The most likely scenario for the Blackhawks played out Friday as they selected Swedish forward Anton Frondell with the No. 3 overall pick in the NHL draft.
Frondell, who was described as a “tank on the ice” at the combine by close friend and Islanders first-round pick Victor Eklund, is a power forward who could become a solid complementary piece for Connor Bedard in years to come.
He knows it, too. When Hawks scouting director Mike Doneghey asked Frondell at the combine whether he saw himself as a center or wing, Frondell responded coolly, “Whatever Connor doesn’t play, I’ll play.”
The 6-1, 204-pound Stockholm native is a relatively high-risk, high-reward prospect with a ceiling as high as Panthers star Aleksander Barkov — whom Frondell personally names as his NHL comparison — but a floor as low as a bottom-six grinder.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Frondell said Friday via Zoom. “I’m still shocked. It was a blackout when I heard my name. Now I finally have a new favorite NHL team. I’m happy to be here.”
The NHL’s first-ever decentralized draft, with players gathered for a clunky TV production in Los Angeles but teams drafting from their home cities, turned into a logistical nightmare; it hopefully will be the last-ever. No top-10 picks were traded, either, as rumors of chaos didn’t come to fruition.
Entering Friday, the Hawks believed there was a chance Michael Misa could slip to them, but the Sharks instead nabbed Misa at No. 2 after the Islanders predictably took defenseman Matthew Schaefer at No. 1. The Mammoth selected Caleb Desnoyers at No. 4 and the Predators reached for Brady Martin at No. 5.
“What we thought was the most logical progression occurred,” general manager Kyle Davidson said.
Added Doneghey: “Anton and Michael Misa are elite hockey players. They’re going to be better than top-six forwards on any team — probably top-three forwards. [They’re] different players, but we were real comfortable knowing that we were going to get one of them, so we just sat back.”
Frondell’s shot is elite, arguably the best in the class, which was one of his biggest appeals. That applies to both his wrist shots and one-timers.
“He’s a really smart hockey player,” Davidson said. “He uses his body very effectively, especially in battles along the wall. He just has a really projectable game to the NHL.
“He plays the game the way that it’s played, not only in North America in the small rink, but also in May and June. I think he plays very heavy and hard — almost ‘playoff hockey.’ That’s something that we were really excited to add.”
He missed most of the 2023-24 season recovering from knee surgery, and that inhibited him early in 2024-25, too. But once healthy, he exploded.
He tallied 25 points in 29 games last season with Djurgarden in the Allsvenskan, Sweden’s second-division pro league. On a point-per-game basis, that production exceeded Bruins star David Pastrnak (24 points in 36 games) and Maple Leafs forward William Nylander (27 points in 35 games) in their draft years in the same league.
“I know how to use my body when I have the puck,” Frondell said. “I like to play both offensive and defensive [hockey]. It’s important to score but more important to not let in any goals.”
He said he had “really good meetings” with the Hawks throughout the season, especially with Europe-based scouts Mats Hallin and Nik Blomgren. The front office made him “feel really comfortable” at the combine.
The Hawks also got small assists from former Swedish players Marcus Kruger, who is now a 35-year-old teammate of Frondell’s on Djurgarden, and Johnny Oduya, whom Frondell once cold-called to learn more about the breathing program he now teaches. Both fed the Hawks info and raved about the organization to Frondell.
“‘If you want to win, go to Chicago’ — that’s what [Kruger] told me,” Frondell said.
Frondell’s goal is to make the Hawks’ NHL roster next season, and Davidson thinks the Hawks will be able to at least get him to training camp after working out some contractual things with Djurgarden. But the Hawks’ current plan is for him to play there next season — especially now that they’ve been promoted into the SHL, Sweden’s first-division league.
Critics have worried about Frondell’s game-to-game inconsistency and just-OK skating. He disappointed at the under-18 world championship tournament this spring, too, where he was knocked for not being assertive and driving play.
The Hawks have retorts on both fronts, though. In terms of his skating, Doneghey admitted Frondell was “sloppy” when he first watched him two years ago. But Frondell has worked hard to improve his skating — especially his acceleration — since then, and the Hawks like where it is now.
“Anton is power,” Doneghey said. “He’s lower-body heavy. Almost like Jonathan Toews skated, he’s just power coming through the middle of the ice… He plays probably faster with his brain than his feet.”
And his lack of play-driving might’ve been a situational thing. Doneghey said Frondell told him his Djurgarden teammates encouraged him and Eklund to be more aggressive offensively, whereas Sweden’s national coaches deployed him as the “F3” (the high forward) on rushes.
“He’s a super kid, [and] he’s a hard worker,” Doneghey said. ‘He’ll totally fit in with the character of the guys that we have, both on and off the ice.”
