Why the Blackhawks selected Anton Frondell with 2025 NHL Draft's No. 3 pick

New York Times

8 hours ago

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CHICAGO — Marcus Krüger got his wish.
The Chicago Blackhawks drafted Anton Frondell, Krüger's Djurgården teammate in Sweden, with the No. 3 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft on Friday.
What went into that decision?
Let's start with Krüger's evaluation of Frondell.
'He's like the whole package,' Krüger, the former longtime Blackhawks role player and two-time Stanley Cup champion, said in March. 'He's big. He can skate. He can handle the puck, all that. But also he's really, like, curious, like he asks stuff, he tries stuff. So, yeah, he's not going to play with me for very long here. Soon you're going to get a taste of him there.'
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Those are exactly the reasons why the Blackhawks drafted Frondell. They couldn't have summed it up any better. Frondell has the size (6 feet 1 inch, 204 pounds), offensive skill, defensive awareness and ceiling the Blackhawks believe will make him a perfect fit in their top six in the future.
With all the players the Blackhawks were considering at No. 3, they envisioned how Frondell could work alongside Connor Bedard and/or Frank Nazar. While it's possible Frondell could replace one of them at center, he can also play on the wing. More importantly, he has the offense, especially his shot, to fit with those players and the size and defense that could help them. Frondell's 25 points in HockeyAllsvenskan were the most by an under-18 player since William Nylander produced 27 points during the 2013-14 season.
Djurgården coach Robert Kimby was impressed by how Frondell handled himself as an 18-year-old in a league that includes Krüger and other established Swedish players.
'His matureness as a person and as a hockey player, the way he kind of made up his mind to be as good as he possibly can, I think is his biggest strength,' Kimby said. 'But then on the ice, good vision, for us, an outstanding shot, good enough shot so that we put in him as a shooter in power play. Puck strength, and just the same there, even if he's different as a kid, he wants to be in the heat of the moment. If you look at any player, you see the skill with the stick and everything like that, but for me, it's the small things. He just stands out that he really wants to get better every day when he's on the ice. You kind of almost have to pull him back to save energy sometimes.'
Frondell is expected to return to Djurgården next season and focus on consistency on next season. It should help his development that Djurgården was promoted to the SHL for the upcoming season, so the competition will improve. Frondell is likely to come to North America after another season in Sweden, but time will tell.
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Krüger will undoubtedly be excited to have him as a teammate for at least another season. That admiration goes both ways, and Frondell has learned plenty from Krüger.
'OK, so he is starting to get older, he has two Stanley Cups, probably good money in the bank — and that doesn't affect his way how he always wants to get better,' Frondell said of Krüger at the scouting combine. 'He's the first guy in the gym. He's the first guy to the rink every day. It doesn't matter how early I am, I can never win over him. And he doesn't just come to the rink. He comes there to get better. It's just cool, a guy like that still wants to get better.'
The Blackhawks are hoping for a different type of career for Frondell than Krüger, but the team goal is still the same. The Blackhawks would love for Frondell to be a part of multiple Stanley Cup teams, too.