The Chicago Blackhawks made three first-round selections Friday in the 2025 NHL draft.
The Hawks drafted the top-ranked international player, Swedish forward Anton Frondell, with the No. 3 pick. They selected Czech winger Vaclav Nestrasil with the No. 25 pick.
Shortly after choosing Nestrasil, the Hawks traded with the Carolina Hurricanes to acquire another first-round pick at No. 29. They gave up two second-round picks, Nos. 34 and 62, plus a fifth-round pick in 2027. They used the No. 29 pick on Mason West.
All told, the Hawks have had 11 first-round picks over the last four years. General manager Kyle Davidson said that’s intentional.
“The more you pick early … you’re more likely to succeed,” Davidson said. “And so we’ve taken that philosophy and tried to hit it with volume.
“But I also believe that some of these players are getting to the NHL, some of them are on their path. But from our assessment, an objective assessment, we feel their development so far, we are ahead of the odds in some way. I think we are beating the odds and getting a few more players out of drafts than the odds may dictate.”
2025 Blackhawks draft picks
- No. 3 (first round): Forward Anton Frondell
- No. 25 (first): Forward Vaclav Nestrasil
- No. 29 (first): Forward Mason West
- No. 66 (third): Forward Nathan Behm
- No. 98 (fourth): Forward Julius Sumpf
- No. 107 (fourth): Forward Parker Holmes
- No. 162 (sixth):
- No. 194 (seventh):
- No. 197 (seventh):
No. 3: Forward Anton Frondell
It all started with a pair of pink figure skates.
“It was the first time I stepped on the ice,” Frondell, 18, said on Friday’s ESPN broadcast. “Dad just found some pink figure skating skates. I actually skated with them for a year until he (found) out (and said): ‘Oh, Anton, he loves the sport. He wants this.’
“Then he bought me my real first skates. He really wanted me to be a tennis player when I was younger. But I didn’t fall for the sport.”
NHL Central Scouting regards Frondell as a skilled player with strong legs and a quick stick.
“(He) has a nifty wrist shot and his release is solid and accurate. His hockey IQ shines with intelligent moves, with or without the puck. Likes to set up teammates using small moves and tricky passes.”
Frondell said he’d like to play in the NHL next season, but it’s more likely he’ll return to Sweden to play in the men’s league. However, Davidson said Frondell will be able to participate in Hawks training camp.
“He’s a really smart hockey player,” Davidson said. “He uses his body very effectively, especially in battles along the wall. He just has a really projectable game to the NHL.”
Down the road, Frondell’s arrival in Chicago may beg the question of whether he’ll push Connor Bedard to the wing.
“He doesn’t consider himself a center (or a) wing anyway,” Hawks director of amateur scouting Mike Doneghey said of Frondell.
Doneghey said he asked Frondell at the scouting combine which position he preferred, “and he said, ‘Whatever Connor doesn’t play, I’ll play.’ He’s got a real confidence about him.”
“Barkov’s probably a few inches taller. … I would say he’s probably between a Barkov and an Anton Lundell … he’s a big, detail-oriented center with a brain.”—Blackhawks scouting director Mike Doneghey on Anton Frondell and comparisons to Aleksander Barkov
— Phil Thompson (@philthompsontrib.bsky.social) 2025-06-28T04:16:41.753Z
Marcus Krüger, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Hawks, is Frondell’s teammate on Djurgårdens IF. Frondell said Krüger told him: “That’s the best team in the league. If you want to win, go to Chicago.”
Davidson said Krüger supplied Frondell with a lot of information, but Frondell is naturally inquisitive.
“This kid called Johnny Oduya out of the blue just to go meet with him to learn about his breathing exercises that he does,” Davidson said.
No. 25: Forward Vaclav Nestrasil
Nestrasil is a 6-foot-5, 187-pound native of Praha, Czechia, who produced 19 goals and 23 assists in 61 games for Muskegon of the USHL en route to this year’s Clark Cup championship.
NHL Central Scouting calls the 18-year-old “a very skilled power forward. Has a nose for the net and when he uses his size, he’s tough to handle. (He) possesses a hard shot and quick release, making him a scoring threat every time he enters the offensive zone.”
Said Davidson: “You like the physical attributes where (he’s a) big, athletic guy that can really move. He’s got some talent and some really good hockey sense. And again, a raw package.”
No. 29: Forward Mason West
West is a 6-6, 220-pound rising senior at Edina (Minn.) High School. A Division I college football recruit, he has committed to play college hockey at Michigan State — but not until he finishes his final season as a high school quarterback.
“He’s behind the curve; he’s not quite dedicated himself 100% to hockey,” Davidson said of West, who will turn 18 in August and was one of the youngest players eligible for the 2025 NHL draft.
“But at that size, that athleticism, that skating ability, that talent, the sky is the limit. … I just really wanted to get back into the first round and take what I thought was a grand slam hack. I was swinging for the fences and figured, why not?”
West said he felt “ready right now” to start his Hawks career after hearing his name called.
“It was just super special,” he said. “I have family down in Chicago (an uncle and cousin), and I had a really good relationship with Chicago from the start.”
In actuality, West is far from “ready right now.” He has designs on a championship — in high school football. Last year Edina’s postseason ended in the Class 6A quarterfinals in a rout by Maple Grove, and West considers the matter unfinished business.
“I really owed it to my community,” he said. “I really think they need me, and the chance to be able to go back and try to win a state championship would be super special.”
After that, West will play hockey for the USHL’s Fargo Force this season and for Michigan State the following season. Despite the long runway to the NHL, he insists he’s committed to hockey.
“I chose before to play hockey,” West said. “I kind of knew after the first game after Fargo, having that experience, and (I) looked into the next step and the path for me.”
Doneghey added, “He was one of the highest risers in the rankings once he went to Fargo and started playing hockey more than training for football.”
West likened his playing style to rangy Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson.
“Just because of how big he is,” he said. “I try to implement my game from him a ton, just the way he shoots the puck and passes the puck and plays the game.”
Doneghey said West isn’t just big and athletic. He brings another element as a two-sport star.
“He brings that quarterback mentality to the ice when he’s entering the zone,” he said. “He’s always scanning the zone on what plays to make. And he’s comfortable with contact.
“It’ll be a longer road with both him and Nestrasil, but they’re just starting in their process. Three years and then we’ll see where it goes with those.”
No. 66: Forward Nathan Behm
The 6-2, 202-pound winger finished his season with 31 goals and 35 assists, good for fifth in scoring in the WHL.
Like West, Behm stands out in another sport. In August, he won the under-17 division at the Amateur Long Drive Canadian Championships in Edmonton at 327.9 yards.
“I guess (it) translated pretty good (to hockey) with the power aspect,” Behm told Chicago reporters via Zoom on Saturday. “I’m not really too into it. It’s just something I do on the side and don’t really train for it. But I’m just naturally gifted at that part.”
NHL Central Scouting said Behm’s “skating has improved over last year (and he) carries the puck more than a season ago and shows some speed and quickness to elude checkers. … The puck follows him around, particularly close to the net where he manufactures chances.”
Behm sees himself as a smart, skilled winger, though he plans to work on being more explosive.
“I bring a dual threat, goal scoring and playmaking,” he said. “So I have a lot of offensive upside, and I’m big as well.”
No. 98: Forward Julius Sumpf
The Hawks went for size again early in the fourth round with the 6-2, 190-pound German.
Sumpf put up 26 goals and 39 assists in the regular season for the Moncton Wildcats and exploded for 10 goals and six assists in six playoff games to help them win the QMJHL championship, ending a 15-year drought.
No. 98: Forward Parker Holmes
Rinse and repeat: The Hawks picked up a winger who checks in at 6-4 and 222 pounds from the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs.
Holmes, 18, is a left-handed shot with a scant resume. He had just one goal and no assists and a minus-8 rating in 21 games for the Bulldogs and just three goals and seven assists in 51 games the previous season with the Central Canada Hockey League’s Kemptville 73’s.
