2023 NHL Draft: Recapping the Blackhawks’ two third-round picks

The Blackhawks continued Day 2 at the draft with two selections in the third round.

Round 3, Pick 67: Forward Nick Lardis

With their first pick of the third round, the Blackhawks selected Nick Lardis, who played for both the Peterborough Petes and Hamilton Bulldogs in OHL this past season. The winger ended up with 65 points (37 G, 28 A) in 69 games both teams, but it was after his trade to the Bulldogs that he really took off with 46 points (25 G, 21 A) in 33 games.

Lardis fits the mold Kyle Davidson has been targeting this draft: high energy, competitive and, above all, a great skater. He’s one of the youngest in the draft at still just 17 – he’ll turn 18 on July 8 – and is on the smaller side at 5-foot-11 and 170-pounds, but he has some enticing raw skills that the Blackhawks have time to invest in developmentally.  

Round 3, Pick 93: Forward Jiri Felcman

For their second pick in this round, the Blackhawks selected Jiri Felcman, 6-4, 198 pound center out of Switerland. He had 31 points (10 G, 21 A) in 40 games for Langnau U20 (U20-Elit) in the regular season and added another nine points (4 G, 4 A) in eight playoff games last season. On the international stage with Team Czechia this past season, Felcman notched a goal and an assist in five games at the 2023 U18 World Junior Champtionship, and he scored one goal at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

Felcman was ranked #67 by NHL Central Scouting for European Skaters.

Not many scouting reports exist for Felcman, but here is a quick snippet from Marek Novotny of EP Rinkside:

Felcman is a big, inside-driven forward who’s got decent mobility. His stickhandling and puck protection abilities allow him to play between the dots and repel opponents. He’s also hard to knock off the puck.