Blackhawks Prospect Frank Nazar III Scores On First Shot On Goal, Just Like Jonathan Toews

Frank Nazar III scored on his first shot on goal, just like Jonathan Toews.

Nazar, who signed a three-year contract on Saturday, connected at 10:05 of the first period to open the scoring on Sunday in a 4-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Despite the upbeat start, Chicago lost its fourth straight. 

After taking a pass up the middle from Seth Jones, Nazar drove straight down the slot. He beat Hurricanes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov with a high wrister on the stick side.

"There's a nice play at the blue line and I was able to go in," Nazar said. "I was just kind of shooting for whatever's open."

The 20-year-forward celebrated by sliding his hand over his helmet, as though he were slicking back his dark hair.  He said the "celly" was something he picked up from his former teammates at the University of Michigan.

Nazar said he was able to adjust to the speed of full-fledged NHL competition, but still had some jitters.

"I mean, who wouldn't have nerves going into their first NHL games," he said. "It was nice to get one early there and kind of calm it and play (with) a little bit more poise."  See following video.

Toews, Chicago's long-time captain and a likely Hall-of Famer, scored his first NHL goal at 13:43 of the first period against San Jose on Oct. 10, 2007. He beat All-Star Evgeni Nabokov in a 2-1 Blackhawks loss.

Nazar just finished his second season at Michigan and seemed to have no problem adjusting to NHL speed. Before scoring, Nazar fired a shot wide during a power play.

Nazar got 15:43 of ice time in his NHL debut. He was on the ice as a penalty killer when Seth Jarvis scored his second power-play goal of the game — and 33rd of the season — with 3:33 left in the third period to snap a 2-all tie. Sebastian Aho added an empty-netter to ice Carolina's fifth straight win.

Chicago coach Luke Richardson said he had no issue trying out Nazar on a penalty kill late in the game since the forward had done it at Michigan.

Nazar was one of three Blackhawks first-round draft picks in 2022. He was selected 13th overall, between Chicago rookie defenseman Kevin Korchinski (seventh) and D-man Sam Rinzel (25th) who just finished a super freshman season at the University of Minnesota.

Nazar, from the Detroit area, had 17 goals and 41 points in 41 games for the Wolverines in 2023-24. He came on strong after skating for gold medal winning Team USA at the IIHF World Junior Championships in Göteborg, Sweden.

Nazar said his last 72 hours had been hectic. His NCAA career ended on Thursday when Boston College eliminated Michigan in the Frozen Four semifinals on Thursday in St. Paul, Minnesota.

"From being at the Frozen Four to flying in last night and then figuring out I was playing today was pretty crazy," Nazar said. "So I'm a little exhausted, but it was a blast."