Frank Nazar came out of the gates red hot this season and he is still having a strong season overall for just his second somewhat full season in the NHL. The 21-year-old has five goals and 16 points in 22 games and has a firm hold on the second line center position and top power play.
Many teams seemed to have hit on their picks at the top of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, plenty of which went before the Blackhawks even drafted Nazar, or even Kevin Korchinski at seventh for that matter.
Nazar is tied for third on the Chicago Blackhawks in points and is playing important minutes and in all situations. But how does he stack up to his draft class in terms of this season and overall?
Nazar ranks fourth this season in points by players drafted in 2022, behind only Cutter Gauthier, Logan Cooley, and Lane Hutson. Gauthier has had a big breakout, while Cooley and Hutson were expected to continue playing the way they have this season. Nazar was drafted 13th overall, so this is a good spot to be and the Blackhawks have to be very pleased.
Overall, Nazar is working his way up. He has played the 10th most games of any player drafted in 2022, but has the seventh-most points, soon to pass Pavel Mintyukov, who has played 74 more games than Nazar and only has eight more points.
Nazar continues to prove that he will be the long-term option as the second line center for the Blackhawks and be part of the very good team that they are building and has already started to shine through.
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