The young prospect Anton Frondell, after participating in the playoffs of the Swedish hockey league, received an unexpected call: the Chicago Blackhawks wanted him to join the team in North America immediately.
“I was surprised,” declared the 18-year-old forward. “Everything has happened very quickly.”
His NHL debut was on Tuesday, in a 4-3 victory against the New York Islanders. Frondell played on the top line alongside Connor Bedard and was part of the first power play unit.
In his first game, Frondell recorded an assist, setting up Ilya Mikheyev’s goal at 18:06 of the first period, giving Chicago a 2-1 lead.
Nine months after being selected with the third pick in the draft, Frondell is taking on an important role immediately.
Bedard and Macklin Celebrini, selected with the first pick in 2023 and 2024, are already in that category. Michael Misa, selected by the Sharks, has already played more than 30 games in his rookie year, complementing Celebrini and Will Smith. Frondell didn’t have the complete preparation of the training camp before his debut, although he has a unique advantage by playing in the top league in Sweden, similar to what Auston Matthews did at 17 years old in Switzerland before being selected by Toronto in 2016. “Playing professional hockey, playing with men, is good: competing, fighting,” Frondell said. “They were all stronger, I felt, and they were experienced players who know how to fight in the corners. They know how to use their body. So, sometimes, I felt like I got run over a couple of times and tried to learn from it. It’s a tough game, hockey. You need to fight, and I like doing it.”It’s really fun to watch what he does. It’s incredible that someone comes in like that and does what he’s doing… He’s among the elite players in the league.
Connor Bedard
