The Chicago Blackhawks will add Anton Frondell to the lineup this week. Frondell may be in the top six forward group after all.
The Chicago Blackhawks will see Anton Frondell, the third overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, make his NHL debut this week. He is expected to join the team while they are on their four-game road trip.
It is fair, for a variety of reasons, to assume that Jeff Blashill would bury him in the bottom six to start. He hasn’t made a lot of changes to the forward group in recent weeks. Some of his lineup decision-making as the head coach has been met with criticism, but he has stuck to his beliefs.
Due to the loyalty that Blashill has shown to certain veterans on the team throughout the season, it was fair to assume that the young guys entering the lineup would have to pay their dues first. However, in the case of Frondell, Blashill may have a different mentality.
Although he would not say whether or not Frondell would start with Connor Bedard, he did say he would start with “a good player”. Well, there are a lot of good players on the team, but in this context, it seems like he means a high-end offensive creator like Connor Bedard or Frank Nazar.
"Based on the level of play he's had all year, how well he played the last part of the year, & the fact there's zero practice time this time of year, I'm a throw him in the fire kind of coach," Blashill said of Frondell when asked if he will ease him in or throw him into the fire. The head coach specified that it's situational, but Frondell deserves the chance.
If Frondell does crack the top six right away, who comes out? Would Blashill move Andre Burakovsky down? He has stayed committed to keeping him with Bedard, but his two points since Christmas aren't cutting it.
Are Ryan Greene or Nick Lardis, who have earned their way up the lineup, going to come down? There are options for Jeff Blashill to weigh.
Throwing Frondell on a line with Connor Bedard would excite the fans, but it would also be a smart risk to take as a coach for hockey-related purposes. Each of them can create, and each of them has a knack for scoring goals in different ways.
Frondell's one-timer will play well with Connor Bedard's high hockey IQ, and Frondell's ability to make plays will help Bedard, who is incredible at finding the soft scoring areas. It may take time to develop chemistry, but they may also click right away because they are so good.
Whether it's immediate or after a few games, Blashill must keep Frondell with Bedard once he tries it. Continuity is the key to them developing a good on-ice relationship.
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