F Anton Frondell - Djurgårdens IF U16, U16 Div.1 (2025 Draft)

[Nabrules]

This past stretch of games in the best a draft eligible has ever looked in the Allsvenskan. Better than Pettersson, Pastrnak, Nylander, Dvorsky.

 

[Castle8130]

Reminds me of Barkov a little bit. Big, strong, and a 200 ft player at a young age. I believe Craig Button used that comparison

 

[HuGort]

This past stretch of games in the best a draft eligible has ever looked in the Allsvenskan. Better than Pettersson, Pastrnak, Nylander, Dvorsky.

Quite the comparison

 

[LGB]

Yeah he’s going top 5. The question is just how high. Imagine this guy in a few years when he’s even stronger and the skating improves a little.

 

[erikhamren]

Not playing today, no injury but illness. Puh

 

[wetcoast]

Quite the comparison

I wouldn't jump at the comparison though as all of these days kept developing after their draft season and these type of cross year comps are really hard as well as league and team dynamics always change.

I really like Frondell and this club team has some impact players for the future..

 

[Juxtaposer]

Yeah he’s going top 5. The question is just how high. Imagine this guy in a few years when he’s even stronger and the skating improves a little.

Serious question, does that video actually impress anyone? I know he scored four points, but the assists were nothing plays and the two goals were both from the circles completely unguarded on the PP and he didn't even one-time them. Tons of giveaways, fell a lot, and barely carried the puck. #38 is much more impressive.

I can't imagine anyone who watched Barkov in his draft year seriously comparing Frondell to him.

 

[erikhamren]

Serious question, does that video actually impress anyone? I know he scored four points, but the assists were nothing plays and the two goals were both from the circles completely unguarded on the PP and he didn't even one-time them. Tons of giveaways, fell a lot, and barely carried the puck. #38 is much more impressive.

I can't imagine anyone who watched Barkov in his draft year seriously comparing Frondell to him.

He has his moments but not in this video

 

[JadedRandom]

Serious question, does that video actually impress anyone? I know he scored four points, but the assists were nothing plays and the two goals were both from the circles completely unguarded on the PP and he didn't even one-time them. Tons of giveaways, fell a lot, and barely carried the puck. #38 is much more impressive.

I agree, that one game of Frondell's wasn't that impressive despite the gaudy stats.

Just, the sheer quality of Frondell's all-around tools, his hockey IQ, and commitment to defense, are so good that on their own they make Frondell a very, very interesting prospect for teams at the draft regardless of whether he puts up big points or not in the Allsvenskan.

Earlier in the year Frondell was having a bit of trouble distinguishing himself in the Allsvenskan, mostly owing to the fact that he was adjusting to a new league and had also suffered some injuries in the Summer and early in the season that definitely slowed him down right out of the gate.

But in recent games Frondell has started "putting his skillset together" a lot more instead of playing the brand of ultra-safe defensive and possession play that he exhibited earlier in the season.

That has led Frondell to take more chances, to trust his skillset more and hence produce a lot more. But Frondell's blend of offense/defense isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination at this point of his career so there are times when he'll over-commit offensively (or read the play a little poorly) in the Allsvenskan and then get burned, as you yourself saw in the video.

It's all part of the learning process for young players coming into their own, and I for one am glad that Frondell has started trying to push his offensive game more as the year has progressed.

If he continues to develop both ways, I think Frondell could defintely be a #1 center in the NHL with more seasoning/time/luck.

As far as draft rankings go, I had Frondell at #6 for prospects in this year's draft for a lot of the season owing to what I thought would be durability concerns despite higher-level tools than Desnoyers (whom I had at #5). But now I'd say that Frondell would likely be in my top-4, followed by Desnoyers at 5, and then Martone at 6.

 

[Juxtaposer]

I agree, that one game of Frondell's wasn't that impressive despite the gaudy stats.

Just, the sheer quality of Frondell's all-around tools, his hockey IQ, and commitment to defense, are so good that on their own they make Frondell a very, very interesting prospect for teams at the draft regardless of whether he puts up big points or not in the Allsvenskan.

Earlier in the year Frondell was having a bit of trouble distinguishing himself in the Allsvenskan, mostly owing to the fact that he was adjusting to a new league and had also suffered some injuries in the Summer and early in the season that definitely slowed him down right out of the gate.

But in recent games Frondell has started "putting his skillset together" a lot more instead of playing the brand of ultra-safe defensive and possession play that he exhibited earlier in the season.

That has led Frondell to take more chances, to trust his skillset more and hence produce a lot more. But Frondell's blend of offense/defense isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination at this point of his career so there are times when he'll over-commit offensively (or read the play a little poorly) in the Allsvenskan and then get burned, as you yourself saw in the video.

It's all part of the learning process for young players coming into their own, and I for one am glad that Frondell has started trying to push his offensive game more as the year has progressed.

If he continues to develop both ways, I think Frondell could defintely be a #1 center in the NHL with more seasoning/time/luck.

As far as draft rankings go, I had Frondell at #6 for prospects in this year's draft for a lot of the season owing to what I thought would be durability concerns despite higher-level tools than Desnoyers (whom I had at #5). But now I'd say that Frondell would likely be in my top-4, followed by Desnoyers at 5, and then Martone at 6.

I'm certainly no expert on Frondell, and I haven't watched him nearly as much as the top NA prospects this year, but I do try to catch games when I can and see shift by shifts and tournament play, and I just have a hard time seeing high-end upside.

I don't think the tools are high-end. His skating is average and while he is pretty thick, he can't be more than 6'1", which is basically average height in the NHL. I don't think any of his offensive toolkit is great either. Shot is very good, not elite, playmaking is just okay. Commitment to defense is good for his age, but doesn't look to me like he'll be a matchups guy in the NHL. And the fact that he's been on the wing in the Allsvenskan makes me less sure that he translates as a center in the NHL; despite his lesser physical tools, I am 100% sure that Hagens projects as a center in the NHL because of the skating and smarts and care with the puck.

To me, Frondell feels like if everything goes right, he's a good 2C. If it doesn't, he still has a fairly high floor and the versatility to play lower in the lineup and be a valuable player. I'd rank him top-10, but not top-5.