The Chicago Blackhawks took an alternate approach to the first round of the 2025 draft by going with size over pure skill. Some of the future at forward includes 5'10" Connor Bedard, 5'10" Frank Nazar, 5'11" Oliver Moore, 5'11" Nick Lardis, and 5'9" Roman Kantserov.
The Blackhawks of course also have bigger forward prospects too like Colton Dach, Ryan Greene, and when they fill out weight-wise, Sacha Boisvert and Marek Vanacker. Chicago went the route of adding major size though with Anton Frondell at third overall, Vaclav Nestrasil at 25th, and Mason West at 29th.
Frondell was scouted as someone who had the capabilities of being one of the best power forwards from the draft, even though he could turn out to be a different type of player. He's 6'1", 205 lbs, so the weight alone will likely be utilized in his game.
Nestrasil is 6'6", 185 lbs and West, also a quarterback, is 6'6", 218 lbs. Nestrasil needs to fill out, but West is a beast in every way right now.
It is definitely a good idea to have a mix of these players and the future looks extremely bright for the Blackhawks at every position. It may not be next season, but once all of these young players develop and start making an impact, Chicago will be one of the top teams for a long time with what they have assembled.
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