The Chicago Blackhawks signed forward Frank Nazar III, their No. 2 prospect in THN's 2024 Future Watch, to a three-year entry-level contact on Saturday. The deal runs through the 2025-26 season and has a $950,000 cap hit. The 20-year-old Nazar is expected to join the Blackhawks on Sunday in Chicago when they host the Carolina Hurricanes. Michigan Wolverine Frank Nazar fires away in a Big Ten game against Michigan State. [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAzMTcyMzg4MDE4MzMzMjUx/usatsi_19977980_168401008_lowres.jpg] Michigan Wolverine Frank Nazar fires away in a Big Ten game against Michigan State. Nazar was a slick sophomore forward at the University of Michigan last season. He and his Wolverine teammates were eliminated from the NCAA Frozen Four on Thursday night. Boston College rolled past Michigan 4-0 in the semifinals in St. Paul, Minnesota to advance to face Denver in the title game. ONE OF THREE FIRST-ROUND PICKS IN 2022 Nazar was one of three Chicago first-round draft picks in 2022, taken 13th overall — and between defensemen Kevin Korchinski (seventh) and Sam Rinzel (25th). The speedy Detroit-area product played in only 13 NCAA games in 2022-23 as a freshman following hip surgery, but posted 17 goals and 41 points in 41 games this season with the Wolverines. Nazar came on strong in the second half after skating for gold-medal winning Team USA at the 2024 World Junior Championship in Sweden. He's best known as a scorer, but was prominent as a playmaker for the Americans at the WJC, posting eight assists on some nifty passing. Nazar and several other drafted Michigan teammates — Gavin Brindley (Columbus), Rutger McGroarty (Winnipeg), Dylan Duke (Tampa Bay) and Seamus Casey (New Jersey) — needed to confer with their NHL teams about the next, best steps for their careers. Coach Luke Richardson said he watched Nazar in the NCAA Tournament on TV. "Nazar is impressive to me," Richardson said Friday. "He gets around the ice. He really seems to read the play well. "It's exciting that we might have a chance to look at him. I think he's had a real great year so that's looking good for us." See video. Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson talks about Frank Nazar III in NCAA Tournament. Nazar was the first in his family to play hockey. His father, Frank II, fell in love with the game when he owned a parking garage across from the Joe Louis Arena, the former home of the Red Wings.
