‘I’m far away’: Jonathan Toews comparisons don’t faze Blackhawks rookie Anton Frondell

EDMONTON — Anton Frondell speaks excellent English, but as an 18-year-old Swede who’s been in North America for all of a week and a half, he’ll still fumble for a word every now and then or politely ask to have a question repeated.

Or, in this case, loudly blurt out a name in disbelief.

“Toews?!” he said. Well, exclaimed is probably a better word for it.

Yes, Frondell heard that correctly. Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill already has summoned the name of one of the greatest two-way centers in modern hockey history — and a franchise icon, no less — when discussing the No. 3 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Since moving Frondell to center before Sunday’s game in New Jersey, Blashill has equated his game to that of Jonathan Toews. Not once, but twice.

Frondell isn’t reading his news clippings, so he took a second to process that when it was relayed to him Thursday morning, before the Blackhawks’ 3-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

“I didn’t know he said that,” Frondell said. “I mean, Toews is one of the best players in Chicago. I’m far away from there. I’m still young, still have a lot to learn, (need to) keep growing my game on the ice. But cool comparison, even though it’s far away.”

Blashill, of course, isn’t making any kind of lofty prediction with the comparison. He’s not saying Frondell is destined to be a three-time Stanley Cup champion, a point-per-game player, a Selke Trophy winner. But he’s not not saying that, either. Through six games — the last three at center — Blashill has seen the same kind of skill, the same kind of defensive acumen, the same kind of strength on the puck that made Toews such an elite player for so long.

It’s heady stuff for the second-youngest player in the NHL. Especially one who barely played any center in Sweden this season.

“Listen, I think he’s got a chance to be a really good player,” Blashill said. “And I don’t mean to put unneeded expectations on him when I mention guys like Jonathan Toews. Jonathan Toews, he’s a Chicago legend, and he should be because of the type of winning player that he was. I just think (Frondell) has got a lot of attributes to be a similar type of player. Now, he’s got to prove that over and over again. But he’s got a lot of similar attributes, and that’s why I have him at center.”

That’s Toews mentions three and four, for those counting (though, to be fair, these were prompted by the questioner). But Blashill’s not shying away from it. Frondell, meanwhile, took the comparison in the encouraging nature it was intended, without any of the pressure that could accompany it.

“I mean, it’s cool, but I don’t want to fly away,” he said. “Keep standing on the earth and being humble, you know what I mean? I think that’s important.”

That Frondell has been impressive immediately isn’t a huge shock. Top-three picks are expected to do well, even at such a young age. Connor Bedard scored 22 goals and posted 61 points in 68 games as an 18-year-old. And that Toews fella — like Frondell, a No. 3 pick — had 24 goals and 54 points in 64 games as a 19-year-old. Frondell arrived in the NHL right on schedule after his season with Djugården, and he has posted a goal and four assists in his first six games.

But it’s more than just the points. The way he has handled the move to center already seems to have changed Blashill’s long-term calculus. Frondell figured to be the long-awaited winger Bedard has been waiting for, a player who could keep up with him physically and mentally on the ice. But as a center, Frondell lengthens the lineup. Suddenly, the Blackhawks have three dangerous lines: one anchored by Bedard, one by Frank Nazar (the No 13 pick in 2022) and one by Frondell.

With Tyler Bertuzzi, Nick Lardis, Ryan Greene, Ilya Mikheyev and perhaps another draftee or free-agent signing — or maybe, just maybe, a big trade acquisition (Kyle Davidson certainly has the draft and prospect capital to make a play at the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Matthew Knies, Dallas Stars’ Jason Robertson or St. Louis Blues’ Robert Thomas) — to scatter among the wings, it’s not hard to imagine a dynamic top nine in Chicago. Throw in Sacha Boisvert, who was the fourth-line center in Edmonton, and the Blackhawks had four players age 18, 20, 20 and 22 down the middle.

“I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself,” Blashill said. “(But) if you have three centers like that, you’re going to have three really good lines. And most of the really good teams have three lines that are super threatening.”

Frondell said he doesn’t have a preference — or, in his words, “a problem” — with either position. He likes being freed up offensively on the wing, but he also likes playing in the middle of the ice and getting low to help his defensemen as a center.

Though he has looked good at both spots, he has been far from perfect. In the second period in Edmonton, his bad pass in the neutral zone led directly to an Oilers goal (which was overturned after the Blackhawks successfully challenged that Connor McDavid was offside in setting up the play). But in the third period, when Louis Crevier made an aggressive pinch, Frondell hung back and essentially played defense, maintaining an impressively tight gap on an on-rushing McDavid and smoothly knocking the puck off his stick.

Against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, Frondell scored his first NHL goal and was on the ice for two others. He was also on the ice for two Jets goals: one when he lost Josh Morrissey, and the overtime winner, when he got out of position on Kyle Connor. He acknowledged he’s still a little in awe of the speed of the NHL game and there’s still so much to take in: better opponents, better linemates, a smaller rink, new arenas, new systems.

“Sometimes I’m lost,” he said. “I feel a little bit lost sometimes, positioning and stuff. You could see that last game, (in the) two goals when I was on the ice.”

But his ability to shake off a mistake without losing confidence is another rare trait only the truly elite players have, especially at this age.

“That’s important to have in sports — in all sports,” Frondell said. “If you lose a game or have a bad shift, you need to bounce back. All you can focus on is the next battle. I’m trying to have that in the back of my mind.”

Watching Frondell play or listening to him speak, it’s easy to forget how young he is. He doesn’t turn 19 until next month, and only New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer, picked two spots before Frondell, is younger than he is in the NHL. It certainly helped he spent the season playing against grown men in the Swedish Hockey League rather than toying with overmatched teenagers in the North American junior leagues. He had to be smarter on the ice, stronger on the puck. Bedard marveled at Frondell’s strength for his age.

But he’s still just a big kid, trying to take it all in. Asked how life in the NHL differs from the SHL, he cited all the “luxury” in his new world. The five-star hotels and chartered jets sure beat the modest digs and bus rides in Sweden. Everywhere he goes, good food is available. Seemingly moments after a game ends, they’re already on the bus, riding straight to the tarmac to board their plane.

Even the little things are wildly different.

“I haven’t even lifted my bag in or out of the locker room,” he said, laughing. “(In Sweden), everyone takes their own bag and all the extra stuff. We spend at least 10 minutes just carrying bags and stuff into the bus. Everyone takes their own, but then (all the young guys) take all the extra bags, the stick bags and stuff. I kind of miss that. Here, it’s pretty nice. I feel lazy.”

Being lazy off the ice is fine; it’s a perk of the job. On the ice, it’s a different story. If Frondell wants those Toews comparisons to continue, he knows he’ll have to work for them. As Blashill has pointed out (repeatedly now), all the pieces are there. He just has to put them all together.

“He’s still 18,” Blashill said. “I just really feel like his package of size, strength on the puck, skill (and) smarts is a pretty good package. I’ve played him at center now for two games, and how he’s done at center against really, really good players at that age is pretty awesome.”

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