Meet the Blackhawks 2025 Draft Class: Reaction & Analysis

Frondell is 6-foot-1, with a solid frame at 198 pounds. In the media availability after the first round, general manager Kyle Davidson described Frondell as a power forward with a hard, heavy game that’s consistent with how the game is played in May and June (the playoffs). He projects to be a great complement for the existing top-six players on the roster, such as Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar. Plus, while Frondell is most comfortable at center, he understands the assignment now that he’s been drafted by the Blackhawks. Director of Amateur Scouting Mike Doneghey said he asked Frondell at the combine whether he thought of himself as a center or wing. He responded, “Whatever Connor doesn’t play, I’ll play.”

Frondell appears to also have a some great character. Here he shows off the inside of his jacket after being drafted.

 “The people that mean the most to me.” Jeez, he’s even got his sister in there! Frondell appears to be the complete package, both on and off the ice. The Blackhawks are hopeful he can come to training camp in the fall, but think he’ll likely return to his Swedish team, Djurgardens, next season.

Blackhawks No. 25 Overall Selection, Vaclav Nestrasil (Right Wing)

Moving on to the No 25 pick, the Blackhawks selected right winger Vaclav Nestrasil from the AHL Muskegon Lumberjacks. Most notably, the Lumberjacks won the Clark Cup this past season, with Nestrasil contributing seven goals and 13 points in 14 games played. At 6-foot-6 and 185 pounds, the Czech Republic native skates well for his size. Strong skating is something the Blackhawks have focused on in their prospects.

Coincidentally, the Blackhawks’ second pick in last year’s draft (No. 18 pick) was Sacha Soisvert, who also played for the Lumberjacks. Soisvert and Nestrasil overlapped the 2023-24 season, and the Blackhawks were able to get some insight from Soisvert on this year’s draft pick. Nestrasil is committed to the University of Massachusetts next season. Doneghey said he has great confidence in their program, so he will be in good hands.

Blackhawks No. 29 Overall Selection, Mason West (Center)

As stated earlier, Chicago traded their two second-round picks (34 and 62) to the Carolina Hurricanes for the 29^th pick in the first round. Davidson indicated they received some intel that Mason West might might not be available at the 34 pick, so they went for the trade to land him. Like Nestrasil, West is also 6-foot-6, and he weighs in at 218 pounds.

It turns out West is similar to last year’s draft pick A.J. Spellacy in that he also plays both hockey and football. But while Spellacy was a free safety and wide receiver, West is the star quarterback for his high school, Medina High School in Minnesota. 

Doneghey talked about how this as an excellent asset to transition to his hockey game. “He brings that quarterback mentality to the ice, because when he’s entering the zone, he’s always scanning the zone, what plays to make and he’s comfortable with contact.

On the hockey side, West was second on his high school team with 49 points in 31 games played. He then transitioned to the USHL Fargo Force, where he contributed nine points in 10 games played. He’s expected to play for the Force next season, and then he’s committed to Michigan State University to play in their hockey program.

All in all, the Blackhawks got three versatile forwards in the first round, with size and a focus on two-way play. While it might take longer for the latter two to make it to the NHL than Frondell, they could all three be great complementary pieces to the existing young players and up-and-coming Blackhawks’ prospects.

Blackhawks No. 66 Overall Selection, Nathan Behm (Right Wing)

(Via Brooke)

Since the Blackhawks traded their second-round picks for West, their first selection on the second day of the draft was in the third round. With their 66^th pick they chose Nathan Behm. Behm is a 6-foot-2, 203-pound forward from the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL (Western Hockey League). The 18-year-old had his best season in Kamloops, with 66 points and 31 goals in 59 games. 

Our Dayton Reimer noted, “by the end of October, he was one of the WHL’s highest scorers with 22 points in 13 games and on his way to scoring over 60 goals and hitting 115 points. Only Jarome Iginla and Rob Brown scored more goals their draft year than that.” Reimer also continued, “Behm’s absurd totals were thanks to his combination of size, strength, and offensive prowess.”

Behm is everything the Blackhawks have been looking for in a potential power forward and appears to have a solid toolset. Also, the WHL tweeted that a fun fact about the Calgary native is that Behm won a National Long Drive Championship last August!

Blackhawks No. 98 Overall Selection, Julius Sumpf (Center)

(Via Brooke)

In the fourth round the Blackhawks had two selections. For the 98th overall pick, they added another German player along with Lukas Reichel in Julius Sumpf. A big center to go with the Anton Frondell selection, at 6-foot-2, and 190 pounds, the 20-year-old is considered an “overager” but one that solidified himself last season with the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL (Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League). He had 26 goals and 65 points in 58 games.

Sumpf was signed by Moncton as an 18-year-old, and former Moncton general manager Ritchie Thibeau talked about his leadership and skill. The Blackhawks do love those two traits. He appears to be someone who continually brings new elements to his game over time.

He will potentially play college hockey at Providence College next year, although nothing is set in stone. It will be interesting to see Sumpf’s next steps and if he can challenge his way into the future.

Blackhawks No. 107 Overall Selection, Parker Holmes (Forward)

(Via Brooke)

Davidson is a creature of habit. He likes drafting players from the Muskegon Lumberjacks (like Boisvert and Nestrasil) and he likes drafting hockey players that also play football (like Spellacy and West). But he also likes the Brantford Bulldogs, with Nick Lardis, Marek Vanacker, and now Parker Holmes as his second pick in the fourth round (107 overall). Chicago has eyes in Brantford, so it makes sense that Holmes would catch their attention.

The 18-year-old had 10 points in 51 games with the Kemptville 73’s in 2023-24, and had one point in 21 games with Brantford. He missed time last season due to injury. The point totals don’t stand out, but he is another big forward at 6-foot-4, 223 pounds. Scouting director Doneghey mentioned that the team wanted to get tougher, so Holmes fits the mold.

When Bulldogs general manager Matt Turek signed Holmes, he raved about his work ethic, size, and strength. He could be a very effective role player, even if he doesn’t put up massive point totals.

Blackhawks No. 162 Overall Selection, Ashton Cumby (Defenseman)

Ashton Cumby (19 years old) was the only player the Blackhawks selected in the sixth round, and he was also the only defenseman of their 2025 draft class. He’s another big body at 6-foot-5, 215 pounds. The Bonnyville, Alberta native has spent his junior career in the WHL, most recently with the Seattle Thunderbirds.

The additions of both Holmes and Cumby represented the Blackhawks adding a few “enforcer” types. As Doneghey stated, “We felt the need to get a little bit harder, tougher, to protect some of our skilled guys.” For what it’s worth, it appears Cumby is a pretty good fighter.

Blackhawks No. 194 Overall Selection, Ilya Kanarsky (Goaltender)

(Via Brooke)

Finally, we have the Blackhawks only seventh-round pick, since they traded their 197^th pick to the Panthers. With No. 194, the Blackhawks went with a goaltender, Ilya Kanarsky. It’s never a bad thing to bet on a Russian goaltender in the NHL. After all, look at the success of Sergei Bobrovsky, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and even Ilya Sorokin, so why not add one to the Blackhawks’ draft pool?

Kanarsky split the season between AKM Tula Region and AKM Tula in Russia. He had a .938 SV% (Save percentage) and 2.24 GAA (Goals-against Average), with a 22-8-1 record with AKM Tula last season.

The 20-year-old, 6-foot-3 goalie is an interesting addition to Chicago’s goalie pipeline that also has Drew Commesso and Adam Gajan. It gives them another option. Being a seventh-round pick, it’s tough to tell if he will make it to the Hawks, but it’s possible (hey, Louis Crevier!)

Brooke and I made a point to include all eight player’s heights and weights, as its obvious the Blackhawks had a theme of adding size and physicality in this year’s draft. Considering they already have plenty of players and prospects with elite skill (but on the smaller size), this makes sense to balance out their future roster. They made some outside of the box picks, but they can also afford to do that with the plethora of prospects they’ve collected over the past few drafts.

From here, development camp commences on Monday (June 30), where we’ll have even more of an opportunity to get to know these new draftees. Plus, the free agency period starts on Tuesday (July 1). Davidson indicated he’s unsure if he’ll have many opportunities to be active in free agency. He said with the cap rising has made a lot of teams more comfortable with their current squads, and subsequently held back player movement a little bit. But he reiterated he’s certainly doing his due diligence.

Never a dull moment with the Blackhawks!