This one is for Hog Nation.

Let's talk about two Rockford Ice Hogs that we expect to be Ice Hogs to start the season

that we are excited to see play down in Rockford this year and develop their game.

Who's your first guy?

First guy is a guy that I think a lot of people are excited about, and that's Nick Lardis.

After his huge 70-plus goal season with the Brantford Bulldogs in the O HL.

This is a guy that was, you know, a third round pick just a couple of years ago.

Not a lot of fanfare behind that, but as he's progressed these last two seasons,

I think a lot of fans are excited to see him.

I know there's a portion of the fans that are hoping to see him play for the Blackhawks this year.

I don't know about that. You know, you never know. Things could happen throughout the course of year,

but I expect Lardis to be starting in Rockford unless he goes completely crazy in training camp,

and that would be a welcome addition. But I want to see how he translates to the pro game.

He definitely has a pro shot, but he's never played against guys that size and veterans

of the H.L.

So it might be a tough adjustment for him to start, but we'll see how he goes.

Maybe he has a Frank Nazar first pro year and just lights it up and

basically forces the Black Hawk's hands saying like, dude, I'm too good for this.

Yeah, I think that to me is kind of the case with Lardis is like it seems like he's kind of

penciled into that bubble and that he'd be on the AHA side of it. But, I mean, if there ever was a prospect that you could say they might be able to figure it out quickly and prove that their NHL ready or can hang at the professional level like that, it'd be him.

He's not going to get 15 shots on goal every game like he was in juniors, but if he can find the time and space to get a

shot off, it's going to be pretty impressive. My first guy is a guy that I think we've had

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