There’s something to be said about a guy who can do just a little bit of everything well, and Anton Frondell fits that bill.
Analysis
Sweden had a rare year in 2024 where no player from their country was picked in the first round of the NHL draft, and the Djurgårdens system appears to have taken that personally; winning the Allvenskan outright, and potentially setting up to have three players picked on day one of the 2025 Draft in LA; two of which could end up going in the top ten. His teammate Viktor Eklund may end up going earlier than he could, but both are exceptionally good at embodying a lot of what Tre Kronor’s talent has been lately; responsible at all ends of the ice…and completely unafraid of contact, in spite of what your uncle may believe.
Anton Frondell generated a lot of interest last year for being over a point per game in the Swedish Under-20 league at the tender age of 16, and many were eager to see if he’d follow it up with a stint in Djurgårdens proper to see if he’d be able to handle it. It wasn’t an easy transition, what with him being another prospect from this class who had injury concerns, but when he finally got the chance to play in the Allsvenskan? He gave us all a reason to take notice.
The biggest asset of his game is this; he’s intelligent, he’s hard working…and he’s flexible. On offense; Frondell loves leading the charge; using his solid frame to help him in board battles and his strong stick skills to help open up ice for his teammates, then immediately try to find weaknesses in his opponent’s coverage to exploit, and seemingly finds ways to create openings in those defenses with simple, smart use of his body and positioning; something both he and his teammates have benefited from immensely. However, that’s a part of his game that he can involve himself with…it’s just not the only part.
Frondell has a very sharp, tricky shot; and prefers shooting first to active playmaking when he can get the chance; biasing quicker wrist and snap shots that he can put on net with laser accuracy to catch goaltenders looking, and his stickwork means he can easily bring a goaltender down a dark road if he needs to. His skating skill also allows him to find the space on the ice he needs to get the best possible shot while still being actively defended against, or the best possible chance to finish off a passing play for his teammates.
On defense, he’s able to use that same level of play recognition and aggression to shut down opposing forecheckers; getting back quickly, shutting lanes down with his body, his stick, and his most powerful asset; his mind. He seemingly finds ways to just infuriate oncoming opponents with how effortlessly he can shut them down and turn transition back the other way with little effort; even if he has to take a hit to make a play.
All of this, mind you, has not just been done against his peers in the J20 Nationell, but also against grown-ass men in the Allsvenskan, with extremely little dip in how he’s performed. His game is very mature for someone so young, and Djurgårdens coach seemingly couldn’t find enough reasons to praise this young man.
If there’s a negative to Frondell’s game, it’s usually identified as his acceleration. He is a fast skater when he’s at speed, and he’s good at maneuvering in space as well as lateral movement, it’s just a matter of those first two or three steps that seem to generate less power under his legs than they should. Some of it could just be lingering rust from his season being cut short (which seems to be just about everybody in this Draft’s top 10 outside of Porter Martone and Michael Misa), but it should be a point of focus for him going forward, because if he can nail that one thing down, he could be an absolute star of a player.
And of course…the injury. Get used to me bringing it up, it’s going to be a consistent problem with this class. Frondell’s first half of the year was derailed by a knee injury, which forced him to miss almost the entire first half of the season, which means we’ll of course be playing the roulette of “is it ever truly healed” forever. It didn’t seem to bother him much with the appropriate recovery time he was given, and the fact that he immediately followed up some time in J20 with playing against men and finishing his season with a championship with the home squad among a host of honors like best rookie and the Allsvenskan trophy, so maybe it is a thing of the past…but this draft is littered with broken bodies and incomplete seasons, and I do think it’s at least fair to question at least if it could be a concern.
Frankly, I think Frondell would be an easy win for any team looking to draft him. He brings a nearly complete package with only a couple of smaller concerns for the development staff to work on him with. He embodies a lot of the things B’s fans love in their players, and even if he isn’t the biggest prospect, he sure doesn’t play like it.
If for some reason he doesn’t get taken between 5th and when the Bruins pick? He’s on the short list of players I think who would make a wonderful choice for this team.
Rankings
Ranked 1st by NHL Central Scouting via European Skaters
Ranked 12th by EliteProspects.com
Ranked 5th by TSN’s Bob McKenzie
Ranked 8th by McKeen’s Hockey
Ranked 2nd by FloHockey
Ranked 7th by FC Hockey
Ranked 6th by DailyFaceoff.com
Ranked 5th by Sportsnet’s Sam Cosentino
Ranked 6th by Dobber Prospects
Ranked 6th by Smaht Scouting