis is most likely playing his final year of junior hockey since he was signed by the Chicago Blackhawks near the end of last season which makes him eligible to play in the American Hockey League next season for Chicago's minor league team the Rockford Ice Hogs.
If he is able to play at a high level next season with the IceHogs, he could have the chance to get called up and play in his first NHL game which has been his dream since he was a child.
But right now, Lardis has the rest of the regular season and playoffs left with Brantford to focus on before he starts thinking about what next season may bring to him.