Chicago Blackhawks prospect Anton Frondell is off to a brilliant start in his first SHL season. Less than a week ago, he scored twice against top-ranked Rögle, then added three more this past weekend to become the second-youngest player in SHL history to record a hat trick.

Nine games into the season, it’s already clear that Frondell is on track for something special. It’s still early to project his scoring pace over a full 52-game schedule, but it’s hard not to be tempted to do the math. With six goals and eight points so far, Frondell is on pace for the best season ever by an 18-year-old in the SHL. At his current rate, he’s also not far off some of the top U20 scoring seasons in the history of the Swedish league. Here’s how Anton Frondell’s projected numbers stack up against some of Sweden’s all-time great junior players.

During the 1998–99 season, Canucks legend Daniel Sedin put together the best scoring campaign ever by a U19 player, recording 21 goals and 42 points. Alongside his brother Henrik, Daniel carried MoDo on his young shoulders to a 30–10–10 regular-season record. MoDo came close to the title but fell to Brynäs in the fifth and deciding game of the finals. At his current pace, Frondell would finish the season with 35 goals and 47 points, putting him five points ahead of Daniel Sedin’s historic U19 season.

The list of legendary players Frondell would surpass at his current scoring pace is a long one. For example, Peter Forsberg recorded 28 points in 39 games as an 18-year-old with MoDo. In more recent years, Leo Carlsson set the modern benchmark with 25 points, a reminder of just how difficult it is to produce offensively in the defense-oriented SHL at such a young age.

Among U19 players with at least nine games played, Frondell trails only former LA King Tomas Sandström, Canucks legend Marcus Näslund, and current Maple Leaf William Nylander in points per game. None of them, however, come close to matching his goal-scoring pace of 0.75 goals per game.

If Frondell maintains his current scoring pace, only two U20 players in SHL history would have finished with more points. The best junior season would have belonged to Elias Pettersson, who recorded 56 points for Växjö during the 2017–18 campaign. Beyond Pettersson, you would have to go back to 1976, when Kent Nilsson put together an even more remarkable season with 53 points in just 36 games.

It’s still early in the season, and the question remains whether Frondell can maintain his scoring pace over a full year. Even so, his strong start bodes well for the future, and he’s quickly emerging as one of the most exciting players to watch outside the NHL this season.

SHL: Blackhawks Prospect Anton Frondell Stays Hot <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks">Chicago Blackhawks</a> prospect Anton Frondell continues his dominant week in the SHL. On Thursday, he wowed hockey fans with a highlight-reel Michigan goal for Djurgården. The young forward didn’t slow down today, recording a hat trick to cap off another standout performance. Blackhawks fans have every reason to be excited about his early-season form.