Chicago Blackhawks’ top pick Anton Frondell had to recover mentally from a knee injury to improve his game

Big-time players are expected to show up in big-time games, and Chicago Blackhawks forward prospect Anton Frondell is the first to admit that he didnt.

Tournaments such as the IIHF Under-18 World Championship in Frisco, Texas, in May are the kind of showcase where top prospects like Frondell cement their elite status a little more assurance that hes worth a lottery draft pick.

He mustered a goal and two assists in five games.

In isolation, maybe it could be brushed off, but there had been other subpar performances earlier in the season.

On Friday, the night he was drafted third overall by the Hawks, Frondell didnt run from the question about his tournament.

He admitted the change in time zones, minutes and offensive expectations proved to be too much.

It was hard for me to kind of go from playing six weeks long, playoff in Sweden, big guys, playing against men, playing against really much older guys, said Frondell, adding that he didnt get a lot of minutes in the support role he was asked to play with Djurgarden in HockeyAllsvenskan, Swedens second-level league.

I played like five minutes a game.

I did everything right for the team to win, as we did, (and) we moved up to the SHL.

Even in a back-seat role, he produced three goals and four assists in 16 qualification games to help Djurgarden earn its promotion to the Swedish Hockey League.

Then switching, jumping on an airplane, being projected to produce points at your own age, it was hard to get into that kind of game, Frondell said of playing at the U18 Worlds.

No practices or anything.

So, no excuses.

I felt strong, I wasnt tired.

...

It was just hard for me to kind of go from mens hockey to juniors.

Anton Frondell participates in a media availability for Chicago Blackhawks draft picks at Fifth Third Arena on Monday, June 30, 2025.

(Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune) In Jason Bukalas eyes, Frondells sense of accountability is a good sign for the Hawks.

The former Florida Panthers amateur scouting director said, Sometimes some of those (European) guys are programmed to be a little bit hard on themselves.

Theyre generally a little bit more mature than North American kids early.

From a self-assessment perspective, I think Frondells being a little hard on himself.

If he would have played out the whole year just in his own age group alone, his statistical profile ...

wouldve been even more impressive.

What he did at the second-level pro in the Allsvenskan, playing for Djurgarden in those 28 games, was really good like, he was excellent.

Bukala disagreed on one thing: Frondells change in roles suffices as an excuse.

Honestly, Im not really big on giving kids an out, but I have to say that I didnt really feel like the coach at the U18 utilized him in a role that was to his strengths.

...

On balance, Ive never come away from a game thinking that he didnt have the compete or the try.

At one point in his amateur career, Frondell wasnt so sure about his game.

After making the senior-league Djurgarden team as a 16-year-old in the 2023-24 season, the Trangsund, Sweden, native came into this season hoping to pick up where he left off.

But he required left knee surgery in September, and that set him back.

He returned in October, but he went pointless in three games and was demoted to the junior league, the J20 Nationell.

Who did the Chicago Blackhawks select in the 2025 NHL draft? Meet the 8-player class.

As he was on draft night, Frondell was candid about the reasons behind his poor performance while speaking at this weeks Hawks development camp.

It was probably in the beginning when I felt like Im already (having a) pretty slow start, Frondell said.

I didnt play my own game, if thats the right way to say it.

It felt like I didnt believe in myself.

I was a little afraid to (make) mistakes.

I didnt play for almost six months, so I think that was the reason why my game time was not there.

He conceded, Maybe I still was thinking about injury and being more afraid going into the boards and have that (in the) back (of your) head that you had the injury Maybe that stopped me from just going.

Little by little, Frondell regained his confidence.

He posted five goals and two assists in 10 games with Djurgardens junior team.

He rejoined the senior-league team in mid-November and recorded a goal in the first period of his first game back against Kalmar.

In 29 games with Djurgardens senior team, he put up 11 goals and 14 assists.

I felt like the more games I played, as more weeks went by, I (came) back to the play I was before, Frondell said.

And I felt like the whole second part of the year was pretty high-level, like balanced games.

I played well for a long time.

Its not the first time in Frondells rise that he has rebounded from a bad first impression.

Hawks amateur scouting director Mike Doneghey recalled how Frondell came on the scene to us probably two years ago in Plymouth at one of the Five Nations tournaments.

Very raw at the time.

Skating was kind of sloppy, wore his tongues out of his skates, he just looked sloppy in general, Doneghey said.

But you noticed the hands and the brain and stuff like that.

Over time, he just kept getting better and better and better.

Bukala, founder of player analysis service The Pro Hockey Group, really likes Frondell, too.

But he thought the Hawks should have drafted QMJHL Moncton forward Caleb Desnoyers, who went No.

4 to the Utah Mammoth, a pick behind the Hawks.

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Personally, he does everything that Frondell does, but I think hes got even more offensive upside.

I had Desnoyers No.

2 on my year-end list, and everybody knew I had a shine on for this guy, and he earned it.

Still, Bukala has no quibble with Hawks taking Frondell.

Clearly, (general manager) Kyle (Davidson) and Mike (Doneghey) saw it a little bit differently in Chicago, and thats fair, no problem.

Doesnt mean hes not a good player.

Hes a great player.

At least in Frondell, the Hawks went for a player with a more all-around skill set, a two-way player, rather than being seduced by a pure offensive threat.

I think hes the yin to the yang for a lot of what they have already, Bukala said.

You know, if (second-overall pick Michael) Misa would have still been there, for example ...

Misa wouldve scored more, but he wouldnt have done the little things that Frondell is going to be capable of doing.

When Jonathan Toews played for the Hawks and was playing at his best, he didnt score as much as (Patrick) Kane, per se, but he did all the other little things that really helped the team win.

And thats what youre going to get off Frondell, hes going to do a lot of those other little things, including winning more faceoffs, starting with the puck, all these little things that arent real sexy, but hes going to round out the roster very nicely that way..

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