The Chicago Blackhawks and Rockford IceHogs are no strangers to winning Gold Medals while competing in the IIHF World Championships. Players like Connor Bedard, Spencer Knight, Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore, and Teuvo Teravainen, amongst many others, have done it. Now, the next wave of prospects is looking to accomplish the same goal. On Friday, December 26th, the 2025-26 World Junior Championships will begin in Minnesota. The Blackhawks have three prospects who will participate in the tournament. One of them is an elite high-end contributor on his elite team, and the other two are looking to do what they can to give their squads a chance to win. Anton Frondell Anton Frondell was Chicago's third overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Now, he is going to be one of Team Sweden's alternate captains at the World Junior Championships. He is on a roster good enough to win the entire tournament, which would end a 14 year drought. Frondell believes that he is a two-way forward and models his game after Sasha Barkov of the Florida Panthers. With Sweden in this tournament, he will be (at the start) the number one center, which is where he will put these skills to the test. Offensively, Frondell has a motor that is NHL-ready. He competes hard on every shift. He has a big-time shot that can score from range or up close. He is also a playmaker who is hard to defend because you never know which direction he is going to take the puck. Combined with all of these natural gifts is a good size, skating ability, and speed. Whether he is a winger or center in the NHL remains to be seen, and Sweden's overall usage of him will be interesting to watch in that regard. AJ Spellacy Team USA is looking to three-peat. That is going to be incredibly difficult because of all the turnover that they are going to experience. The American's don't have Ryan Leonard, Gabe Perreault, Oliver Moore, Zeev Buium, or any of the guys who won both of the last two Golds. AJ Spellacy of the Chicago Blackhawks will be looking to make his mark on the squad this year. He has had some good looks with the Blackhawks during a couple of training camps and preseasons, and now is his chance to make an impact on the big stage. Spellacy was drafted by Chicago in the 3rd round (72nd overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft and currently plays with the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL. His game isn't to be overly productive offensively, but his speed, effort, and desire to make contact on the ice make him an impactful forward to have on a team. In a short tournament like this, Spellacy will be effective in wearing down opponents before the skill guys take over following his work. He'll expect to chip in a clutch play or two along the way, as well. Václav Nestrašil Chicago selected Václav Nestrašil in the 1st round (25th overall) of the 2025 NHL Draft. A native of Czechia, Nestrašil chose the path of college hockey in the US. He plays for UMass, where he has 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points in 18 games played. It's hard to deny the impact he's had on their program so far. Only two freshmen have more points than him, which speaks to his overall development curve following his draft. Now, Nestrašil is looking to make an impact at this tournament with Czechia, which has had some recent success as a hockey country, like in the old days. Nestrašil has some good size at 6'6" and 185+ pounds, and he likes to use it to his advantage in the offensive zone. Defending him is going to be a difficult challenge. Czechia, like some of the other good European hockey countries, is always strong defensively as a team. Nestrašil will fit right in, as he shows a deep commitment to the work in his own end, plus his commitment to being sound positionally. Scoring when Nestrašil is on the ice is going to be about as difficult as keeping him off the scoresheet. Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/a0443bbd-d383-4fe0-a108-6d0435d98ac8.jpeg] Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/] team site to stay updated on the latest news [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators/latest-newshttps://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/latest-news], game-day [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators/game-dayhttps://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/game-day] coverage, player features [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators/playershttps://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/players], and more. For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
