The Chicago Blackhawks are sending a handful of players to the IIHF World Championships, including Anton Frondell and Arvid Soderblom.
The Chicago Blackhawks will have a handful of players representing their country at the 2026 IIHF World Championships. On Monday, it was officially announced that Anton Frondell and Arvid Soderblom will be involved.
There was some speculation that Frondell would be playing for Sweden, but now it is set. As far as forwards go, Frondell is one of their more talented players as they are on a quest to win a Gold Medal.
When it comes to goaltending, Arvid Soderblom will be competing with Magnus Hellberg and Love Harenstam for the chance to be the starter during the tournament.
Ivar Stenberg and Viggo Bjork, two forwards who are options for the Blackhawks in the 2026 NHL Draft, are also on the team. Together with Frondell, they led Team Sweden to a Gold Medal at the 2025-26 World Junior Championships. Now they are looking for another great trophy to add to their resume.
In 12 games played with the Blackhawks this season, following his final SHL season, Frondell recorded 3 goals and 6 assists for 9 points. He was a noticeable chance creator while playing a strong two-way game for his age. He played some center and some wing, which is still up in the air as far as the future.
As for Soderblom, he spent the year backing up Spencer Knight. In 26 appearances (24 of them starts), Soderblom had a record of 8-13-3 with a 3.80 goals against and a .880 save percentage.
Soderblom would tell you he’d like to have a better season, especially with other goalies behind him looking for their opportunity to be the backup, but the Blackhawks didn’t always defend well in front of him either.
This chance at the World Championships is perfect for Soderblom to work on his game, while giving Frondell more ice time as he blossoms into a star.
These two Swedes join Teuvo Teravainen (Finland), Oliver Moore, Wyatt Kaiser, Sam Lafferty, and Drew Commesso (United States) as the Blackhawks currently scheduled to compete in this tournament in Switzerland. Connor Bedard refused to play for Team Canada to work on his rehab.
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