Canadiens Hockey

Nick Lardis finishes 1st in four NHL combine categories
Manuel Sperandio-Lemay
Nick Lardis finishes 1st in four NHL combine categories

The final day of the NHL combine took place on June 10, testing a number of prospects in several different categories.

The results give a better idea of the athlete behind the field hockey player, and some players earn valuable points towards the next NHL draft.

The final rankings in each category have been revealed, and a few players stand out from the crowd.

You can see the top 10 results from the 16 different categories below.

Looking closely at these results, we can see Connor Bedard appearing in several of these categories, demonstrating his overall fitness.

Even if many think Bedard isn't very tall or massive, he arrived at the combine in incredible physical shape.

Make no mistake, Bedard is very muscular and has quite a pair of thighs.

But the one who caught our eye the most during these tests was Canadian Nick Lardis.

Although he's relatively unknown to field hockey fans, some scouts rank him towards the end of the first round, but he could also very well emerge in the second round.

The 5-foot-11, 165-pound forward was incredible, finishing first in four different categories (vertical jump, squat jump, armless jump and pull-ups).

To sum up Lardis, he's a left-handed, right-wing forward who lacks a bit of willpower defensively and is easily manhandled physically.

However, when it comes to his offensive qualities, Lardis has no real weaknesses. He has an excellent wrist shot and specializes in shots on reception, as we saw at the last U18 World Championship with Canada.

He can also easily feed his teammates with his vision and has an excellent skating stroke.

To give an easy comparison, the first player that comes to mind is Mike Hoffman.

Although he's not exactly beloved by Montreal Canadiens fans, Hoffman was one of the biggest power-play threats in his prime.

He also scored 36 goals in one season and had six consecutive seasons of 22-plus goals. On the other hand, he was always a burden defensively.

Given that Lardis could go late in the first or second round, should the CH take a chance on this offensive threat?

I'm not a big fan of one-dimensional players like Hoffman. However, I must admit that the idea of seeing Lardis on the right flank to complete a trio with Cole Caufield and either Nick Suzuki or Kirby Dach makes me salivate a little.

Obviously, there's no guarantee that this player can establish himself as a top-6 player, but he has all the offensive qualities to be one.

Even though he's just under 6 feet tall, his 165 pounds put him in the smaller player category. It's worth remembering that John Scott doesn't believe that such a small core of Caufield and Suzuki is ideal.

Anthony Martineau of TVA Sports was present at the combine over the past few days and was able to speak with several hopefuls. In fact, he mentioned that all the forwards he was lucky enough to meet would love to play with Caufield.

Perhaps Lardis was one of them.


Gossip

– Will he make it to Montreal if Matvei Michkov isn't in the CH's plans?

– Impressive!

– The Quebecer had a good game.

– That's what you call seizing an opportunity in your first game.

– Listen now.

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