SAN JOSE, Calif. — Blackhawks rookie Anton Frondell will play his eighth NHL game Monday in his eighth different arena.
It has been a mind-boggling first two weeks in this league and on this continent for the teenage Swede, who needed a moment Monday morning to mentally calculate that it has been two weeks now.
“Actually, I looked at the map yesterday and realized we were all the way in the west of the U.S.A.,” Frondell said. “It’s pretty cool to be in new places each and every day, even if all you see is the hotel and the rink.”
In fact, Frondell had already been on the West Coast in Seattle — where he experienced his second win as a Hawk on Saturday — but it only dawned on him upon landing in San Jose because he has followed fellow Swedish forward William Eklund’s career with the Sharks.
Frondell is looking forward to finishing the season with four consecutive games in Chicago, but he’s “living the dream” as is.
His observational skills and interest in different situations have stood out. During Hawks morning skate Monday, for example, he watched the second power-play unit’s sequences during breaks between his own reps on the top power-play unit.
He joked that he skated over to the opposite side because the water bottles were there, but he has undeniably paid close attention to everything.
“Watching other players in practices and morning skates on this team, you just realize how good players can be and how much you still have to work on,” he said. “I’m just trying to learn. I’m far away from, right now, succeeding on the ice. I’m still young, and it’s my first weeks in the league. But it’s cool. Every day, you learn from all these players.”
Blackhawks trickling onto the ice in San Jose for morning skate before their last road game of the season: pic.twitter.com/nJTa2XCDqd
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) April 6, 2026
Power surge
The sample size is small, but the Hawks’ early results with five forwards (Frondell, Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen) on their top power-play unit are encouraging.
Entering Monday, it has scored twice and generated 2.01 shot attempts per minute over its first four games. Before this stretch, the Hawks’ power play had generated just 1.43 shot attempts per minute this season, second-fewest in the league.
Frondell’s deadly one-timer has added a new threat to the unit, although he hasn’t unleashed it much yet. But the biggest difference is Bedard quarterbacking the unit from the blue line instead of operating on the flank. That’s something he had wanted to try.
“I’m still getting used to some areas where I should be in easy spots for them to get me the puck or get them the puck, but I’ll keep growing at that,” Bedard said last week.
Bedard’s first priority is to set up shots by teammates closer to the net, but he also feels confident he can get his own shots through on goal, even from that distance.
The other rookie
Coming off such a frustrating season at Boston University, Sacha Boisvert’s first NHL goal against the Kraken looked like a cathartic moment for him.
“You could see my emotion getting going,” Boisvert said afterward.
The density and travel-heaviness of the Hawks’ schedule has stood out to him, just like it has to Frondell. Boisvert has followed teammates’ guidance about maintaining fitness through the grind.
“All those guys like showing up to the rink early that have been playing in this league for a while,” he said. “[They’re] just stretching, taking care of their bodies. It’s fun to see that, and it gives me motivation to follow what they’re doing.”
