How Anton Frondell is developing into the ‘really good two-way center’ the Chicago Blackhawks envisioned
The Chicago Blackhawks enter Saturday at 3-5-0 with four games remaining on their seven-game homestand. Despite the team’s losing record, the mood in the United Center locker room has improved.
Captain Connor Bedard returned from offseason shoulder surgery Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and with that came a new look for the Hawks. They still need work — they had some ugly turnovers and missed chances Thursday against the Winnipeg Jets— but they’re skating better and have more poise with the puck and confidence with their shot.
With Bedard’s return and Frank Nazar’s two-game suspension ending, the Hawks have their full center tandem. That includes rookie Anton Frondell, who recently centered the second line with Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teräväinen.
Frondell, 19, started off as a wing to Bedard when he made his NHL debut in March. He’s a center now, and that’s the way general manager Kyle Davidson and coach Jeff Blashill envisioned it when they drafted him with the No. 3 pick in 2025.
“He’s got the hockey sense and the intellect to excel at that,” Davidson said Sept. 29. “I agree with the sentiment and the intellect he can provide down the middle, even the physicality he can bring. He’s a responsible player, and I have no doubt he can excel there.”
Said Blashill on Thursday: “My gut has been since we drafted him that I wanted to eventually play him at center. We gave him a chance to play with (Bedard) a little bit just to get going, but ultimately, we felt like he was a center long term and that he was a guy who could excel as a really good two-way center. He’s going to get tested night-in, night-out in this league, and he’s not going to have to do it alone — we have the (Ryan) Greene line that can back him up at times in terms of matching up.”
Frondell has fit into that two-way role with grace. The center out of Trångsund, Sweden, has six points (one goal, five assists) in seven games this season entering Saturday’s game against the Dallas Stars at the United Center. The assists and points totals lead the Hawks, as well as all NHL rookies.
It’s not something he’s checking often, though.
“I heard it, but I don’t keep track of it all,” Frondell said. “(It’s been) what, seven games? You know it can change really fast.”
Fellow rookie Roman Kantserov, who has played center at points this season, is tied for the NHL lead in goals among rookies with three.
Frondell was always impressive on the offensive end. He scored 20 goals in 43 games in the Swedish Hockey League last season, the first 18-year-old to do so since Daniel Sedin in 1998-99.
When he doesn’t have the puck is where his game has been noticeable. In 2025-26, he struggled in the faceoff circle, winning just 32 of 106 opportunities (30.2%). He has raised that significantly this season to 46.2%, winning 55 of 119 opportunities. He is the only rookie with more than 100 faceoffs.
Frondell is finding success against the best too. Tuesday against the Penguins, he faced Sidney Crosby in 18 faceoffs, winning 11.
“Growing up, he was my idol, someone I loved to watch, and facing him, looking in his eyes before (the) faceoff wasn’t something I really thought would be possible a couple years ago,” Frondell said. “A cool moment for me, and he has a lot of history and he played for a long time, so it’s fun to play against him.”
On Thursday against the Jets, Frondell went 50% on faceoffs against center Mark Scheifele.
Frondell forecheck has disrupted opponents’ possessions, which has been a bright spot in an overall poor Hawks defense. They spent 43.2% of the time in their zone, the fourth most in the league. Frondell’s efforts should help sway that percentage.
“You need to have an active stick (and) try to interrupt the other guys,” Frondell said. “When I have the puck, I don’t want someone to be annoying with (their) stick, so (it’s) something I can try to do to them.”
The Hawks have had confidence in Frondell since they drafted him that he would be able to take a center role in stride. That hasn’t changed, especially for Blashill.
“For him to do as well (against Crosby), as soon as he came over, he saw Scheifele, (Connor) McDavid, he’s done that, he’s got that real good ability to check for offense,” Blashill said. “He’s still growing and learning, he’s just at the cusp of what he’s going to be. He’s still a really young kid so for him to do that is pretty impressive.”