The 2025 NHL Draft is in the books. After months of speculation, the drafted prospects will go to their new markets and continue their life of trying to make it to the NHL. For the Chicago Blackhawks, that means adding 8 new players to the organization.
Kyle Davidson and his staff seemed to have a specific strategy. They decided that big-stature forwards were something that the organization lacked in the prospect department.
3 of Davidson’s 8 selections came in the first round. That is now 11 first-round picks since he took over in 2022. There always seems to be a risk involved with at least one of them each year, but high upside is worth considering now and again.
This is a grade for each player selected by the Blackhawks over the course of 7 rounds:
#3: F Anton Frondell – A
The Chicago Blackhawks selected Anton Frondell with the third overall pick, which was expected once the San Jose Sharks took Michael Misa second.
Frondell believes that his game is modeled after Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers, who is one of the best two-way centers in the history of the NHL.
This is a player who is a high-character, highly motivated individual. He is thankful for the opportunity to be such a high draft pick.
"It's an amazing feeling. I'm still shocked." Frondell said after being selected by the Blackhawks. "It was a blackout when I heard my name. Now I finally have a new favorite NHL team. I'm happy to be here. Really happy."
The Blackhawks are expecting to have a player who adds an incredible skillset to their young group of forwards. How long will it take to get him into the NHL lineup? Well, Frondell thinks it could come sooner than later.
"If I get the chance to take a spot on the team, I will do everything I can to do that, to play. And if I'm not good enough, if I don't make it, I'm going back to Djurgårdens."
The fact that Frondell already has it as a goal to make the team out of his first camp is good news for the Blackhawks. He wants to get better, he wants to contribute, and he wants to be elite.
His two-way game is noticeable, which is where his Barkov comparison comes from, but he has a long way to go to reach that level of success offensively. The tools are there for him to develop.
With all of these things considered, an A-grade for this pick is fair. He is perfectly different from guys like Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar to justify picking him third overall. The makeup of the under-23 forward group took a big leap.
#25: F Vaclav Nestrasil – B+
The Chicago Blackhawks entered the 2025 NHL Draft with two first-round picks. The second one was pick 25, which was handed to them by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
With that selection, Chicago selected a forward named Vaclav Nestrasil. This was a pick designed to add some size and skill up front. Nestrasil, a Czech native, is 6'6" and 185 lbs.
As a forward playing for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL in 2024-25, Nestrasil scored 19 goals and had 23 assists for 42 points in 61 games.
He elevated his game in the postseason, as he scored seven goals and six assists for 13 points in 14 postseason games en route to a Clark Cup championship.
With a lot of development ahead, Nestrasil could turn into a great middle-six forward. Is there a high-end ceiling to his game? Possibly not, but his size matched with his skill makes him appear to fit what the Blackhawks came in looking for. That is why a B+ makes sense as a grade.
#29: F Mason West – A
When it looked like the Blackhawks were done with the first round, they made a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes to jump back in. Carolina gave Chicago the 29th overall pick in the deal, and they used it to select Edina High School forward Mason West.
Mason West was the most intriguing prospect entering the 2025 NHL Draft. He is a big kid at 6'6" and 2018 lbs. He is also incredibly skilled.
However, the Blackhawks took a chance by making this selection. West is committed to playing his high school football season instead of solely committing to hockey. Once his football season is over, he will resume his career in the USHL with the Fargo Force and be fully devoted to hockey.
Beyond the USHL, he is set to play college hockey at Michigan State, with whom the Blackhawks have had a great relationship in recent years.
West pledges that nothing will change his overall outlook, which is that he will be done with football once his senior year is complete. He feels that he owes it to his community to finish what he started.
"I just really wanted to get back into the first round and take what I thought was a Grand Slam hack." Kyle Davidson said of this pick. "I was swinging for the fences and figured, why not? Let’s go for a big one here. And so that’s kind of what I did.”
Davidson knows the risks that come with this selection. This was his 11th selection in the first round over the last four years, so there is some wiggle room. Most of his picks have worked out, even the ones that looked bleak at the time (Sam Rinzel, for example).
West, being a two-sport athlete, makes this a lot different than Rinzel, who was also a high-school player at the time of his selection. Davidson thinks that Chicago's development staff, in addition to Michigan State, will give him the perfect opportunity to take advantage of his pure skill.
#66: F Nathan Behm – B
Nathan Behm has a ton of skill. He was a big-time scoring winger for the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL, but he relied on carrying the puck and skating for all of his effectiveness. To become a full-time NHL player, Behm must work on his play without the puck on his stick.
If he can start to find other ways to be effective, in addition to being more physical and getting to the harder areas, he will become a useful NHL player.
#98: F Julius Sumpf – C+
With the 98th overall pick, the Blackhawks selected Julius Sumpf of the Moncton Wildcats. Sumpf was one of Moncton's top scorers and is a big-bodied player at 6'2"/194 lbs.
He plays a strong 200-foot game. Once he gets the chance to prove himself in the pros, he will have to show that he can score at the rate he did in major junior.
#107: F Parker Holmes – C-
Chicago taking Parker Holmes is simply them taking a chance on a big forward who can be a physical presence on the ice. He's 6'4" and 214 pounds as a kid, but his puck skills are limited.
There won't be much offense that comes with his game, so he will have to make a name for himself in different ways. The league has gone away from needing enforcers but he clearly knows how to fight when needed.
#162: D Ashton Cumby – C
The Blackhawks have one of the deepest prospect farms when it comes to defensemen in the entire NHL. They were never planning on selecting any high-end defenders in 2025, but they couldn't leave the draft without at least selecting one. They made Ashton Cumby the 162nd pick.
#194: G Ilya Kanarsky – B
With the 194th overall pick, the Blackhawks took their first goaltender of the class. That is Ilya Kanarsky.
No matter what, it is always nice to add a goalie to the prospect farm each year. You never know which one of these late-round kids could take a net in the NHL one day.
With Spencer Knight, Drew Commesso, and Arvid Soderblom amongst others in the organization, Ilya Kanarsky has plenty of time to try and develop into a pro-caliber goalie.
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