Frondell, Eklund lead Swedish contingent at 2025 NHL Draft

CHICAGO -- Anton Frondell was hoping he would be the first of a few.

The center, who was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks with the No. 3 pick in the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft, was one of several promising Swedish prospects hoping to be taken on Friday. By the end of the night, three Swedish players made their way to the stage at L.A. Live’s Peacock Theater in Los Angeles as first-round selections.

“I think it’s important. It shows how good of a country we are at ice hockey,” said Frondell, who played for Djurgarden's junior team and in Allsvenskan, Sweden's second division, last season. “We were close to winning the (IIHF) World Championship this year. We didn’t do it. We lost against the U.S. in the semis, but Sweden is a good country in hockey.”

Friday saw a big return to the first round for Sweden after the 2024 NHL Draft, which marked the first time a Swedish player wasn’t selected in the first round since 2010.

Right wing Victor Eklund, who is Frondell’s best friend and teammate at Djurgarden, was taken with the No. 16 pick by the New York Islanders. Frondell and Eklund became the 15th pair of Swedish teammates to be taken in the first round of the NHL Draft, something that has now happened in four of the past five drafts: Otto Stenberg and David Edstrom of Frolunda Jr. (2023), Noah Ostlund and Liam Ohgren of Djurgarden Jr. (2022), and Jesper Wallstedt and Fabian Lysell of Lulea (2021).

As Frondell went through his media sessions in Los Angeles, as well as on Zoom, he made sure in each instance to ask if Eklund had been chosen yet.

“He’s my best friend. We’re doing this together," he said. "We’ll be so happy for each other. So, right now I’m excited to meet him and just give him a hug."

As for himself, Frondell said he has "a new favorite NHL team” after the Blackhawks selected him. It helps that he’s gotten to know one of Chicago’s former players well in forward Marcus Kruger, who is Djurgarden’s captain but won the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2013 and 2015.

“I stayed with him at the hotel one time and he told me about the time he won the Stanley Cup, the whole story," said Frondell, who had 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in 29 games with Djurgarden this season. "We didn’t sleep, we just talked about the Stanley Cup. I didn’t stop to ask questions.”

Eklund, whose older brother William just finished his second full NHL season with the San Jose Sharks, led under-20 players in Allsvenskan in goals (19) and points (31) in 42 games. It was the most points by an 18-year-old Allsvenskan player since Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson had 41 points (19 goals, 22 assists) in 43 games for Timra in 2016-17.

William was in Los Angeles to watch Victor get selected by the Islanders on Friday.

“Yeah, I mean, he meant everything and awesome for him to be through this (with me) because he didn’t get to do it (in person). He just did it online,” Victor said of William, who was selected by the Sharks with the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, which was done remotely due to COVID-19 restrictions. “So, it was pretty special for him, too. He’s my best support.”

Adding to the party late in the evening was Sascha Boumedienne, who was selected by the Winnipeg Jets with the No. 28 pick.

Although Boumedienne was born in Finland, he plays for Sweden on the international stage, including at the 2025 IIHF U18 World Championship, where he was named the best defenseman after setting the tournament record for points at his position with 14, helping Sweden win the silver medal.

“Yeah, it means a lot. It’s my home country and love playing for Team Sweden,” Boumedienne said.

Boumedienne, who had 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 40 games as the youngest defenseman in college hockey with Boston University last season, had previously been a “runner” on the floor at the 2018 NHL Draft, when his father Josef was the director of European scouting for the Columbus Blue Jackets. At that draft, Sascha said he was “starstruck” at meeting Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who was selected by the Buffalo Sabres with the No. 1 pick.

Now, he’s the latest Swede to be selected in the first round of the NHL Draft.

“We have a really strong group with the ’07 group here, so yeah, it’s really special to see my friends go,” Boumedienne said. “I’ve known all of them from being in Sweden for a really long time, so it’s really special.”

Sweden has produced some great players in the League’s history. This latest crop of prospects is hoping to continue that tradition in the near future.

NHL.com senior director of editorial Shawn P. Roarke contributed to this report