Sweden won gold at the World Junior Championship last night, the first title for the Swedes since 2012. Blackhawks prospect Anton Frondell had a very good tournament. He was named the top forward in the tournament by the directorate (team management groups) and was also named one of the three forwards on the media’s all-tournament team.
“It was time for gold, and we did it. It’s amazing,” he said after the game.
Anton Frondell interviews moments after securing a gold medal: pic.twitter.com/QvfAbYnYs2
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 6, 2026Frondell was really good throughout the tournament, and it looks like there’s star potential there for the Blackhawks in the future. If we take a step back from a lot of our recent conversations about the waves upon waves of prospects coming to Chicago in the coming years and some of the young guys who are already in the NHL, the reality (at this point) is there are three guys who need to hit for the Blackhawks’ rebuild to make them a juggernaut: Connor Bedard, Artyom Levshunov and Frondell. They were taken first, second and third overall in their respective drafts.
When the Blackhawks were great, the players on the billboards were Jonathan Toews (3) and Patrick Kane (1). Looking at the teams that are at the top right now, their best players — Nathan MacKinnon (1) and Cale Makar (4) for example — they were picked high in their respective draft classes. It doesn’t happen overnight, but they need to be good, if not great, players. And, as we’ve discussed here at length in the past few months, the necessity to draft those players and not pray for free agency to deliver a game-changer is paramount in the new era of the NHL because of the cap going up as much/quickly as it is.
I will also remind everyone who is on the Frondell Bandwagon right now that he might not have been available for the Blackhawks to draft him if Columbus had said yes. The Blackhawks reportedly offered their first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft with no protection to the Blue Jackets in a package trying move back up in the 2024 draft to select Ivan Demidov.
I really appreciate when young players in any sport understand and appreciate when they’re on a big stage. And Blackhawks prospect Václav Nestrašil knew helping Czechia get to the gold medal game in this year’s World Junior Championship was a big deal. twitter.com/IIHFHockey/status/2008207335248798147?s=20 This was a funny comment from Nestrašil after the game last night (video courtesy FloHockey) about when he shook hands with Frondell. But, again, there are a couple things I love here from the young forward. First, after a crushing loss he could have a sense of humor in front of the cameras; Canada’s star players struggled with that concept. Second, him saying he thinks Frondell is going to give him a hard time “for the next few years.” I’ve written about the camaraderie we see early among Blackhawks prospects for a few years now. The implication in that statement that Nestrašil and Frondell are going to be teammates moving forward. They’re going to play together on the same team.Chicago Blackhawks prospects Václav Nestrašil and Anton Frondell shared a funny moment in the handshake line after Czechia and Sweden settled the final game of the 2026 World Juniors #WorldJuniors #WJC #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/m9GnTknQtN
— FloHockey (@FloHockey) January 6, 2026 The Blackhawks under GMKD have used some picks in the first round on “lottery ticket” prospects, including Nestrašil. They had the luxury to take those big swings because of the work they’ve done to accumulate enough draft capital to get guys who might be a little rough before the draft but have the chance to be something special later. He looks like a really good player who could be impactful at the next levels, based on his play at the World Juniors and as a freshman at UMass. There’s a lot to love here. The Blackhawks released this statement after we learned of the passing of longtime Hawks coach and executive Bob Pulford on Monday.Our thoughts are with the family of Bob Pulford❤️ pic.twitter.com/6AwHLa1Mq0
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 5, 2026 I didn’t say too much yesterday about Pulford’s three decades with the Blackhawks because he was a polarizing figure with many fans. There was a time when he was revered; there were also times when his name was treated like a four-letter word in the 300 level at the United Center. Not everything he did was a great success, but there were probably more wins than losses on his ledger along the way. And he was respected in the organization and around the league. And his commitment to the game throughout his life was remarkable. As Gary Bettman and the NHL Alumni said in their respective statements, he fought for players throughout his life. You cannot tell the story of the history of the NHL or the Chicago Blackhawks without mentioning Pulford. Very nicely written obituary of Pulford here from Jesse Granger at The Athletic.Moment of silence at @cryptocomarena for one-time @LAKings captain and head coach Bob Pulford, a Jack Adams Award winner. Our obit on the four-time Stanley Cup winner with the @MapleLeafs and decades-long coach and executive with the @NHLBlackhawks. t.co/doFa42NZ5M
— Eric Stephens (@icemancometh) January 6, 2026 An interesting trade in the OHL saw former Blackhawks prospect Alex Pharand and Nathan Villeneuve traded to Windsor on Monday. The Blackhawks opted to not retain Pharand’s rights this past summer; he was a fourth-round pick (No. 99 overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft. He’ll now be teammates with current Blackhawks prospect AJ Spellacy in Windsor. A minor trade in the NHL last night: the Carolina Hurricanes acquired defenseman Juuso Välimäki from Utah in exchange for future considerations. The Vancouver Canucks hired former Blackhawks defenseman Jack Johnson as a pro-scout. The St. Louis Blues signed forward Alexey Toropchenko to a two-year contract extension with a $2.5M AAV. The Nashville Predators signed goaltender Justus Annunen to a two-year contract extension with a $1.25M AAV. The Philadelphia Flyers signed center Christian Dvorak to a five-year contract extension with a $5.15M AAV.BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN Newsletter
Something unusual is going on with the Cubs’ upcoming international free agency class Are the Bulls poised to be the ‘biggest sellers in the East’ this season? Black Monday arrived as the NFL coaching moves were madeHence then, the article about frondell s star power draft importance remembering pulford and other blackhawks bullets was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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