World Juniors Offers Hope for Blackhawks' Rebuild

The Chicago Blackhawks have been traversing a metaphorical desert for years, but the light at the end of the tunnel might finally be approaching — at least if some of their prospects’ performances at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship are to be believed.

Swedish center Anton Frondell and Czech right wing Vaclav Nestrasil, two players whom the Blackhawks picked in the 2025 NHL Draft, covered themselves in glory throughout the tournament. That was especially the case for Frondell, who was named the tournament’s best forward as well as an All-Star. He accomplished that feat thanks to an impressive five goals and three assists over the course of seven games. To cap it all off, his Swedish team ended up winning gold, with Frondell’s efforts being a large reason why.

a big congrats to Anton Frondell and Vaclav Nestrasil👏🥇🥈 pic.twitter.com/oLDpqAlm9g
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 6, 2026

Meanwhile, Nestrasil was also quite impressive. He put up two goals and six assists in his seven tournament games, the final of which was the gold medal match against Sweden. Unfortunately for Nestrasil and Czechia, the Swedes came out on top, but that doesn’t diminish the fantastic play he displayed throughout the event.

AJ Spellacy, an American forward who was selected in the third round by the Blackhawks, also played well at World Juniors. In five games, he scored one goal, assisted on three more, and finished 21-of-56 (37.5 percent) on faceoffs.

The Blackhawks’ Future is Bright

Jun 27, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Anton Frondell is selected as the third overall pick to the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft at Peacock Theater. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

In response to a question about playing against fellow Blackhawks prospect Frondell, Nestrasil said, “It means Chicago has some great prospects in their roster.” He’s not wrong.

Frondell is the crown jewel of the Blackhawks’ future. Ranked as the No. 1 international prospect by NHL.com heading into last year’s draft, Chicago selected him third overall. While he has yet to come stateside, his performance for Djurgårdens IF of the Swedish Hockey League has turned heads. Through 25 games, he’s amassed 15 points via 10 goals and five assists. Those numbers, paired with his statistics during the World Juniors, suggest it won’t take long for him to make an impact once he’s finally hitting the ice with the Blackhawks.

Nestrasil isn’t a slouch either. While he’s not someone who will necessarily be at the top of a prospect ranking, he’s shown himself to be a formidable force when the lights are at their brightest. His recent outings at the World Juniors exemplify that to the fullest, and his performance with UMass this season — he’s scored 10 goals and helped with 10 more through 18 games with the Minutemen — shows that he’s a player who can be relied on to fill up the box score.

With Frondell and Nestrasil, alongside other prospects in the Blackhawks’ system like Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, Oliver Moore and Nick Lardis — four players who are already playing NHL minutes — as well as Sacha Boisvert and Marek Vanacker, the future is certainly bright in Chicago. Oh, and Connor Bedard’s presence doesn’t hurt either. With him, all things seem possible for the Blackhawks.

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