The Blackhawks could have a pair of names worth watching in the 2026-27 Calder Trophy race, and The Athletic has both Roman Kantserov and Anton Frondell in the conversation.
Kantserov, 21, is set to make his Blackhawks debut on opening night after only Frondell has already skated for Chicago. In a rebuilding season for the team, both players are expected to be part of the mix for NHL Rookie of the Year, a trophy once won by Patrick Kane and Connor Bedard. The bigger question is whether either Blackhawks prospect can actually chase it down, or if another rookie such as Gavin McKenna or Ivar Stenberg ends up taking the award.
Among The Athletic’s top 20 prospects with the best chance to win the Calder, Kantserov landed at No. 5.
He sits behind Porter Martone of Philadelphia, Stenberg of San Jose, McKenna of Toronto and Cole Hutson of Washington, but he brings one edge the others don’t: he spent the entire last season in pro hockey. Kantserov led the KHL in goals with 36 in 63 games, giving him a track record that stands out in a field of rookie hopefuls.
That experience could matter as he moves from the KHL to the AHL, a path The Athletic compared to Ivan Demidov’s transition for Montreal. Kantserov was able to dominate in Russia against NHL veterans and other prospects, and while life in Chicago won’t be easy, the article suggests the pressure of an Original Six market shouldn’t derail him.
Frondell is a different kind of candidate, but he’s in the mix too. The 19-year-old scored 20 goals in the SHL with Djurgårdens IF in 2025-26 before his brief NHL debut, where he flipped that production with three goals and nine points in 12 games. The Athletic praised his shot and said he has real upside, while also questioning whether he can keep it going over an 84-game season.
Chicago may need that kind of offense if it wants to move forward and avoid landing in the Draft Lottery picture again. Bedard is expected to miss the start of the season, and that leaves Frondell penciled in as the Blackhawks’ top center. If he starts fast, that could set the tone for a much bigger year.
The sample is tiny, but Frondell’s NHL scoring pace already sits at .75 points per game. Stretch that over 84 games and he’d finish with 60 points, which would put him right in the range of recent Calder winners. The last 10 winners have averaged 61.4 points, which is why Frondell is being treated as a legitimate dark horse if everything clicks.
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