Anton Frondell’s all-star, gold-medal-winning performance at the WJC surely has Chicago fans salivating over the idea of soon seeing the world’s top prospect in a Blackhawks uniform.
Life comes at you quickly sometimes, especially when you’re busy trying to forge a legacy. One minute, you’re playing the game of your life, and next thing you know, you’re waking up in a daze in a strange hotel room, wondering what just happened.
We know what you’re thinking, but sometimes these things transpire in the most wonderful way, the way they did for Anton Frondell on a Monday night in Minnesota.
Frondell doesn’t remember a lot about that night, and he wishes his sense of recall was a little better. But watching video helps. He vaguely recollects that fellow Chicago Blackhawks prospect Vaclav Nestrasil jokingly advised him to go forth and multiply as they shook hands after the game. Other snippets of the evening have found their way into his memory bank, but he was so deeply immersed in the moment that it all seems to be a blur.
One thing he does remember with crystal clarity is waking up the following morning and seeing the gold medal and the World Junior Championship trophy, which he had strategically perched beside his pillow before going to sleep.
“It’s hard when you’re in the moment to realize how big it is and how big the memory will be for the rest of your life,” said Frondell, 18. “That was a fun thing, waking up, just tired in the morning and seeing the trophy and saying, ‘OK, it wasn’t a dream. It really happened.’”
Yes, it did, and it wasn’t a nightmare this time, the way it has been for so many other Swedish teenagers over the years. It had been 14 years since Sweden had last won gold at the WJC, and the country was earning a well-deserved reputation for being unable to lose in the preliminary round and just as unable to win when the games counted most.
In 2026, the Swedes again ran the table in the preliminary round, but for the first time since Mika Zibanejad scored in overtime of the gold medal game in 2012, Sweden won all three of their playoff matches, capped with a 4-2 win over Czechia in the deciding game.
Anton Frondell scored five goals and eight points in seven games at the 2026 world juniors, earning best forward honors. (Matt Krohn-Imagn Images)And Frondell was a huge part of the victory, leading the team with five goals in the tournament and propelling the Tre Kroner to the gold medal game with the deciding goal on his third shootout attempt in the semifinal win over Finland. His play earned him a berth on the tournament all-star team as well as best-forward honors.
It’s been quite a year for Frondell, who is Future Watch 2026’s No. 1-rated prospect according to a panel of scouts and NHL executives. And while his play at the world juniors certainly helped propel him there, Frondell has been producing at a prodigious rate while playing against men in the SHL, a league that doesn’t give teenagers much ice time or responsibility.
As of mid-February, the third pick overall in the 2025 draft was leading his Djurgarden team with 15 goals, despite playing between 13 and 14 minutes per game. He projects as a center in the NHL but has been playing as a left winger on a line with two-time Stanley Cup-winning – in Chicago, no less – Marcus Kruger in the middle and New York Islanders prospect Victor Eklund on the right.
Frondell will almost certainly be in the NHL next season, if he doesn’t end up joining the Blackhawks after his season ends in Sweden. Djurgarden also has draft-eligible center Viggo Bjorck in its lineup, and coach Robert Kimby, unlike a lot of his counterparts, is not reticent to put his teenagers in pressure situations.
“Even if we’re the youngest, I think the coaches just want us to go and do our thing,” Frondell said. “The coaches don’t want to put us in a box and have us just follow rules. They still want us to do creative stuff and things you don’t think will happen. When you have fun, it’s as easy as it gets.”
Anton Frondell finished his first SHL season with 20 goals and 28 points in 43 games. (Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)Djurgarden is battling for a playoff spot in the SHL this season after earning promotion from the second-tier Allsvenskan last year. Frondell has already signed an entry-level deal with the Blackhawks, who thought it would be best for him to play at home this season before starting his career in North America.
Last season, before he got his driver’s license, Frondell cycled the 12-mile round-trip to the rink and back most days, but this year, he owns a very sensible C40 Volvo electric car, which he is leasing because there’s a good chance he’s going to have to return it sometime in the late summer. On this day, he was returning home after practice, but not before joining his grandparents for fika, a daily Swedish ritual that includes pastries and coffee.
The Blackhawks, of course, have been closely monitoring Frondell’s progress, and they like what they’ve been seeing when Frondell is playing against his peers on the international stage and against men in the SHL.
“Sometimes, there is frustration in having young players over there because they play so little,” said Blackhawks assistant GM Mark Eaton. “I would argue Anton probably should be playing more. We’d love to see him playing upward of 18 or 20 minutes. But it’s a big part of the developmental process, learning how to earn their coach’s trust while improving their games. But Anton has done a great job getting out of his comfort zone and pushing himself to get better.”
Ever-patient Blackhawks fans can hardly wait to see a 1-2 punch of Connor Bedard and Frondell down the middle and them playing together on the power play and in crucial situations.
Frondell is represented by the CAA agency, which employs Jim Hughes, the former director of player development for the Toronto Maple Leafs, as a development coach for its prospects.
Hughes has done a lot of work with Frondell the past couple of years, and he knows a little bit about producing high-end players, considering his sons, Quinn, Jack and Luke, all star in the NHL. And Hughes does not mince words when discussing Frondell’s potential as an NHL player.
“He embraces the work, he loves the work and he does it with a smile on his face,” Hughes said. “The comparison is guys like (Anze) Kopitar and (Aleksander) Barkov when they were 18 years old. Not these guys when they have Stanley Cups, but when they were 18. He looks like a nice blend of those two players.”
That was a fun thing, waking up and seeing the trophy and saying, ‘OK, it wasn’t a dream. It really happened’– Anton Frondell
Well, that’s exciting, for both the Blackhawks and Frondell.
“Those are some pretty good names Jim gave you,” Frondell said. “I’ve really been watching Barkov a lot, and I like watching him play. I see how good he is all over the ice, and I would like to be like that for sure.”
Whether Frondell’s long-term future includes captaincies and Selke Trophies and Lady Byng Trophies and Stanley Cups remains to be seen, but hockey people don’t make those kinds of comparisons lightly.
Frondell is lauded for his high hockey IQ and his willingness to play as hard in the defensive zone as the offensive zone. Off the ice, he’s outgoing and gregarious without a hint of cockiness. And his love for the game has been evident ever since he started playing.
His father, Henrik, tried to push his son toward a career in racquet sports, but Anton was intent on playing hockey. Henrik is an architect who had a squash court, with a basketball net, built into the family’s home on the outskirts of Stockholm, but his son kept using it as a place to practise his shooting. He doesn’t do that now, because his NHL-caliber shot would clearly be detrimental to the glass walls that surround the room.
As for his short-term future, you can basically put Frondell’s name in non-erasable black marker on the Blackhawks’ roster for next season. If Djurgarden doesn’t qualify for the post-season, there’s a good chance he’ll be in a Hawks uniform for the stretch run this year, considering the SHL regular season ends in mid-March. It’s doubtful that either Chicago or its AHL affiliate will make the playoffs this season, but the sense is that the Blackhawks will want to get Frondell to North America sooner rather than later.
Anton has done a great job getting out of his comfort zone and pushing himself to get better– Mark Eaton
That should leave Frondell able to join his friends in June for Studenten, a major Swedish celebration and rite of passage for everyone who completes high school. The kids get all dressed up and go out en masse on a huge trailer and parade around town before going to a party. Frondell would like to be with his friends for that occasion because, well, he sold cookies, just like all the other kids, to raise funds for the event. After that, his future lies in Chicago.
“I haven’t thought about that too much,” he said. “I have, of course, thought, ‘Wow, cool, I hope I play there someday,’ and I’ve been watching their games as much as I can. I’m trying not to look too much forward to what may happen, and I’m trying to live in the moment.”
This article appeared in The Hockey News' Future Watch 2026 issue.
Future Watch 2026 looks at the world's best prospects from every angle. We analyze the top 10 in the pipeline for each NHL club and count down the top 100 in the game.
In addition, we take an in-depth look at how the Seattle Kraken are refining their development system, and we profile several of hockey's best youngsters, including Anton Frondell, Tij Iginla and Sebastian Cossa.