The Chicago Blackhawks took on the New York Islanders in a much anticipated matchup on Tuesday, Mar. 24. The reason it was highly anticipated was because it was the first time phenoms Connor Bedard of the Blackhawks and Matthew Schaefer with the Islanders faced each other. While this certainly didn’t disappoint, the real excitement of the night revolved around Blackhawks’ top prospect Anton Frondell making his NHL debut.
Defenseman Schaefer was drafted first overall in the 2025 Draft. Frondell was selected just two spots behind Schaefer, at third overall. While Schaefer went straight to the NHL, Frondell and the Blackhawks made the decision to have their top prospect spend the 2025-26 season with Djurgardens IF of the Swedish Hockey League. But Djurgardens season ended last Saturday (Mar. 21), and the Blackhawks wanted their charge to finish out the campaign with them. This prompted a trip to New York where Frondell met the team at the beginning of their four-game road trip.
Here’s how the 18-year-old’s “dream” day transpired.
Frondell Meets the Blackhawks
Frondell actually arrived in New York on Monday night. It was a quick turnaround, to which Frondell discussed with reporters after his first practice on Tuesday. “Everything has been going really fast. We played our last game with Djurgardens Saturday, and yeah, I got a call like, right after. ‘You coming?’ I was shocked. And Sunday is packing my bags, and now I’m here. So it’s cool.”
Related – Blackhawks Infuse New Energy With Frondell & Boisvert’s Upcoming Debuts
The Trångsund, Sweden native said the flight was only five hours, so there was really no jet lag. Plus, he’s only 18 years old and super excited, so I’m sure waiting to play didn’t even cross anyone’s mind. He was able to bring his whole family, his parents and sister, with him to watch his NHL debut.
Frondell went out to dinner with the team on Monday night to get to know everyone, and then dove right in at practice Tuesday morning.
catching up with the fellas, getting right to work 🤝 pic.twitter.com/VXYWvi3lvE
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 24, 2026
To have Frank Nazar and Bedard, two already established NHL stars, at your disposal to ask questions of must have been pretty neat. But that was only just the beginning. Frondell was deployed on the top line alongside Ryan Greene and Bedard right off the hop. He actually bumped out Andre Burakovsky, much to the surprise and delight of fans. Burakovsky has been struggling big-time, but head coach Jeff Blashill has been especially stubborn about sticking behind his veteran player. The arrival of Frondell obviously put a different perspective on his lineup choices.
“I think Anton had a good year, really good second half,” said Blashill after practice. “So the way I see it, he’s kind of earned the opportunity to get up there and kind of capitalize on the confidence he has coming into the league, and give him a shot. It’s a it’s a good chance for him. It’s three good players on that line, and hopefully they can create some stuff for us.”
Blashill later said he wouldn’t put Frondell in this placement if he didn’t think he’d be successful. “I think he can handle it, and I think he’s prepared at this moment, to walk in and be successful in those spots.”
A Game to Remember
Fast forward to the game, and things couldn’t have gone much better for Frondell. Being on the top line, the kid was on the ice to start the contest. Bedard gave him an extra treat for his NHL debut.
Nice gesture by Connor Bedard to let Anton Frondell take the opening faceoff in his NHL debut. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/O9zHiKrESa
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 24, 2026
Yep, Frondell got to take the opening faceoff. But that was just the beginning of what turned out to be a very solid night for the youngster. Towards the end of the first period, Frondell sprung new teammate Ilya Mikheyev for a goal to give the Blackhawks the first lead of the game.
Ilya goal ✅
Anton assist ✅ pic.twitter.com/sEFwr8NRbq— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 24, 2026
Frondell earned his first NHL point with a primary assist, not even 20 minutes into his first NHL game. And it was a great pass at that! He ended the night with one assist, two shots on goal, five shot attempts one hit and two blocked shots in 15:44 minutes of ice time. Oh, and he played 2:29 minutes on the Blackhawks’ top power play unit.
That’s a really well-rounded stat sheet for one’s first NHL game! Frondell also seemed to have some instant chemistry with Bedard, as illustrated in this play.
Anton Frondell with a defensively play on Matthew Schaefer then wires one just wide. His wrist shot is just as good as his slap shot. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/lqeS8mH7XF
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 25, 2026
Frondell first made a solid defensive play to knock none other than Schaefer off the puck, passed to Bedard, and then stayed with him as he transported the puck up the ice. Bedard made a between the legs pass to Frondell, who was ready for it and ripped a solid wrist shot on net.
Blashill had nothing but positive things to say about Frondell postgame.
I thought Anton played well. He’s got really good pro habits. Like he stops on pucks, he doesn’t wave off people, he’s hard on the puck, wins puck battles down low. Did a really good job on the assist. A lot of young players might have just forced that puck to Bedsy (Bedard), because he was kind of cutting through the middle. And he didn’t, which I think is a good thing. Not to defer and just to make the right play, which is what he did.
Blashill also credited the Swedish league and their coaches for teaching him well. He said Frondell has been taught to defend, and he doesn’t cheat for offense.
So in many ways, this youngest member of the Blackhawks already knows and does what Blashill has been trying to teach most of the team all season. That’s a really positive thing, which should bode well for him being able to jump right in and hit the ground running.
For Frondell’s part, the kid did great on the ice but he still seems a little starstruck off of it. “Just cool,” he said with a sheepish grin after the game. “It still feels like a dream.”
He was certainly happy about the confidence the coaching staff has instilled in him.
Yeah, I mean, they put me on the first line, put me with Bedard and everything. It’s just cool, and to try and do my best. This morning was my first day here, and been going through this system and plays and how to pressure and stuff. So my brain is kind of having a lot going on, much to think about. But they told me to play and have fun.
It certainly seemed like Frondell was having fun in this game, as did the fans watching him. It also helped that it was a 4-3 victory, with some other young stars making an impact as well. Which is a perfect segue to my final segment.
The Future Looks Bright for Frondell & the Blackhawks
Don’t look now, but the Blackhawk’s top-six forwards in this game were comprised of five players 22 years of age or younger. Tyler Bertuzzi was the lone veteran of the bunch, with Burakovsky being demoted to the third line and Teuvo Teravainen to the fourth line. Rookie Nick Lardis had his first career multi-point game, registering a goal and two assists. Nazar contributed a goal and an assist.
On defense, all six blueliners who played were 24-years-old or younger, with Alex Vlasic being the longest tenured member of the whole team. For some reference, he’s in just his third full NHL season. Backup netminder Arvid Soderblom, who suited up for this contest and stopped 44-of-46 shots for a .936 save percentage, is 26 years old. His counterpart Spencer Knight is 24.
But these young Blackhawks have been playing competitive hockey down the stretch. They’ve been preparing for this point, putting in the hard work and improving incrementally as the season has progressed.
Blashill put Frondell on the top line and has given all the youngsters more and more rein. It’s been fun to watch, and see their development. But the coach knows there’s still a lot of work to be done. The Blackhawks won this game, but they almost let the Islanders claw their way back into things in the third period. This has been an ongoing theme all season long.
Related – Blackhawks Notebook: OT Woes, Bedard, Greene, Lardis, Frondell & More
Blashill’s statement about Frondell in many ways applies to all the players, and to the team as a whole.
Does that mean it’s going to be easy sailing? No, this league’s a hard league, and there’s going to be ups and downs throughout the course of his career. Much less his young career, much less these next few weeks. So he’ll have ups and downs, and we’ll work with him on those. How do you work with him? You help coach him, you teach him, you stay patient, and you make sure he knows what he’s great at.
We’ve been waiting for this day, when the young prospects mature and are ready to make an impact at the NHL level. Who woulda thought it would come on a random night in late March? Frondell’s arrival seems like a turning point for this team, and a harbinger of things to come.
The future is now.
