Frondell built like ‘a military tank,’ brings power, skill to 2025 NHL Draft

The 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held June 27-28 at L.A. Live's Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The first round will be held June 27 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS), with rounds 2-7 on June 28 (Noon ET; NHLN, ESPN+, SN, SN1). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. Today, a look at Djurgarden forward Anton Frondell. Full draft coverage can be found here.

Anton Frondell is No. 1 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of International skaters for the 2025 NHL Draft and is expected to be a top-five pick.

But his father, Henrik Frondell, still isn't sure hockey is the right sport for his son.

"Dad played tennis when he was younger and he still wants me to be a pro tennis player," Anton said. "He's trying to say, 'Oh, think about it, a training camp in Spain in the winters.'"

Anton, though, is committed to hockey. The 18-year-old had 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in 29 games with Djurgarden in Allsvenskan, the second-highest professional league in Sweden, and seven points (three goals, four assists) in 16 playoff games to help Djurgarden earn promotion to the Swedish Hockey League for next season.

Frondell (6-foot-1, 204 pounds) blends a gifted offensive game with high-end competitiveness.

"I would call Frondell a military tank," NHL Central Scouting director of European scouting Jukka-Pekka Vuorinen said.

"He is a strong player with strong legs, which shows up in his strong skating. He has the perfect balance in his skating. He wins most of the 1-on-1 battles with his attitude, power, and quick stick. He delivers intelligent passes and is a real asset, especially on the power play. He has a nifty wrist shot, and his one-timer release is solid and accurate. His hockey IQ shines with or without the puck."

Frondell began playing at age 6 when his school offered hockey. His parents, Henrik and Maria, didn't think much of it, and only signed Anton up to give him something to do before tennis season started.

They thought so little of the sport they spent as little as possible to outfit him.

"So, we got loaned from some friends some pink figure skating skates that said Anna, the girl's name on it," Frondell said. "'He won't like hockey if he wears this.' I had a helmet and winter gloves. I didn't have my own stick."

But Frondell fell in love with the game, and when he showed some aptitude, his parents realized his future might lie on the ice, not the tennis court.

"So, after one year with those pink figure skating skates, the coaches standing and pointing at me, laughing at practices,” Frondell said. “So, dad finds out that maybe he seems like he likes the sport, I should buy him real skates and gear. So, I got my first gear one year after I started. He wanted to see if I liked it, and I loved it."

He's continued to love it as he's progressed through higher levels of hockey at home, including making his Allsvenskan debut as a 16-year-old last season.

But he hit a roadblock this season following surgery in September for an injury to his left knee.

He made his season debut Oct. 8, but after three games the decision was made to send him to the junior league.

Rather than see it as a demotion, Frondell embraced the opportunity to get his game back on track while still playing against older competition.

"When I played in U-20 this season, it's still up for me, and the pro team is even an extra step," said Frondell, who turned 18 on May 7. "I think it was good for me. I think both my trainers, my coaches and myself felt like my game wasn't on pro level in the beginning. So, we give it like 10 games or something with the U-20, I started to play better, getting more comfortable with everything, and then I moved up to the pro team."

He had seven points (five goals, two assists) in his 10 games, and in his first game back in Allsvenskan, Nov. 12 against Kalmar, he scored a goal.

He had four points (two goals, two assists) in five games for Sweden at the World Junior A Challenge held Dec. 9-14. When he returned Dec. 26, his play took another step and he finished the season with 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 22 games.

"I was really impressed, especially the way that going into the year, he was still doing rehab with his injury," Djurgarden coach Robert Kimby said. "Then a little bit of setback, came back from that. And it took some time for his play to really get better. [Start of season], he was in the lineup, and things weren't going his way. ... We sent him down, he got to go a couple, three, four weeks with the juniors, just focusing on himself and his extra workload and stuff like that. Then when he came back with us, he worked his way into it again. He had five, six good games, then he went to [World Junior A], and after that, he just took off."

Frondell said he tries to pattern his game after Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov.

"I really like to look at him play," Frondell said. "I think we have much similar in our games. He's also strong, big guy, uses his size, uses his body, controlling the puck. When he's on the ice, he's driving everybody else. He's such a good player, taking responsibility everywhere on the ice. Puts his team before himself. That's I would say, Barkov is one player I think I play similar to."

Barkov was selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft and jumped right to the NHL for the 2013-14 season. Frondell, however, will play at least one more season in Sweden after helping Djurgarden earn promotion to the Swedish Hockey League next season.

It also will give him a chance to improve some areas in his game.

"I need to work on a lot of things, but if I had to choose only one, it's my quickness," Frondell said. "Getting out of tight turns quicker, move my feet more, find open space, getting up to my top speed faster also. More quickness."

Whenever he does come to the NHL, he projects to be a player ready to be a difference-maker.

"He has a big body, even though there is still more to grow," Kimby said. "His legs are powerful. Great shot, good hands. Not complete, but he can do a lot of things, even though he is young. Sometimes you have to kind of remind yourself that he's only [18]."