The similar paths — and different archetypes — of Oliver Moore and Nick Lardis

The Chicago Blackhawks leaned heavily on youth this past season, icing more rookies than any other team in the NHL as the organization continued pushing deeper into its rebuild timeline. With that young roster came a lot of growing pains, but also some really interesting and encouraging stories. In fact, two of the most intriguing forwards had their narratives start together: Oliver Moore and Nick Lardis each started the season with the IceHogs before eventually earning lengthy looks with the Blackhawks, with both appearing in more than 40 NHL games despite not spending the full season in Chicago. The two forwards arrived in very different ways stylistically, but both showed enough over their rookie campaigns to suggest they could become meaningful pieces of the Blackhawks’ next competitive core.

Oliver Moore

Moore’s rookie season with the Blackhawks felt a little like the team’s season as a whole: fast, energetic, and genuinely encouraging early on before fading down the stretch. That doesn’t mean it was disappointing, though. If anything, Moore’s first NHL season mostly reinforced why the Blackhawks were so excited about him as a prospect in the first place. The speed translated immediately, the defensive game looked significantly more polished than expected for a rookie and, even on nights when his offense didn\'t take off, Moore still consistently looked like a legitimate NHL player.

Moore finished the season with 19 points (5 G, 14 A) in 51 games, good for a 0.37 points-per-game rate. Those aren’t massive offensive totals, but the lack of top-level offense isn\'t surprising considering the stagnation we saw with his points in college. Points also don’t fully capture how promising large stretches of his season looked, though they do hint at the possibility of a hard cap on his offensive ceiling unless meaningful improvements come in the offensive zone.

That disconnect between process and production defined a lot of Moore’s rookie season offensively, but the encouraging part is that many of the underlying habits are already NHL-caliber. His skating was immediately impactful, which is not always guaranteed, even for elite skaters coming out of college or junior hockey. Plenty of prospects dominate lower levels with pure speed only to discover NHL defenders close gaps much quicker and eliminate space before those players can do much of anything, and that didn’t really happen with Moore.

Right away, Moore consistently pushed defenders backward through the neutral zone and supported breakouts effectively. His controlled entry rate landed in the 56th percentile, which is solid on its own, but he was especially effective at turning those entries into actual scoring chances: Moore ranked second on the team behind Connor Bedard in entries leading to scoring chances and finished in the 89th percentile league-wide. Even when he wasn’t directly picking up points, Moore often helped create cleaner offensive possessions simply because he could carry the puck through transition under control.

Moore was a natural at being able to drive up the middle to both exit and enter with possession:

Oliver Moore continues to make a strong case to stick at center. His ability to fly up the middle creates quick breakouts and zone entries like this one: pic.twitter.com/mhas0vvQp0

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 18, 2026

Here\'s Moore with a nifty spin move to evade defenders in the neutral zone:

Oliver Moore with a speedy spin-o-rama to enter the zone pic.twitter.com/5crEdaO9hI

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 16, 2026

A little chip to himself to get around defenders and enter the zone:

Moore with a chip-and-chase move to squeeze between two defenders and take a shot pic.twitter.com/eaAXp0BYHM

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 4, 2026

Another zone entry from Moore that led to a passing sequence and goal:

GOAL: Oliver Moore wheels in wide and makes a spinning pass to Donato, who slides it to Nick Lardis for a one-time goal. Beautiful goal pic.twitter.com/LiMwAiqG21

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 23, 2026

The problem, unfortunately, was that a lot of Moore’s offensive opportunities just didn’t turn into actual production and the offensive-zone creation still feels underdeveloped. His statistical profile reflects that pretty well too: Moore had an above average shot rate overall (53rd percentile), but only slightly below average at turning those shots into scoring chances (48th percentile). More importantly, though, is that his finishing was quite poor (26th percentile). Some of that is adjusting to NHL pace around the net, but there were also plenty of sequences when Moore would successfully do the hard part -- carry the puck through transition and get himself into a dangerous area -- only for the play to die on his stick once it came time to finish. His hands simply did not quite match the speed at which he arrived in scoring areas, whether that meant fumbling pucks under pressure, rushing shots, or failing to elevate quality chances consistently enough.

Breakaways were somewhat common for Moore, goals at the end of them less so:

Moore stopped on an OT breakaway pic.twitter.com/wHDNMRmri6

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 23, 2026

Frank Nazar hoists one for Oliver Moore who uses his speed to create a semi-breakaway chance pic.twitter.com/XZZHHjcWsj

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) November 16, 2025

Interestingly, his playmaking numbers flipped the other direction. He was below average at generating shot assists overall (48th percentile) but, when he did create for teammates, those passes were far more likely to become dangerous chances, with his scoring-chance assist rate landing in the 66th percentile. A lot of his playmaking value came from using his speed through transition to force defensive breakdowns and then finding teammates in more dangerous areas once coverage started collapsing toward him or using his skating in-zone to draw defenders away from other teammates. Moore’s playmaking was not necessarily highly creative or dynamic in the offensive zone, but he consistently played with his head up and showed good vision in identifying open teammates once defenses started collapsing toward him in transition.

Here is an example of Moore using his impressive agility to create separation in-zone and then thread a pass cross ice for a chance:

Moore feeds Bedard for a one-timer pic.twitter.com/1GkHY2iQyj

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) February 5, 2026

Another showcasing of Moore using his skating to move around the zone before setting up a chance:

Moore finds Lardis for a shot pic.twitter.com/uJGgqQ0EiL

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) December 31, 2025

Moore collecting a pass before setting up an eventual goal from Ilya Mikheyev:

GOAL: Moore feeds Mikheyev who deposits for his 12th goal of the season. pic.twitter.com/E0XIv11HBk

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) March 7, 2026

And here is a quick heads-up little chip to Greene who scored:

GOAL: Ryan Greene breaks free and beats Vasilevskiy to open the scoring pic.twitter.com/R0J6CSghwF

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 24, 2026

Another cross-ice pass to setup a one-timer goal from Lardis:

GOAL: Moore to Lardis on the power play to tie it 🔥 pic.twitter.com/XpceQKkv6r

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 8, 2026

That overall offensive behavior is not especially surprising considering Moore has always leaned more towards being a distributor than a shooter. The concern is more about what that means for his long-term projection higher in the lineup. Despite being the beneficiary of the most high-danger passes on the Blackhawks this season, Moore still finished on just an eight-goal pace over a full 82-game span. Playmaker-first players naturally tend to score less, but top-six forwards still have to capitalize on enough of those opportunities to remain legitimate dual threats.

There were also definitely stretches later in the season when stronger, more structured teams were able to push Moore to the perimeter and limit his ability to create dangerous interior chances. Part of that is simply physical maturity, and Moore still looks like a player who will benefit significantly from adding strength over the next few years. Winning more puck battles along the wall and maintaining possession through contact should naturally help his offensive-zone impact improve. There were times this season when he generated speed through the neutral zone beautifully only for the play to die fairly quickly once physical defenders engaged him below the dots. There was an obvious drop in how effective he was, as seen in the graph above. Still, that’s pretty normal for a 21-year-old rookie, especially one whose game is built around pace and movement more than overpowering defenders physically.

While the offensive production faded as the season progressed, the defensive side of Moore’s game remained consistently positive all year long. That was actually the most encouraging part of his rookie season: young centers usually struggle defensively at some point during their first NHL season because of how much processing and positioning the role requires. Coverage rotations become more complicated, pace increases dramatically, and mistakes get punished much harder than they do at lower levels. Yet Moore handled those responsibilities surprisingly well. Not in the sense that he suddenly looked like some elite shutdown center, obviously. But his reads, tracking, and overall awareness defensively were already quite mature for his age. Moore\'s speed helped him recover when plays broke down, he regularly supported low in coverage properly, disrupted entries with good positioning, and generally made smart decisions away from the puck. He still had moments when he made mistakes, but it\'s easy to see that his defensive foundation can be expanded into something special. That’s a huge positive projection-wise because it gives Moore a solid floor for the NHL, even if the offensive upside takes longer to fully develop -- or possibly never develops.

Moore still has the potential to develop into more of a true top-six center if the offensive-zone game can evolve to where his hands can keep up with his feet, but he should at least reach the level of a bottom-six role player who drives transition, kills penalties, and handles difficult defensive minutes. Either way, the Blackhawks pretty clearly have a useful NHL player here.

Nick Lardis

Lardis’ season with the Blackhawks ended up being one of the more interesting evaluations among the organization’s young forwards because the raw production and the underlying offensive profile almost told two different stories. Statistically, his numbers were just so-so: Lardis finished with 15 points (10 G, 5 A) in 41 NHL games, the same 0.37 points-per-game rate as Moore, despite Lardis joining the team during a much rougher offensive stretch overall. But the bigger takeaway from Lardis’ season wasn’t the actual point totals themselves, but rather how dangerous his offensive game looked at times. That was especially true of how Lardis looked as a shooter in the offensive zone, and the times when you could see that aspect of his game growing.

The biggest question surrounding Lardis entering the NHL was always whether his absurd junior-level scoring touch would actually translate against NHL defenders and NHL goaltending. Scoring 71 goals in the OHL is impressive no matter the era, but junior hockey is full of players who dominate offensively, only to discover they can no longer create the same space or generate the same quality looks once they reach the NHL. In Lardis’ case, his shot still looked legitimate, but there was definitely a learning curve -- one he’ll still be on next season. Even during quieter stretches offensively, there were consistent flashes when he simply looked like one of the most naturally dangerous finishers on the roster already. His goals rate actually graded in the 94th percentile offensively, although that number was somewhat inflated by limited usage and a smaller sample size. Still, even accounting for that context, the finishing talent clearly translated (90th percentile).

Here is that dangerous shot on display:

GOAL: Korchinski to Bedard to Lardis. What a shot. Blackhawks extend the lead pic.twitter.com/bewzjwvrM0

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 11, 2026

Lardis has an especially good one-timer, which he showed off throughout the season:

GOAL: Moore to Lardis on the power play to tie it 🔥 pic.twitter.com/XpceQKkv6r

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 8, 2026

And it helps that he\'ll set himself up in key scoring areas:

GOAL: Connor Bedard makes another fantastic pass, this time to Nick Lardis, who buries his 10th goal of the season. pic.twitter.com/P9bfuIj1xM

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) April 16, 2026

GOAL: Nick Lardis follows the play and buries a feed from Frank Nazar to get the Blackhawks on the board. pic.twitter.com/SRislUdWij

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) March 24, 2026

The main issue Lardis faced with scoring was timing around his shot and being on lines with teammates who could set him up well. It doesn\'t matter how dangerous his shot is if Lardis isn\'t creating the best possible chances for himself. Lardis still needs to work on that timing, but it was encouraging that he often took an aggressive approach to shooting. When the puck got on his stick in scoring areas, his first instinct was almost always to shoot, and he got those shots off quickly enough to create problems for defenders and goaltenders alike. He was great at generating attempts (86th percentile) and shots (81st percentile), both top-five marks among Blackhawks regulars, too. His rush offense was also very strong, though he interestingly tended to pass more than shoot here: his shot-assist rate was in the 72nd percentile while his rush-shot rate sat in the 68th percentile. Even during games when Lardis wasn’t heavily involved overall, he still usually found a way to generate a few dangerous looks simply because of how proactive his offensive approach remained.

Watch him jump into a dangerous area of the ice:

GOAL: Nick Lardis FIRST NHL GOAL on the backhand! pic.twitter.com/l84Xd4AO9T

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) December 20, 2025

Transition play, in general, was solid for Lardis, although not as prolific as some others. He was right around average when it came to zone entries (51st percentile) and well above average at entries that resulted in scoring chances (74th percentile). Interestingly, Lardis was quite effective at springing other players with passes (72nd percentile) for rush attempts, though some of this may have been due to being paired with speedy play-drivers like Moore and later Frank Nazar. While his speed was never on par with those two, Lardis\' skating was still NHL-caliber throughout the season, which matters a lot for projection purposes because it means the scoring tools actually have room to scale upward as the rest of his game develops.

Here\'s an example of Lardis springing Moore:

Lardis springs Moore for a great chance pic.twitter.com/oWc4LlTIkv

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 11, 2026

As a shooter-first mentality type of player, Lardis’ playmaking habits are not as naturally developed as his scoring instincts, but they were still very solid overall. He finished at or above average in most passing-related metrics -- including the 52nd percentile in shot assists and 58th percentile in scoring-chance assists -- which is encouraging, considering that creating for others is clearly secondary to his attacking mentality. Lardis was generally at his best moving pucks quickly off the rush or making simple but effective passes once defenders started overcommitting to his shot threat rather than trying to slow plays down and operate as a primary distributor.

Here Lardis outhustles an opponent behind the net to steal the puck and set up Nazar for a goal:

GOAL: Nick Lardis steals and sets up Frank Nazar who scores his 12th goal of the season. pic.twitter.com/9ufCWKI4q3

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) March 25, 2026

And a nice little pass feathered up to Moore for a chance:

Nick Lardis with a perfect feather pass to let Moore skate into a quality shot pic.twitter.com/8SqdUINfCB

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) December 17, 2025

It wasn’t all straightforward positives for Lardis, though. Despite the encouraging underlying habits, actual points were harder to come by for him, especially early on. There also came a point when Lardis looked a little too perimeter-oriented and reliant on finding space off the rush rather than being an aggressive shooter in tight areas. Considering Lardis has a less robust and well-rounded skill set away from the puck, it does limit where he can be in the lineup to be effective -- namely, he needs to play with other offensive-minded players.

As a result of some of those lapses, Lardis was either sent back to Rockford or later demoted down the lineup. The assignment with the IceHogs worked out well enough: partially due to other Blackhawks players returning from injury, it gave Lardis time to rediscover some of his more aggressive shooting habits. The lineup demotion later was less useful, as Lardis did not click with more defensive or checking linemates. Luckily, coach Jeff Blashill recognized that assignment wasn’t working and moved Lardis back into the middle-six, where he looked solid again. Once reunited with more offensively gifted players, he went back to attacking scoring areas inside the zone and using movement to create separation before defenders could fully establish body position against him. You can see the rise of his offensive impact in the graph above, although it never reached particularly high highs.

Beyond the offense, Lardis still needs to round out the rest of his game. The biggest weakness right now is probably the overall consistency away from the puck. Unlike Moore, whose defensive game already looked fairly polished, Lardis still had stretches when his impact disappeared if he wasn’t actively generating offense. The defensive reads can still improve, the physical engagement level isn’t always consistent, and there were definitely games when stronger teams were able to limit his involvement fairly heavily once they closed off shooting lanes. Physically, he can still get pushed off pucks too easily at times as well. That’s not especially unusual for a young scoring winger, but it’s still an area that needs improvement if he’s going to become a reliable top-nine NHL player long term.

Despite being smaller, Lardis was willing to camp in front of the net for opportunities:

GOAL: Nick Lardis cleans up Connor Bedard’s shot for his 9th goal of the season. pic.twitter.com/RJMIvkSKtx

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) April 3, 2026

And he often put in full effort to be distruptive defensively, at least:

Lardis with a diving deflection on the next shift: pic.twitter.com/DnK66NsOTG https://t.co/CC3lWs36aQ

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 23, 2026

Ultimately, while Lardis’ raw production this season does not immediately jump off the page, the offensive profile underneath is clearly projectable and dangerous. It also helps that he’s more shooter-oriented: the Blackhawks have more transition and playmaking forwards in their pipeline, but true finishing talent remains harder to find internally. There’s still a lot of refinement needed in the rest of his game, particularly defensively and physically, but there’s some real promise here.

Conclusion

In a lot of ways, Moore and Lardis almost profile as opposites offensively. Moore already looks like the more complete overall player: an excellent transition driver and strong distributor of the puck with a surprisingly polished defensive game for a rookie. The issue is that his hands and finishing ability still lag behind the rest of his toolkit, which may ultimately cap how much offensive upside he has higher in the lineup. Lardis, meanwhile, is almost the reverse. His defensive game and overall consistency still need a lot more work, but the natural offensive talent is much easier to see. He has the better shot, more natural finishing instincts, and enough skating ability for those scoring tools to translate in transition as well.

That contrast between the two is a positive for the Blackhawks’ prospect pool overall, because the organization needs both types of players. Moore brings a style built around pace, support play, transition-driving, and two-way reliability -- the type of player who can help lines function properly even if he is not the one finishing every play. Lardis brings a different element entirely: pure offensive aggressiveness and finishing talent, something the organization arguably lacks more of internally right now. Rebuilding teams need a mix of players who can transport and facilitate offense alongside players who can actually finish those chances once they’re created.

Talking Points