Anton Frondell (2025 1st round, 3rd overall) didn’t disappoint in his much-anticipated Chicago debut last night, as he registered an assist on teammate Ilya Mikheyev’s first period goal en route to the Hawks’ 4-3 victory over the Islanders. Also, Frondell was featured on both the first line for the Hawks, as well as the first power play unit. He received 15:43 of ice time.
Frondell’s fellow 2025 1st-round pick, New York’s Matthew Schaefer, ensured Chicago’s road to victory would be anything but smooth sailing. Even with Chicago head coach Jeff Blashill starting his first line (featuring Frondell with Connor Bedard), forward Anders Lee deflected a shot from Schaefer to give the Isles an early lead. That lead lasted through roughly half the period, as Chicago forward Nick Lardis (2023 3rd round, 67th overall) tied the score with an assist from Frank Nazar (2022 1st round, 13th overall). After Mikheyev scored with Frondell’s helper several minutes later, Chicago led the rest of the way. Lardis and Nazar each finished with two points on a goal and an assist each.
With his assist, Schaefer has a remarkable 52 points (22G 30A) in 72 games for the Isles. Also, with a top-six in Chicago featuring players with those kinds of skill sets, youth definitely is being served in the Windy City.