The 2027 Calder race will be one to keep a close eye on, with high-end rookies like Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, Cole Hutson, Porter Martone, and James Hagens competing for rookie of the year, all of whom are all expected to play large roles on their respective teams.
This season, the Blackhawks are expected to have two of the Calder Trophy favorites in Anton Frondell and Roman Kantserov. The Blackhawks have had two players win the Calder Trophy in the last 10 years: Connor Bedard in 2024 and Artemi Panarin in 2016.
Both Frondell and Kantserov are going to play big roles for the Blackhawks this season. Not only at 5-on-5, where they both should be playing top-six, but also on the power play and penalty kill.
Anton Frondell is a 6’1” centerman who plays a well-rounded 200-foot game and has a cannon of a shot. Frondell was taken third overall in the 2025 NHL Draft and is expected to be a cornerstone piece of the team as they ascend towards competing for Stanley Cups. Frondell made his NHL debut at the end of last season, playing the final 12 games with the Blackhawks, where he put up nine points and drove the second line, centering Tyler Bertuzzi and Ilya Mikheyev. Not only are the Blackhawks starting this season with Frondell rather than just ending it with him, but they have also added Patrick Kane, Roman Kantserov, and an older, more experienced Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar.
Anton Frondell is going to have every opportunity to play in the top six, where he will be surrounded by the previously mentioned Kane, Bedard, Nazar, and Kantserov. The Blackhawks expect to take a massive step this season, and if they do, Frondell will be a big part of it.
The same can be said for the 5’9” Russian-born center, Roman Kantserov. Kantserov is entering his rookie season in the NHL and will have just as much opportunity as Frondell. Having played professional hockey in the KHL over the past three seasons, Kantserov has developed playing fast-paced hockey against grown men. He developed so well, in fact, that he ended up leading the KHL in goals with 36 last season.
Like Frondell, Kantserov is expected to contribute immediately upon arrival. An expectation that very few players live up to in their first seasons. However, Kantserov is 21-years-old and, like I previously mentioned, has three seasons of professional hockey under his belt.
If both Frondell and Kantserov find themselves in the Calder conversation at the end of the season, then the Blackhawks as a whole likely took a big step.
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