Analysis: A quick glimpse at the Blackhawks’ 2025 draft class

The Chicago Blackhawks came into the 2025 NHL Draft with 10 draft picks. After a few trades, Chicago walked away with eight prospects. Of their picks, the Blackhawks selected six forwards, one defenseman and one goaltender.

First round

The first round, as it has been since Kyle Davidson was hired, was busy. With the third overall pick, the Blackhawks selected Swedish center Anton Frondell.

Frondell, the best European prospect in this draft, shows a lot of promise in his two-way game. When asked if the Blackhawks were “getting their own Barkov,” Frondell’s answer was simple: “Yeah.”

Based on comments from Davidson, Frondell will likely remain with Djurgårdens in Sweden for the 2025-26 season.

With their second first-round selection, the Blackhawks selected forward Vaclav Nestrasil. Nestrasil, who spent his 2024-25 season with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL, plays a tough-nosed game and uses his 6-foot-6 frame to good use.

Nestrasil is committed to the University of Massachusetts Amherst next season.

With their third and final pick of the first round, Chicago traded up with the Carolina Hurricanes to acquired the 29th overall pick. With this pick, the Blackhawks selected forward Mason West. West, currently a 17-year-old with Edina High School, is a physical specimen. West stands at 6-foot-6 and weighs 218 pounds.

A multi-sport athlete, West will play one last season of high school football before taking his talents to Michigan State University.

Third round

After trading both of their second-round picks to draft West, Chicago had to wait until the third round to make a pick. With the 67th overall pick, Chicago drafted another forward in Nathan Behm.

Behm brings size and a scoring touch to the prospect pool. The 6-foot-2 forward scored a career-high 31 goals during the 2024-25 season.

Fourth round

With the first of two fourth-round selections, Chicago drafted forward Julius Sumpf.

Sumpf, a German forward, spent his 2024-25 season with the Moncton Wildcats. Like Behm, Sumpf recorded a career high in goals with 26 last season.

With their second fourth-round pick, Chicago drafted Brantford Bulldog forward Parker Holmes.

Holmes, a teammate of fellow Blackhawks prospects Nick Lardis and Marek Vanacker, tallied only one goal in 21 games with the Bulldogs.

Sixth round

In the sixth round, Chicago broke the streak of drafting forwards, taking defenseman Ashton Cumby.

Cumby, who played his 2024-25 season with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL, is a physical, defense-first skater. Despite being defense-first, Cumby recorded a career high in goals, assists and points this season.

Seventh round

With their final pick in the draft, Chicago drafted Russian goaltender Ilya Kanarsky.

Kanarsky, a 20-year-old goalie currently playing in the MHL, had a record of 22–8–1 with a .938 save percentage and a 2.24 goals against average in 34 regular season games during the 2024-25 season.

Analysis

With the 2025 NHL Draft being considered not as deep compared to previous seasons, the Blackhawks took gambles on two traits: size and upside. Davidson emphasized this thinking when explaining to the media his choice to trade up for West.

Time will tell with a lot of these picks. Project picks take time, and the Blackhawks chose multiple projects in this draft. There are no winners or losers of the draft immediately after the draft, so time will tell. Patience will be a virtue with these young men, maybe more so than in previous drafts.