ELMONT, N.Y. — The Chicago Blackhawks just dropped the average age of their roster — again.
The Hawks officially called up their 2025 No. 3 draft pick, Anton Frondell, on Tuesday prior to their game at the New York Islanders, the latest prospect to join the team. He and 2024 first-round draft pick Sacha Boisvert, 20, took the ice for the first time at morning skate in UBS Arena.
When approached by media members on Tuesday, Frondell asked Hawks rookie Nick Landis, “How do I do this?” before answering questions. It’s a big step, so nothing wrong with having nerves.
“Arriving at the hotel (and) meeting all the guys on the team was cool,” said the 18-year-old from Sweden. “Now first time on the ice, I don’t know how they felt, but it felt hard to breathe out there, but now I’m ready for the game hopefully.”
They didn’t need to give each other tips on how to produce offense. They showed the Islanders that they’re fast learners.
The Hawks used three first-period goals and fended off New York’s comeback attempt to win 4-3. The loss meant the Islanders gave up the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot to the Ottawa Senators, who defeated the Red Wings 3-2 in Detroit.
“You want to learn lessons and grow and you’d rather do it with a win, so we got a chance (on Wednesday) to meet and go through some things that we could have done a better job of in the third,” Hawks coach Jeff Blashill said. “We kind of shot ourselves in the foot which allowed them momentum, but we did that with two points under our belt, which is a great thing.”
Connor Bedard made sure to get Frondell in game mode right away. The star center let the 18-year-old take the opening faceoff Tuesday, a captain-like gesture from Bedard.
The Swedish rookie needed only the first period to gain his first NHL point. He shot a cross-ice pass to Ilya Mikheyev (18:06) on a rush, who made sure not to leave Frondell hanging.
His arrival shifted the Hawks lines some, including the recent rise of Lardis to the second line, where he’s a right wing to Frank Nazar and Tyler Bertuzzi. They had all the fun in Long Island.
Each linemate scored a goal against the Islanders, lifting the Hawks to a 4-1 lead. Lardis now has goals in back-to-back games.
“(I have) confidence and (I’m) taking advantage of my opportunity,” Lardis said. “It’s pretty easy to play to my strengths when I’m playing with two unbelievable players.”
Frondell joins the team at the very top of his game. He won the gold medal at the 2025 IIHF World Juniors, where he scored eight points in seven contests for Sweden, was named the best forward of the tournament and earned World Juniors all-star team honors.
He joined Djurgårdens IF of the Swedish Hockey League for the 2025-26 season, where he scored 28 points (eight assists, 20 goals) in 43 games. He’s the fourth SHL rookie to score 20 goals in a season, joining Thomas Sandstrom, Markus Naslund and Daniel Sedin.
That number could’ve been higher had he been elevated above a regular third-line center with the team. He got that promotion immediately upon arrival with the Hawks, as he skated for 15:44 and sent two shots on goal as the top line right winger with Bedard and Ryan Greene.
There’s a lot of immediate trust in the No. 15, Frondell’s new sweater number, making his NHL transition easier.
“(They) put me on the first line, put me with Bedard and everything,” Frondell said postgame. “This morning was my first day here and I’ve been going through the system and plays and how to pressure, so my brain’s having a lot going on, (so) much to think about.”
Hawks coach Jeff Blashill called himself a “throw him into the fire” type of coach regarding Frondell.
“He’s earned the opportunity to get up there and capitalize on the confidence he has coming into the league,” Blashill said pregame. “It’s a good chance for him, (there’s) three good players on that line.”
Standing at 6-foot-1 and 198 pounds, he’s already NHL size. Going up against men in the SHL added to his seasoning in professional hockey.
“Everyone was stronger I felt like, and it was experienced players who know how to battle in the corner (and) know how to use their bodies,” Frondell said. “I got run over a couple times and tried to learn from it. It’s a hard game, hockey. You need to battle and I like to do that.”
Added Blashill: “If I didn’t think he could handle the spots I’m putting him in, I wouldn’t do it right away because you don’t want to set somebody up for struggles. Does that mean it’s going to be easy sailing? No, this league is a hard league, there’s going to be ups and downs throughout the course of his career, much less these next few weeks. 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.”
In the second period, Bertuzzi was sent to the penalty box after getting into a scuffle with Isles left winger Emil Heineman. Frondell was on the outskirts of the fight, being lazily held back by center Bo Horvat.
The first NHL scuffle will have to wait — the point will do.
“I was coming late into that situation, so it felt unnecessary to do something,” Frondell said. “I was standing there watching some fights in the corner, it was fun.”
Djurgårdens IF’s season ended on Saturday with a 3-1 loss to the Malmö Redhawks. Shortly after the game, Frondell received the call that he would join the Hawks.
“Everything has been going really fast,” Frondell said. “I was shocked, Sunday (I) was packing my bags and now I’m here.”
Blashill has emphasized taking one step at a time for a Hawks team that’s only getting younger as general manager Kyle Davidson stacks up draft picks and prospects. With another top-three draft pick joining the roster, the coach’s advice was simple.
“Just be him, play,” Blashill said. “He’s done a good job over the course of his time growing up to put himself in position to have success, so just go play.
“The biggest thing I told him was you’re going to make mistakes, and I don’t care about mistakes. We care about learning.”
At least for Tuesday, Blashill can be happy that there were not many mistakes to report. Frondell flowed smoothly as the Hawks didn’t break during the Isles’ two-goal third period.
“I thought Anton played well, he’s got really good pro habits,” Blashill said. “The assist (to Mikheyev), a lot of young players might have just forced the puck to (Bedard) because he was cutting through the middle, and he didn’t, which I think is a good thing now to defer and make the right play.”
Isles left winger Anders Lee flicked the puck past Arvid Söderblom (44 saves) under a minute after puck drop to open the scoring. The goaltender held strong with his second straight 40-save start.
“I think it’s good for our confidence in here that we can beat such a good team,” Söderblom said. “I thought we battled hard and we pushed all the way to the end, and we can learn a lot from this game to keep pushing.”
Frondell debuted against Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft. Schaefer is not playing like a rookie — his 52 points (22 goals, 29 assists) has broken a plethora of first-year blueliner records and added to his season total by assisting Lee’s goal.
He had an ice time of 31:59 versus the Hawks on Tuesday, a career high.
“He’s been an outstanding player for his team,” Blashill said of Schaefer. “It’s one thing to be a really good player as a young player, but it’s another thing to be a really good player and help your team be in the playoff battle, which I think he’s done.”
The newest Hawk looks to join young players like Bedard, Schaefer, Macklin Celebrini and others into NHL stardom.
“They have fun playing hockey, they do some pretty crazy things from a talent perspective,” Blashill said. “It’s exciting for the league, exciting for the sport that they have that many young, talented players come in.”
