The Blackhawks selection of Anton Frondell continues this Kyle Davidson draft trend

Friday night was a historic night for the Chicago Blackhawks organization. With the third overall pick in the 2025 draft, the Blackhawks selected Anton Frondell. He's a very talented forward from Sweden who projects to be a top-six forward and should be the partner Connor Bedard needs to bring Chicago back to the playoffs. While it will take him a couple of years to make his debut, he will be worth the wait.

Although all the attention is on Frondell and what he can do for the organization, this pick is a continuation of a trend for the Blackhawks. That being, the need to draft players who are strong skaters. It's an interesting strategy, but is it the smart move and should they continue it?

The Blackhawks seem to only target one type of player in the draft.

Since the start of the rebuild, the Blackhawks' philosophy regarding the draft has been centered on selecting strong skaters. Players like Bedard, Artyom Levshunov, Frank Nazar, and Kevin Korchinski have all been described as strong skaters. During the draft process, skating was always the first or second thing people would mention when discussing them. Frondell is just the latest chapter in this long-running saga.

It's clear the Blackhawks are trying to build their identity around speed and agility. The hope is that they can out-hustle other teams for loose pucks, which will lead to more offensive possessions and scoring opportunities. They will also try out the other team with this speedy approach. This will enable them to gain the upper hand and control the pace of play, ultimately leading to more wins.

It's a strategy we have seen many teams implement, and it has worked out for them. A notable example is the mid-2010s Pittsburgh Penguins. Those teams placed a heavy emphasis on speed and agility, and it paid off, as they won back-to-back Cups in 2015-16 and 2016-17. There was even a time back then when it seemed like every team was trying to copy this strategy and that the NHL was moving towards a game of speed and finesse.

While this strategy has worked in the past, it's not without its flaws. Teams that focus so heavily on skating and speed have ignored physicality. This has caused them to get bullied by more physical teams without the ability to counter it. It's also a style of play that does not always translate to playoff hockey. While the Penguins had success, that can't be the same for many teams built in this way.

Time will tell if this Blackhawks rebuild will yield the success of the mid-2010s Penguins or be a team that comes up short. Regardless, it's clear that there is one style of player the Chicago front office is currently in love with.