Anton Frondell: Stats, Contract and Blackhawks Role

Anton Frondell is a Swedish centre drafted third overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2025. He scored 20 goals for Djurgården in the SHL in 2025-26, won World Junior gold with Sweden and had nine points in his first 12 NHL games in March and April 2026.

Fast facts: Anton Frondell
Current team	Chicago Blackhawks
Position	Centre, also left wing
Shoots	Left
Born	7 May 2007, Trångsund, Sweden
Height / weight	6’1″ / 198 lbs, per the Blackhawks
Drafted	2025, first round, 3rd overall, Chicago Blackhawks
Contract status	Three-year entry-level contract signed 15 July 2025, running through 2027-28 at a $986,250 cap hit from 2026-27
Jersey	No. 16 (No. 15 in his first four NHL games)

Is Anton Frondell a centre or a winger?

Chicago sees Anton Frondell as a centre. He played on the wing in his first three NHL games and at centre in the other nine in 2025-26, and he spent the summer of 2026 studying video of Aleksander Barkov and working on faceoffs. “I really enjoyed playing in the middle of the ice and helping out a lot in the (defensive) zone,” he told NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti in September 2026.

Faceoffs are the gap. He won 32 of 106 in the NHL, 30.2 per cent. To reach 50 per cent on the same 106 draws he would have needed 21 more wins.

What are Anton Frondell’s career stats?

Anton Frondell played his first senior game for Djurgården in December 2023, aged 16, and missed part of 2024-25 after knee surgery in September 2024.

Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	P
2023-24	Djurgårdens IF J20	J20 Nationell	29	18	21	39
2023-24	Djurgårdens IF	HockeyAllsvenskan	9	0	1	1
2024-25	Djurgårdens IF	HockeyAllsvenskan	29	11	14	25
2025-26	Djurgårdens IF	SHL	43	20	8	28
2025-26	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	12	3	6	9

He was HockeyAllsvenskan rookie of the year in 2024-25, when his 0.86 points a game was the highest ever by an under-18 player in the SHL or HockeyAllsvenskan at the time. In 2025-26 he became the fourth 18-year-old in SHL history to score 20 goals, after Thomas Sandström, Markus Näslund and Daniel Sedin, and on 4 October 2025 against Malmö he became the second-youngest player to score an SHL hat-trick, at 18 years and 150 days. He was a finalist for SHL Rookie of the Year with Viggo Björck, and the award went to Ivar Stenberg.

When did Anton Frondell make his NHL debut?

Anton Frondell made his NHL debut on 24 March 2026 at the New York Islanders, a 4-3 Chicago win, and set up a goal by Ilya Mikheyev. Connor Bedard stepped aside to let him take the opening faceoff, as we reported in Connor Bedard’s gift to rookie Anton Frondell. Frondell lost the draw. “It came as a surprise, which was very cool. Too bad I lost the faceoff,” he said afterwards.

Why did Anton Frondell change his number?

Anton Frondell wore No. 15 in his first four NHL games and switched to No. 16 for his home debut on 31 March 2026. No reason was given in Blackhawks or NHL.com coverage. He scored his first NHL goal in his first game wearing 16, against Winnipeg in a 4-3 overtime loss, and it is the number he wears in Chicago.

Will Anton Frondell play first-line centre for Chicago?

Going into 2026-27 training camp, the Chicago Sun-Times saw him as having the chance to start there, but nothing was decided. Connor Bedard had surgery on his left shoulder on 8 July 2026 with a recovery time of about four months, according to ESPN. In September 2026 The Athletic’s Scott Powers reported that Bedard was back skating, possibly ahead of schedule, and expected to miss about 14 games. In June 2026 general manager Kyle Davidson was reported to plan for Bedard, Frondell and Frank Nazar as his three top centres. Patrick Kane returned to Chicago as a free agent on 23 July 2026, and Jeff Blashill is the head coach.

Frondell was not on Chicago’s roster for the prospect showcase on 14 and 15 September. “He’s the most important piece on the team, and now he’s injured, so it’s not fun,” he told NHL.com about Bedard. The channels for every game are in our guide to how to watch the Chicago Blackhawks.

What is Anton Frondell’s contract?

Anton Frondell signed a three-year entry-level contract with Chicago on 15 July 2025. Its cap hit was $975,000 in 2025-26 and is $986,250 in 2026-27 and 2027-28, an average of about $982,500, according to PuckPedia’s contract data. The deal did not slide, since he played 12 NHL games in 2025-26, and he is due to become a restricted free agent in 2028.

What has Anton Frondell won with Sweden?

Anton Frondell won gold at the 2026 World Junior Championship in Minnesota, Sweden’s first World Junior title since 2012. He led Sweden with five goals, had eight points in seven games, was named the tournament’s best forward and scored the deciding shootout goal in the 4-3 semi-final win over Finland. “It’s incredible. It was time for a gold, and we did it,” he told the IIHF after the 4-2 final against Czechia.

He captained Sweden to bronze at the World U-17 Hockey Challenge in November 2023, won silver at the 2024 World Junior A Challenge and silver at the 2025 U18 World Championship. He made his senior debut at the 2026 World Championship on 20 May against Slovenia and had three points in four games before Sweden went out in the quarter-final.

How did Anton Frondell start playing hockey?

Anton Frondell started at six because his school offered hockey, and his first skates were a borrowed pair of pink figure skates with the name “Anna” written on them, NHL.com reported. His parents, Henrik and Maria, bought him his own equipment only after a year.

Tennis was the family sport. Henrik and Anton’s older sister, Alva, both played competitively. “Dad played tennis when he was younger and he still wants me to be a pro tennis player,” Frondell told NHL.com before the 2025 draft. His first hockey club was FoC Farsta.

Where is Anton Frondell from, and how tall is he?

Anton Frondell was born on 7 May 2007 in Trångsund, just south of Stockholm, and grew up in the Stockholm area before joining Djurgården. The Blackhawks list him at 6’1″ and 198 lbs. The Chicago Sun-Times reported in August 2026 that his weight had held steady at 209 lbs for a year.