Anton Frondell is high-risk, high-reward option for Blackhawks' draft pick

BUFFALO, N.Y. — To NHL draft prospect Anton Frondell, all 18 of his meetings with different teams at the combine this week felt similar.

"All the teams play the same game," Frondell said Saturday. "They don’t show too much emotion. All the teams have nice guys [who] have a hard look in the eyes."

One team tested his reflexes with a video-game controller. Another team had him analyze his own tape. His meeting with the Blackhawks, even though they're strongly considering him for the No. 3 pick, didn't stand out much.

But one thing he did notice is his English fluency improved throughout the week. He has learned the language in school in Sweden, but never before has he spoken it so much.

"I have a feeling that I talk much better than I did seven days ago," he said. "There have been a lot of interviews, so I’ve had a good chance to train it.

"It’s a bit hard to get out the words that you want to say. You know it in Swedish; you don’t know it in English. Some teams have a Swedish guy in the room, so I can tell him and he can translate it to the other guys. But actually, when I called my dad a few days ago, I used some English word without thinking about it. So I’m starting to get into it."

Fellow forward prospect Porter Martone's size (6-3, 204 pounds) has enamored fans, but Frondell measured in at 6-1 and an identical 204 pounds Saturday. He's an avid tennis/squash/badminton player in addition to hockey, but it's obvious why he picked the latter sport to pursue professionally.

"Anton is a tank on the ice, and he has a shot like a missile," said Victor Eklund, younger brother of Sharks forward William and another projected top-15 pick this year.

Frondell and Eklund played together this past season for Djurgardens in the Allsvenskan (Sweden's second-division pro league), and they were united on a line starting in January. They plan to play there again next season, now in the top division because the team earned promotion.

Frondell's production in the Allsvenskan — 25 points in 29 games — was impressive. On a point-per-game basis, it exceeded David Pastrnak (24 points in 36 games) and William Nylander (27 points in 35 games) and came close to Elias Pettersson (41 points in 43 games) in their draft years in the same league.

It's Finnish star Aleksander Barkov, however, whom Frondell has most closely modeled his game after. He watched the first two periods of Barkov's Panthers in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Friday before falling asleep; he had a big morning ahead of him, after all.

"[Barkov] goes hard into battle. He works in the defensive zone," Frondell said. "Like him, I’m big and strong. This year I played against men, and I could run over someone if I had to.

"When I was younger, it was more about scoring, producing points. The older I get, I understand it’s more important to not let in goals. I take my defensive play really seriously."

But unlike another strong candidate for the Hawks' No. 3 pick in Caleb Desnoyers, whose consistency and skill set makes him a relatively low-risk (and low-reward) option, Frondell is a wild card. His placement in prospect rankings varies dramatically. He could become a Barkov-level star, or he could flop.

Frondell's critics are worried about his inconsistency from game to game and level to level. He has often disappointed in international tournaments against his own age group, and he sometimes struggles to be assertive and drive play. Opinions are also mixed about whether his skating is good or just OK; he said he's actively working on his quickness and acceleration.

The Hawks' decision on June 27 will indicate which side of that debate they fall into.