Chicago Blackhawks
Two Blackhawks Are in the Calder Top Five, and Bedard’s Injury Just Cleared Their Path
Chicago has the only pair of teammates in the preseason Calder Trophy top five. Anton Frondell ranks fourth. Roman Kantserov ranks fifth.
Then Connor Bedard had shoulder surgery in July and won’t return until roughly November — which means both will spend the first six weeks of the season with more responsibility than either was supposed to get.
Anton Frondell, F — 19 years old
The résumé. The third overall pick in 2025 spent last season proving the selection. He put up 20 goals in 43 games in the Swedish Hockey League and added five in seven games at the 2026 World Junior Championship, then came to Chicago for 12 NHL contests and recorded three goals and six assists.
The number that matters. He averaged 17:42 of ice time in those 12 games. That’s a real NHL workload for a teenager, and it’s the single biggest advantage he has over most of the rookies ranked around him — opportunity is usually the constraint, and Frondell already cleared it.
The caveat. He isn’t projected to skate alongside Chicago’s best players at five-on-five, which caps his even-strength production. What he should get is top-six minutes and top-unit power-play time.
Projection. Top-six forward from opening night, with power-play usage. A multi-faceted offensive game and a clear runway.
Roman Kantserov, F — 21 years old
The résumé. Kantserov went nuclear in the KHL last season, becoming the youngest player in league history to reach 60 points in a single season — 36 goals and 28 assists as a 21-year-old.
That is not a prospect line. That’s a professional scoring against grown men in one of the world’s better leagues.
The game. A dangerous, deceptive shot, solid speed and an engaged play style. At 5-foot-9 and 176 pounds he’s given up size his whole career and hasn’t let it slow him down against older, stronger competition.
The projection. If the game translates, he’s the kind of player analytical models love and point totals reward — in Chicago’s top six, possibly on the top line. The organization signed him in May hoping he’d become the elite complement Bedard has been searching for since he was drafted.
What Bedard’s absence changes
Bedard scored 30 goals and 75 points in 69 games last season, his first at a point-per-game pace, and he’s now on a five-year deal. He’s also out until early-to-mid November following surgery on his left shoulder.
Chicago plays roughly twenty games before he returns. In a normal year, Frondell and Kantserov would be easing into an NHL season behind an established star. Instead they’re being asked to carry offensive load immediately.
For their Calder cases, that’s a gift. For the Blackhawks’ record, it’s a risk. Both things are true.
Three others in the conversation
Porter Martone, F — Philadelphia Flyers. The preseason favorite. Martone put up 25 goals and 25 assists in 35 games at Michigan State — a 1.43 points-per-game rate — then scored 15 points in 19 NHL games including the playoffs. At 6-foot-3, 210 pounds and 19 years old, he averaged just under 17 minutes and 2.89 shots per game as a rookie call-up.
Gavin McKenna, F — Toronto Maple Leafs. The first overall pick in this year’s draft, in arguably the best situation of any rookie: possible second-line minutes with John Tavares and William Nylander. The only real concern is that he struggled early in his freshman college season, and rookie NHL starts are often slow for the same reasons.
Ivar Stenberg, F — San Jose Sharks. Ranked third, and a player some evaluators still believe was the best prospect available in the 2026 draft. San Jose traded William Eklund to Ottawa for the ninth overall pick, which opens a second-line role for the 18-year-old — a good spot that may also cap his ceiling.
The season inside the season
Twenty games. That’s how long Frondell and Kantserov have to establish themselves before Bedard comes back and the lineup reorganizes around him.
If both are producing in November, Chicago has a top six years ahead of schedule and the worst 5-on-5 expected goal differential in the league starts to look like history. If neither is, the Blackhawks are back to waiting.
Chicago Sports Wire covers Blackhawks news, schedules and game coverage all season. See the Blackhawks schedule for puck drop times and broadcast info.